The Research Studio Pervasive Computing Applications (PCA) was founded in 2005 under the direction of Alois Ferscha as part of the Research Studios program launched in 2001 with the support of the BMWA and BMWF. The type of research and development carried out in the Research Studios is based on a process of rapid prototyping in order to optimize results iteratively, to develop them further in a flexible and market-oriented manner, and to shorten the time span between an initial idea, its conceptualization, and its development into usable applications.

At Studio PCA, we investigate the ubiquity, pervasiveness and interconnectedness of computer technology in all areas of daily life: living, business, transportation, health or work. Through the targeted interaction of a multitude of components, pervasive computing applications are created that react imperceptibly but ubiquitously to their environment or the users without them having to actively intervene.

Currently, the Research Studio Pervasive Computing Applications is managed operationally by Dr. Christian Thomay and scientifically by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Alois Ferscha. The focus is on Attention Aware Systems and Cognitive ICT.

In recent years, joint projects have laid the foundations for the realization of attention-sensitive ICT. The exploratory project "Raising Attention" determined the need and potential of such systems, a little later the industry-oriented dissertation "Attentive ICT" dealt with the basic sensory detection of attention, and in the meantime the first cooperative projects for near-market realization, such as "Attentive Machines", have been successfully completed.