Smart environments

Abstract

Catchwords like Ubiquitous Computing, Pervasive Computing, and, the youngest term, Ambient Intelligence (Shadbolt 2003; Aarts 2004), paraphrase the vision of a world, in which we are surrounded by smart, intuitively operated devices that help us to organize, structure, and master our everyday life. They share the notion of a smart, personal environment, which characterizes a new paradigm for the interaction between a person and his everyday surroundings: smart environments enable these surroundings to become aware of the human that interacts with it, his goals and needs. So it is possible to assist the human proactively in performing his activities and reaching his goals. If my car stereo tunes in to exactly the station I just listened to at the breakfast table, then this is a simple example for such an aware, proactive environment; just as the mobile phone that automatically redirects calls to my voice mail in case I am in a meeting, or the bathroom mirror that reminds me of taking my medications. Hitherto, it is the user's responsibility to manage his personal environment, to operate and control the various appliances and devices available for his support. But, the more technology is available and the more options there are, the greater is the challenge to master your everyday environment, the challenge not to get lost in an abundance of possibilities. Failing to address this challenge adequately simply results in technology becoming inoperable, effectively useless. The goal of smart environments is to take over this mechanic and monotonous control task from the user and manage appliance activities on his behalf. Through this, the environment's full potential for assisting the user can be mobilized, thus allowing tailoring to the user's individual goals and needs. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.