Smart space
Introduction
Smart environments are spaces that use embedded systems technology as well as other information and communication technologies, to create interactive environments that bring computing closer to the physical world and everyday problems. According to Alan Steventon and Steve Wright, "intelligent environments are systems in which computing is used to introduce imperceptible or superficial improvements in common activities" (these systems turn out to be almost transparent and barely perceptible to most users).
One of the driving forces of the emerging interest in highly interactive environments is not only making computers and systems truly user-friendly, but making them essentially invisible or almost non-existent to them.[1].
Smart environments describe and manage physical environments in which information and communication technologies, as well as sensor systems, go largely unnoticed by users, since they are discreetly integrated into physical objects, infrastructures, and the everyday environment in which we live, travel, and work. The objective with these systems is to allow computers and sensors to participate in activities and results in which they have never been involved before, allowing people (users) to interact with different devices via gestures, voice, movements, or simple context information.
The annual conferences on 'Intelligent Environments' (IE06; IE07; etc.) allow specialists to exchange ideas with each other, and get up to date on this subject in terms of trends, uses, and technological advances.[2].
Technology[2]
'Smart Environments' have extended their objectives from the private to the public, and from fixed devices to mobile devices. And some proposals have turned out to be ephemeral, while others have remained and have been consolidated.
The realization of Intelligent Environments requires convergence and complementation between different disciplines: Information and Computing, Architecture, Materials Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Sociology, Design, Electronics.
Furthermore, technical progress is required in key technological fields, such as microelectronics (e.g., miniaturization, electricity consumption), communication and network technologies (e.g., broadband and wireless networks), smart materials (e.g., bio implantations), intelligent agents, etc.[2].