| Ambient Intelligence |
Article Index for Ambient |
Website Links For Ambient |
Information AboutAmbient Intelligence |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE | |
| ambient intelligenceambient intelligence | |
| computing and society | |
| human-computer interaction | |
| distributed computing | |
| information science | |
|
The ambient intelligence paradigm builds upon Ubiquitous Computing and human-centric computer interaction design and is characterized by systems and technologies that are:
OVERVIEW At the same time, more and more people make decisions based on the effect their actions will have on their own inner, mental world. This experience rational way of acting is a change from the past when people were primarily concerned about the use value of products and services and is the basis for the Experience Economy . Ambient intelligence addresses this shift in existential view by emphasizing people and user experience. The interest in user experience also grew in importance in the late 1990s because of the overload of products and services in the information society that were difficult to understand and hard to use. A strong call emerged to design things from a user's point of view. Ambient intelligence is influenced by User-centered Design where the user is placed in the center of the design activity and asked to give feedback through specific user evaluations and tests to improve the design or even co-create the design together with the designer ( Participatory Design ) or with other users ( End User Development ). In order for AmI to become a reality a number of key technologies are required:
HISTORY The early developments in Ambient Intelligence took place at ), the European Commission used the vision for the launch of their sixth framework (FP5) in Information, Society and Technology (IST), with a subsidiary budget of 3.7 billion euros. The European Commission played a crucial role in the further development of the AmI vision. As a result of many initiatives the AmI vision gained traction. During the past years several major initiatives were started. Fraunhofer Society started several activities in a variety of domains including multimedia, microsystems design and augmented spaces. MIT started an Ambient Intelligence research group at their Media Lab {Link without Title} . Several more research projects started in a variety of countries such as USA, Canada, Spain, France and the Netherlands. In 2004, the first European symposium on Ambient Intelligence (EUSAI) was held and many other conferences have been held that address special topics in AmI. EXAMPLE SCENARIO Ellen returns home after a long day's work. At the front door she is recognized by an intelligent surveillance camera, the door alarm is switched off, and the door unlocks and opens. When she enters the hall the house map indicates that her husband Peter is at an art fair in Paris, and that her daughter Charlotte is in the children's playroom, where she is playing with an interactive screen. The remote children surveillance service is notified that she is at home, and subsequently the on-line connection is switched off. When she enters the kitchen the family memo frame lights up to indicate that there are new messages. The shopping list that has been composed needs confirmation before it is sent to the supermarket for delivery. There is also a message notifying that the home information system has found new information on the semantic Web about economic holiday cottages with sea sight in Spain. She briefly connects to the playroom to say hello to Charlotte, and her video picture automatically appears on the flat screen that is currently used by Charlotte. Next, she connects to Peter at the art fair in Paris. He shows her through his contact lens camera some of the sculptures he intends to buy, and she confirms his choice. In the mean time she selects one of the displayed menus that indicate what can be prepared with the food that is currently available from the pantry and the refrigerator. Next, she switches to the video on demand channel to watch the latest news program. Through the follow me she switches over to the flat screen in the bedroom where she is going to have her personalized workout session. Later that evening, after Peter has returned home, they are chatting with a friend in the living room with their personalized ambient lighting switched on. They watch the virtual presenter that informs them about the programs and the information that have been recorded by the home storage server earlier that day. CRITICISM The AmI vision is not without criticism {Link without Title} . Its immersive, personalized, context-aware and anticipatory characteristics, developed before the attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11 2001, bring up societal, political and cultural concerns about the Loss Of Consumer Privacy , power concentration in large organizations, fear for an increasingly individualized, fragmented society and hyperreal environments where the virtual is indistinguishable from the real ( Hyperreality ). Several research groups and communities are investigating the social-economical, political and cultural aspects of ambient intelligence. New thinking on Ambient Intelligence distances itself therefore from some of the original characteristics such as adaptive and anticipatory behaviour and emphasizes empowerment and participation to place control in the hands of people instead of organizations. THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS OF AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE The ISTAG advisory group suggests that the following characteristics will permit the societal acceptance of ambient intelligence:
BUSINESS MODELS FOR AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE The ISTAG group acknowledges the following entry points to AmI business landscape:
RESEARCH GROUPS Several research groups have been founded to tackle the question of the manifestations of ambient intelligence - what can be done and what will the actions most probably result in:
SOURCES AND FURTHER MATERIAL
EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|