The physical layer of ambient intelligence

Ambient intelligence has been defined as digital environments that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of people. It is not a purely technical vision, but a people oriented vision. The emotional dimension is crucial. In this sense it can be seen as a marriage of the unobtrusive computing world of Mark Weiser (1993), and the sociological vision of human-media interaction of Nass and Reeves (1998). What does it take for an environment to be truly "ambient intelligent"? A key requirement is that many invisible or unobtrusive devices should be distributed throughout the environment. These should be context aware, in that they should know about their situational state. These devices should also be personalized, so that their function is tailored towards a specific user's needs. They should be adaptive, able to learn and to recognize people. Ultimately, they should be anticipatory, in that the user's desires are anticipated without the need for input by commands.