Ambient Intelligence - the Next Step for Artificial Intelligence

importance, with Nigel Shadbolt’s editorial in the July/August 2003 issue.5 Other concepts such as ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing, con­ text awareness, and embedded systems overlap with AmI, but there are distinctive differences.6 The Istag reports define AmI at a concep­ tual level and identify important technologies for achieving it. In Ambient Intelligence: From Vision to Reality, Istag refers to these AmI components: smart materials, microelectromechanical systems and sensor technologies, embedded systems, ubiq­ uitous communications, I/O device technology, and adaptive software.3 The report also mentions these intelligence components: media management and handling, natural interaction, computational intel­ ligence, context awareness, and emotional com­ puting. In our opinion, achieving AmI will require borrowing much more from artificial intelligence. So, artificial intelligence is important for AmI, but why is AmI important for AI? We claim that AmI is a new challenge for AI and is the next step in AI’s evolution.