Smart cities, ambient intelligence and universal access

Abstract

The future of universal access is very much determined by considerations that reflect also the changes at the global level. One of the key changes is the shift towards an Urban Age. In this paper it is addressed from the perspective of how information and communication technology, in particular ambient intelligence, will influence the future of our cities. The paper presents the concepts of Hybrid, Smart and Humane Cities and their dependencies. They are also used as umbrella scenarios for developing new research lines for ambient intelligence. The paper closes with presenting twelve of these research lines that were developed in the EU-funded InterLink-project. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.