Ambient Intelligence

Introduction Ambient Intelligence (AmI) is a new paradigm in Information Technology that has potential for great impact in the future. The vision of AmI is that the people will be surrounded by intelligent objects that can sense the context and respond according to the desire of the people. AmI is a multidisciplinary topic, since it combines the features of many of the areas in Computer Science.

History In 1998 Philips and Palo Alto Ventures coined the term ‘Ambient Intelligence’(AmI) In 1999, Philips joined the Oxygen alliance, an international consortium of industrial partners within the context of the MIT Oxygen project, aimed at developing technology for the computer of the 21st century. In 2001, the concept of Ambient Intelligence (AmI) was taken up by European Commission’s Information Society Technologies Advisory Group (ISTAG). The term Ambient Intelligence is defined by ISTAG as "the convergence of ubiquitous computing, ubiquitous communication, and interfaces adapting to the user".

AmI Vision In AmI, people will be surrounded by an interconnected embedded systems. These devices will be able to locate and recognize objects and people, as well as people’s intentions. The vision of AmI is characterized by two key features: intelligence and embedding. The feature of “intelligence” refers to the fact that the digital environment is able to analyze the context, adapt itself to the people and objects that reside in it, learn from their behavior , and eventually recognize as well as express emotion.

The feature of “embedding” means that miniaturized devices will increasingly become part of the invisible background of peoples’activities, and that social interaction and functionality will move to the foreground. According to the AmI vision,” people will not just use technology: they will live with it.”

Key Concepts Five Key Concepts of AmI Embedded-Many networked devices are integrated into the environment. Context aware-The system can recognize you and your situational context. Personalized-The system can tailor itself to meet your needs. Adaptive-It can change in response to you. Anticipatory-The system anticipates your desires without conscious mediation.

Key Technologies In order for AmI to become a reality a number of key technologies are required: Unobtrusive hardware (Miniaturisation, Nanotechnology, smart devices,sensors etc.) Seamless mobile/fixed communication and computing infrastructure. Dynamic and massively distributed device networks, which are easy to control and program. Human-centric computer interfaces. Dependable and secure systems and devices (self-testing and self repairing software, privacy ensuring technology etc.)

The Social and Political Aspects of AmI In AmI, technology lives with the people, hence AmI has both social and political influences. So it should facilitate human contact. be orientated towards community and cultural enhancement. help to build knowledge and skills for work, better quality of work, citizenship and consumer choice. inspire trust and confidence. be made easy to live with and controllable by ordinary people.

Relation between AmI and other Computer Science areas

5Ws and 3Ps of AmI Who: the identification of a user of the system and the role that user plays within the system. Where: the tracking of the location where a user or an object is geographically located. When: the association of activities with time is required to build a realistic picture of a system What: the recognition of activities and tasks users are performing is fundamental in order to provide appropriate help if required. Why: the capability to infer and understand intentions and goals behind activities.

Three P’s: people, planet, and profit. People: Humans exploit everything around them to improve their lives and expand their powers. Planet: AmI has a great contribution to the planet. AmI provides better care for the environment. Profit: Ambient Intelligence describes a new economy called “experience economy”. It is positioned as the fourth major wave following the classic economies of commodity, goods, and service.

Architecture of AmI system

Components of AmI system 1.Ubiquitous computing Any computing device, while moving with you, can build incrementally dynamic models of its various environments and configure its services accordingly.

2.Ubiquitous communication: Ubiquitous computing is the introduction and expansion of wireless network technology, which enables flexible communication between interlinked devices that can be stationed in various locations or can even be portable. 3. User adaptive interfaces: Referred as Intelligent social user interfaces They go beyond the traditional user interfaces

Features of AmI Systems Features of AmI system are:- Feature 1: Some agents could take no responsibility in building the plan because of their limitations in processing and communication. This pushes toward the centralized planning process. Feature 2: The skills to perceive the environment and to perform the actions are distributed over the agents. This pulls toward the distributed planning process.

Application areas Health-related applications. Public transportation sector. Education services. Emergency services. Production-oriented places.

Challenges

Challenges in Interaction technology Develop ambient interaction concepts that are truly intelligent, simple, and intuitive. Integrate smart media access into surroundings (audio, video, and light). Challenges in Innovation Build an eco-system that uses co-creation as a model for open innovation. Involve multiple parties in the user centered design cycle at large. Develop new business models for AmI innovation

Challenges in Involvement Reach out to ordinary people so as to let them participate in the AmI effort. Involve ordinary people in the user centered design cycle at large. Let people experience the AmI future and live in it yourselves. Make AmI part of education.

Conclusion Ambient Intelligence (AmI) is growing fast as a multi-disciplinary topic of interest which can allow many areas of research to have a significant beneficial influence into our society. AmI is a vision on the future of consumer electronics, telecommunications and computing for the time frame 2010–2020.

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