1. Ubiquitous Computing and AmI Smart
Environments
(From Human Computer Interaction to Human
Environment Interaction)
Joseph Howerton
HCI 594 - Professor Adam Steele
DePaul University
11/29/2011

2. The Evolving Information Society
• Major advancements in the Internet and
smart devices over the last two decades.
• Societies appear ready to adopt new
technology hardware and application
advances just as fast as they emerge.
• The result is profound advancements in
the way humans communicate and
interact.

3. Three major waves in computing
• First Wave was many people per
computer.
• Second Wave was one person per
computer.
• Third Wave will be many computers per
person. Also called The Now Economy.

4. Three major waves in computing

5. The concept of Moore’s Law
• Says that the number of transistors that
can be placed inexpensively on an
integrated circuit doubles approximately
every two years (or 18 months).
• Result. Computing devices continue to
become more and more miniaturized,
while increasing in computing power and
wireless connectivity.

6. Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp)
• Mark Weiser, The Father of UbiComp, coined
the term “ubiquitous computing” in his seminal
article,The Computer For The 21st
Century,
Scientific American, September 1991.
• Weiser asserts that, “the most profound
technologies are those that disappear. They
weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life
until they are indistinguishable from it.

7. What is UbiComp?
• Ubiquitous Computing pre-supposes the
idea that:
• “machines should fit into the human
environment, instead of forcing humans to
enter into the machine’s environment.”

8. What is UbiComp?
• Embedded: many networked devices are
integrated into the everyday objects in any given
environment.
• Context aware: these devices can recognize you
and your situational context.
• Personalized: they can be tailored to your
needs.
• Adaptive: they can change in response to you.
• Anticipatory: they can anticipate your desires
without conscious mediation.

9. Weiser’s Vision
• “We are therefore trying to conceive a new
way of thinking about computers, one that
takes into account the human world and
allows the computers to vanish into the
background.” Mark Weiser

10. Ambient Intelligence (AmI)
(A new computing paradigm)
• A result of the increasing demand for
ubiquitous and continuous access to
information and services.
• AmI refers to “electronic environments that
are sensitive and responsive to the
presence of people.”

11. The Roots of AmI
• “AmI refers to a multi-disciplinary area of
research and development which
embraces a variety of pre-existing fields of
computer science as well as engineering.”
• AmI brings together all of these resources
to provide flexible, intelligent services to
users acting in their environments.

12. The Roots of AmI
• AmI was first proposed by the consumer
electronics company Philips in the late 1990s “as
a novel paradigm for consumer electronics that
are sensitive to, and responsive to, the presence
of people.”
• Philips’ HomeLab initiative, which was an
advanced lab designed to conduct usability and
feasibility studies in AmI that officially opened in
2002.

13. The Roots of AmI
• This was accomplished first in the home
lighting market, where lighting “systems”
would turn on with the presence of people,
or outdoor lights that turn on when the
environment turns dark.

14. The Roots of AmI
• The EU’s Information Society
Technologies Program Advisory Group
(ISTAG) “used the term Ambient
Intelligence (AmI) to describe a vision
where people will be surrounded by
intelligent and intuitive interfaces
embedded in everyday objects and
environments.”

15. The Vision of AmI

16. The AmI Paradigm Shift
“The AmI paradigm differs in two major ways from
the previous two waves of computing.”
• “The user interface has become reactive, that is
actions are not explicitly requested but are the
result of the mere presence of people or their
avatars.”
• “The meaning of computation can no longer be
associated to a single device or a set of
connected devices, but is located in the
collection of devices.”

17. The foundations of AmI “Smart
environments”
• Integration of sensing capabilities
• Processing power
• Reasoning mechanisms
• Networking facilities
• Applications and services
• Digital content
• Actuating capabilities (to be distributed in
the surrounding environment)

18. AmI Smart Objects
• Environment characterized by invisible,
embedded computational power in
everyday devices and appliances.
• Augmenting the physical properties and
affordances of artefacts with the potential
of computer-based support, i.e. creating
“Smart Objects.”

19. The Constructs of AmI Smart
Environments

20. Social Challenges and
Implications
• A world filled with AmI all knowing, all
reporting objects.
• Comprehensive monitoring and
surveillance.
• Total market transparency.
• How much privacy are we willing to trade
to achieve increased productivity.

21. Social Challenges and
Implications
• A world filled with AmI all knowing, all
reporting objects.
• Comprehensive monitoring and
surveillance.
• Total market transparency.
• How much privacy are we willing to trade
to achieve increased productivity.

22. Social Challenges and
Implications
• A world filled with AmI all knowing, all
reporting objects.
• Comprehensive monitoring and
surveillance.
• Total market transparency.
• How much privacy are we willing to trade
to achieve increased productivity.

23. Privacy
• “Privacy is the claim of individuals, groups,
or institutions to determine for themselves
when, how, and to what extent information
about them is communicated to others.”
Alan Westin

24. Acceptance and Adoption
• Acceptance and adoption of AmI Smart
Environments will be founded in trust and
privacy.
• This will remain a paramount action item
for proponents of emerging AmI
landscapes.

25. Conclusion
This question is addressed to UI and UX
designers, as well as current and budding
HCI professionals.
• Will we address the impending pitfalls to
AmI early in the design phase in order to
shape the envisaged systems according
to fundamental social and ethical
requirements?