Inspired by the Home of the Future

Shwetak Patel, a professor at the University of Washington (UW), director of a health technologies group at Google, and recipient of the 2018 ACM Prize in Computing, has made a career out of pushing old tools to new heights. He has leveraged existing infrastructure to make affordable energy monitoring systems; he used mobile phone sensors like cameras and microphones to help manage chronic diseases. Here, Patel talks about feedback loops, the home of the future, and the changing healthcare landscape.

What triggered your interest in ubiquitous computing?