Energy Conservation in the Era of Ubiquitous Computing

Widespread availability and affordability of devices and easy accessibility of internet has accelerated the pace of ubiquitous computing. Connectivity to the internet has resulted in an exponential growth in terms of content and traffic available on the internet. When the barriers such as type of devices, location, time, and format have become meaningless in the era of ubiquitous computing; the issue of energy consumption and resultant carbon emission is a matter of concern. Energy consumption is an issue in ubiquitous computing, as the majority of the devices involved will be mobile devices that depend on the limited power offered by the battery inside the device. Carbon emission is a concern due to the combined impact made by the devices hooked over to the internet. This chapter discusses the issues related to energy consumption for various activities when the services offered by the internet are availed. The chapter also discusses the challenges to be overcome to achieve conservation of energy consumed by the internet and devices.