Page 201 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

184 6 Mobile Commerce and the Internet of Things

Figure 6.5 Smart grid
environment (Source: National
Institute of Standards and
Technology, U.S. Department of
Commerce, nist.gov/smartgrid/
upload/FinalSGDoc2010019-
corr010411-2.pdf accessed
April 2016)

The technologies used are: 3. What is the revenue model of the company?
4. Enter the company’s website and find additional services
• Magnetic sensing detectors embedded under the road provided.
surface
• Closed-circuit TV cameras and radar monitoring traffic
conditions Implementation Issues in Ubiquitous
• Public safety and traffic information Computing
• Information about free access and departure flows
• Toll collection queues.
For ubiquitous systems to be widely deployed, it is necessary
to overcome many of the technical, ethical, and legal barriers
According to their website, INRIX has partnered with
Clear Channel Radio to broadcast real-time traffic data associated with mobile computing (Section 6.9), as well as a
few barriers unique to ubiquitous, invisible computing.
directly to vehicles via in-car or portable navigation systems,
broadcast media, and wireless and Internet-based services. Among the nontechnical issues, the possible loss of indi-
vidual privacy seems to be at the forefront. There is a con-
Clear Channel’s Total Traffic Network is available in more
than 125 metropolitan areas in four countries. See inrix. cern about “Big Brother” watching. In some cases, privacy
groups have expressed a concern that the tags and sensors
com/partners.asp for more about INRIX’s partners and
their services. embedded in items, especially retail items, make it possible
The INRIX Traffic app (available for download at inrix- to track the owners or buyers of those items. A larger prob-
traffic.com) is available for all smartphones and supports ten lem is that the information processed by tags, sensors, and
other devices may be misused or mishandled.
languages, including English, French, Spanish, and Hungarian.
For the INRIX Traffic free features, see inrixtraffic.com/
features. SECTION 6.6 REVIEW QUESTIONS
Sources: Based on inrix.com, inrix.com/inrix-traffic- app,
and inrix.com/why-inrix/customers-partners (all accessed
1. Define ubiquitous computing.
April 2016).
2. Describe the smart grid and the role of sensors there.
Questions 3. Describe a smart home.
1. Why is this service considered m-commerce? 4. In what ways can pervasive computing impinge on an
2. What role do sensors play in the systems? individual’s right to privacy?