Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Smart devices interact with environment by
tagging, annotating, sensing and monitoring,
filtering, adapting, or controlling surroundings
by assembling and regulating (Poslad, 2009).
However, computers can be self-governed and
function autonomously without human inter-
vention, performing several interactive tasks,
and often using artificial intelligence to make
decisions and self-organize their actions. Am-
bient intelligence is another name assigned to
electronic environments that are sensitive and
responsive to the presence of humans, integrated
into our environment so the technology is hidden
and only the user interface is visible. Actually
or in a near future devices are co-working to
help people in their work, everyday activities,
and entertainment; they support communication,
computing, telecommunication, and consumer
electronics. Digital real-time streams are re-
placing actions based on a particular location.
These technological trends change our social
behavior as people show willingness to share.
While making transactions, social engineering
is replacing algorithm engineering, so analogue
transactions convert into real-time feeds of data
and services. Poslad (2009) summarizes main
features of ubiquitous computing devices and
environments as distributed, iHCI, context-
awareness, autonomy, and artificial intelligence.
Implicit human-computer interaction (iHCI)
does not act on a computer system but rather
provides an input to a computer, for example
when setting time for the first time in the device
that uses absolute time for setting actions, while
explicit human-computer interaction occurs
when a user configures for the first time the
controls of a timer interface. Context aware
systems may be aware of a person, environ-
ment, context, or physical, spatial or temporal
features; they may be adaptive when tailored to
an individual user or type of user. Autonomous
systems display self-configuring, self-healing,
self-optimizing, and self-protecting behavior.
Individual intelligent systems display a large
number of properties including reactive, reason-
ing, several goals-oriented, adaptive behaviors
that may be cooperative in case of multiple
agents and competitive, even malevolent when
referred to individual agents (Poslad, 2009).
Ubiquitous system devices are low-cost,
networked processing devices that control ele-
ments of the physical world spontaneously and
effortlessly. Some of them, originally proposed
by Weiser, have visual output displays that take
form of wearable tabs (the size of a centimeter),
hand-held pads (about a decimeter), and boards,
for interactive display (the size of a meter). Three
forms of Ubiquitous Computing devices have
been extended later to include the ICT devices,
some of them without visual output displays (ICT
is an acronym for Information Communications
Technology signifying products that serve for the
storage, retrieval, manipulation, transmission or
receipt of information in a digital form. Examples
of ITC devices are phones, cameras and game
consoles, automatic teller machines (ATMs)
vehicle control systems such as antilock brakes,
smart phones, electronic calculators, household
appliances, and computer peripherals). The
three additional forms for ubiquitous devices
comprised (a) miniature dust, called also smart
dust devices (with a nanometer to millimeter
size); examples are Micro Electro-Mechanical
Systems (MEMS) inter-communication devices,
that are often solar powered, that can be spread
in millions like pigment in the wall paint; (b)
skin devices - fabrics from light emitting and
conductive polymers that could serve as flex-
ible display surfaces, or could be painted with
MEMS to act as networked surfaces; (c) clay
devices - three-dimensional artifacts compris-
ing MEMS, for example, tangible interfaces. As
Poslad (2009) describes, “Micro fabrication and
integration of low-cost sensors, actuators, and
computer controllers, MEMS enable devices or
motes to be small enough to be sprayed or scat-
