There has been a fair amount of discussion in the community on the definitions of Ubiquitous Computing versus Pervasive Computing, and if they are in fact the same thing. As an engineer, especially in software, I believe the use of multiple words for the same thing (if for not other reason) will exhaust the namespace that is the English language too quickly. I also happen to believe that there are two distinct areas of research and development in the areas commonly associated with these words.
So, I propose the following definitions:
- Ubiquitous
- Concerned with the issues of deployment and integration of hardware and/or software in the physical environment.
- Pervasive
- Concerned with the coordination and cooperation of ubiquitous hardware and/or software.
I also offer another pair of definitions which are phrased in more practical terms. I believe that these definitions are equivalent to those above, but easier to apply:
- If a solution spans only a single administrative domain, then it is a Ubiquitous Computing solution.
- If a solution spans multiple administrative domains, then it is a Pervasive Computing solution.