User:Dawooga/TecO

The TecO is a research group at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany. The research group is in the Institute of Telematics, and is attached to the Chair for Pervasive Computing Systems, currently held by Michael Beigl. The TecO distinguishes itself by being close to industry both with respect to its funding model and its participation in "real-world projects" with a range of partners in the software and hardware industries.

History
The TecO, originally titled "The Telecooperation Office", was founded in 1993 at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (then University of Karlsruhe (TH)) for research and development in applied telematics by Prof. Gerhard Krüger and the Campus-based Engineering Center (CEC) of the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Ubiquitous Computing has historically been the main focus of research, with Digital Artefact Computing, Networks, Handheld Computing, HCI and Context Awareness as current research foci.

When DEC was taken over by Compaq, the CEC in Kalrsruhe was taken over by SAP AG and was attached to SAP Research Germany. The close research ties and cooperation between the DEC and the TecO were also transfered to SAP. The TecO continues to work in close cooperation with SAP Research, and was later attached to Prof. Wilfried Juling.

In April 2010, the Chair for Pervasive Computing Systems was founded as a "New Shared Field Group" in cooperation with SAP AG. This Chair was awarded to Michael Beigl, and the TecO was brought under the the new Chair as a research lab with the title "TecO: Technology for Pervasive Computing". Currently the TecO contains 3 post-doctorate researchers and 8 research assistants / PhD students.

Research Focus
The focus of research is currently on various topics with the field of  Pervasive and  Ubiquitous Computing. These include the fields of Activity Recognition,  Context and  Situation Awarenes in embedded, mobile and distributed systems. Other research foci in Pervasive and  Ubiquitous Computing include
 * Sensor and RFID technology
 * Communication, Collaboration, Networks and Middleware
 * Human-Computer Interaction
 * System Design and Engineering
 * Security, Privacy and Trust

Notable Contributions
The first mobile browser for a hand-held device, called PocketWeb,  was developed at the TecO on the Apple Newton. The MediaCup was an early example of Ubiquitous Computing appliance, demonstrating awareness in embedded systems. The TecO also organized and played a major role in initiating the HUC/Ubicomp conference series in 1999, which is now the major conference in the filed of Ubiquitous Computing. The "Point & Click" human-computer interaction paradigm developed at the TecO presented at this conference is now widely used to control devices in pervasive computing environments. The Smart-Its developed at the TecO, was the first European wireless sensor network in the private sector.