ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the implications of ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) for GeoComputation (GC). As computing power has gradually embedded itself into the environment of our daily lives, we have witnessed the emergence of ubicomp and the concomitant growth of ambient intelligence during the past two decades. Ubicomp has contributed a new sentient environment in which the virtual and physical world, digital bits and atoms, people and objects can be linked and tracked. Ubicomp has also led to the spatial big data deluge, characterised by three Vs – volume, variety and velocity. The next phase of GC development should be conducted in the context of ubicomp and spatial big data. There are multiple challenges along computational, theoretical, social, political, legal and environmental fronts. To better address these challenges, an open GC paradigm is proposed in this chapter. Open GC calls for open data, open-source software, open standards and open collaboration.
