UbiComp 2005: Ubiquitous Computing

The 7th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp 2005) marked the ?rst time that this premier venue for original research contributions in ubiquitous computing was held in Asia. The Tokyo, Japan venue re?ects the desireoftheUbiCompcommunitytomakethisconferenceseriesaninternational event that showcases the increasing amount of high-quality ubiquitous comp- ing researchthat is taking placeworldwide.As the ?eld ofubiquitous computing has matured, the UbiComp Conference has gained signi?cance worldwide, not only among researchers, but also with industry and general society. This interest in the potential of ubiquitous computing to impact our lives has resulted in the creation of many new research programs in academia and industry. These e?orts have, in turn, led to mass media coverage of e?orts and, in some regions of the world, large-scale government-initiated collaborative - forts to explore the potential of these emerging technologies. These trends are re?ected in the rise in the number of submissions to UbiComp 2005. This year the conference received 230 full papers, submitted almost equally from Asia (?100 submissions), North America and South America (?6 0 submissions) and Europe(?60submissions),withtheremainderbeingreceivedfromAustraliaand Africa. Fromamong many high-qualitysubmissions, the technical programc- mittee accepted 22 papers. These paperswere chosenbased solely on the quality of their peer reviews using a double-blind review process.