Ambient Intelligence - Essay Example

Ambient Intelligence Ambient intelligence is a unique concept where the vast data management capa of computers is wedded with requirement of everyday life of ordinary individuals. Experts of communications technology are absolutely certain that such a coupling can indeed be done and it will have immense practical benefits. The basic requirements of such a system are the presence of numerous microchips embedded in objects of everyday use and the availability of wireless connectivity between each of them. Once that is made possible, a lot of everyday chore will be handled by computers and electronic alter egos of individuals will perform many repetitive and less important tasks on which a lot of productive time is wasted at present. Thus people would be able to enjoy more leisure. What is Ambient Intelligence Ambient Intelligence (AmI) is dependent on three vital constituents; Ubiquitous Computing, Ubiquitous Communication and Intelligent User Interfaces. Ubiquitous Computing in simple terms means embedding of microchips in everyday objects of use like, furniture, white goods, clothing and even paint used on the walls of a room. Ubiquitous Communication refers to a wireless networking infrastructure that is used by these numerous embedded microchips to communicate with each other to create a vast, seamless conduit of two-way flow of information. Intelligent User Interfaces refer to a situation where human beings will be able to interact with these numerous and everywhere present microchips without the requirement of usual means of interaction with a computer – a keyboard and a mouse. These embedded computers can be interacted through not only voice commands but also through gestures and contexts and themes can be personalised to such an extent that these computers will even be able to gauge the mood of the user and react accordingly. Though it cannot strictly be called intelligent, these envisaged user interfaces can surely be called smart as they would be able to modulate their responses according to the context. (Riva, Vatalaro, Davide, & Alcaniz, 2005) Benefits that can be derived from Ambient Intelligence One immediate benefit of AmI would be a drastic reduction in the number of communication devices that any modern day executive carries around. The volume of the luggage becomes even larger for those executives of multinational companies who have to travel across the globe as a matter of routine. Instead of the mandatory laptop, mobile phone and possibly an electronic organiser and also printers and beamers in some special cases, an executive in future might require only a single communicating device that will continually communicate with available microchips to exchange necessary information in a continuous two-way wireless communication. Such a communication would also be completely unobtrusive; a business traveller might get visa for a foreign country automatically as all relevant information can be forwarded through the small communicating device that the traveller might be wearing just like a watch on the wrist, and on reaching a foreign airport can saunter through the immigration counters as relevant information will be cross checked through that small device strapped on the wrist and the numerous microchips embedded on the immigration counters and other vantage points. A car with computer controlled driving assistance mechanism waiting for the business traveller and an intelligent hotel room with voice controlled video screens fused in the walls and lightings that alter their luminosity depending on the mood of the occupant are but a few of the numerous benefits that would flow out of this new concept of Ambient Intelligence. But the most important benefit for a business traveller would be complete freedom from the terror of laptop malfunction and hard disk crashes. Each and every bit of data can be safely and securely stored in some far away server only to be downloaded when required. For additional security, the download can be encrypted with the unencrypted version of data that is presented in the meeting having a life of not more than, say, three minutes. The small device worn on the wrist will also act as a health monitor, continually streaming data on vital parameters of the wearer to some predetermined destination where it would be checked and warnings and advices communicated as and when necessary. Thus, the tiny watch like device as such will not do any computing, it will simply act as a communicator with rest of the world while the computing is left to giant supercomputers specifically designated for that purpose. (Ducatel, Bogdanowicz, Scapolo, Leijten, & Burgelma, 2001) A revolutionary concept of a digital alter ego is a direct outcome of ubiquitous computing. A person might create his or her digital alter ego that would obviously require some initial programming. But that would be all. After the initial push, the alter ego will start gathering on its own relevant information from the individual’s reactions with the outside world and will keep garnering and analysing relevant data for a more intelligent response in subsequent interactions. Thus, in an envisaged real life scenario, while the alter ego will protect the individual from an avalanche of information and communication that is for the most part avoidable, it will surely allow a call from his wife intimating that their child has come home from school with high temperature. In case the person’s father has left home without taking his medicines and wants to know where he could get them on his way, the alter ego would reply to the senior person, in a voice exactly similar to his son, and provide all the necessary details. While the senior will never realise that he had spoken to a computer the junior will keep working undisturbed. (Clancey, 1997) Ambient Intelligence is something women, especially those who have a regular job, have been hoping and praying for through decades after decades. Now the shopping list will be automatically prepared by the microchip embedded in the fridge and it will be communicated to the supplier with specific instructions of delivering it at the nearest nodal point. If there are guests dropping down in the evening and if the hostess has plans to prepare some special dishes, all that she needs to do is touch the screen on the fridge and input her requirements. The rest of the activities will be taken over by the computer and while returning home from work she will have to collect the packages that would be ready and waiting for her. Information and its intelligent use will be done by AmI. Suppose, you want to go to office but do not feel like driving and would like to share the trip with someone else. Insert the message on the flushed video screen in your living room wall stating the tentative time when you would like to be on your way. The interconnected computer system will start investigating all those who would be passing by at that time and you would get a wide choice to decide with whom you would share the trip. Thus AmI would become a unique human computer combination that would make every day life that much easier for all of us with more leisure for ourselves as computers keep toiling for us. References Clancey, W. J. (1997). Situated Cognition: On human knowledge and computer representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ducatel, K., Bogdanowicz, M., Scapolo, F., Leijten, J., & Burgelma, J. C. (2001). Scenarios for Ambient Intelligence in 2010. ISTAG 2001 Final Report. Seville: IPTS. Riva, G., Vatalaro, F., Davide, F., & Alcaniz, M. (2005). Ambient Intelligence: Towards a future of Human-Computer Interaction. IOS Press. Read More