Interactions - March/April 2009

The Ambient Mirror: Creating
a Digital Self-image Through
Pervasive Technologies
Dimitris Grammenos

gramenos@ics.forth.gr | Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH); Institute of Computer Science (ICS), Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory

Ambient intelligence envisions various pieces of information a future in which our environ- can then, individually or col-ment is populated by an infinite lectively, be mapped to human number of interoperating, com- actions, states, intentions, and,

[1] IS T Advisory

Group 2003. “Ambient
puting-embedded devices of dif- eventually, needs.
Intelligence: From Vision
ferent sizes and capabilities [1], Examples of hardware sen-
to Reality.” <ftp://ftp.
cordis.lu/pub/ist/docs/ which are interweaved into “the sors include simple mechanical
istag-ist2003_consoli-
fabric of everyday life” and are or electronic devices, such as
dated_report.pdf>
indistinguishable from it [2]. The microphones, video cameras,
ultimate goal of all these devices distance, movement and pres-
is to serve human needs through sure sensors, as well as more
the provision of a wide range of sophisticated apparatuses such
physical, digital, and hybrid ser- as electroencephalographical
vices [3] that improve the quality devices and neural implants. In
of life by making it easier (smart general, all these sensors detect
homes, e-commerce), safer (acci- physical “output signals” of the
dent prevention and avoidance, human body, whether sounds
monitoring the location and safe- and gestures, physiological mea-
ty of children), healthier (assisted surements, exerted forces, elec-
living, telemedicine), more pro- trical signals, or brainwaves.
ductive and efficient (telework- Software sensors complement
ing, traffic management, driver the hardware ones but do not
assistance), and even more pleas- have a physical embodiment.
ant (social-interaction and enter- Their role is to detect the imma-
tainment activities ). terial (i.e., intellectual) prod-
The first step toward meeting ucts of human activity created
any human need is, of course, through the mediation/support
identifying it. Ambient intelli- of information and communica-
gence technologies achieve this tion technologies. For example,
task through a vast collection these sensors may monitor
of hardware and software mod- Internet-based services such as
ules, which can generically be email, Web portals, chat, and
described as “sensors” [4], since, search engines, but also opera-
in one way or another, they have tion systems or typical desktop
the ability to collect information applications, like word proces-
that is, implicitly or explicitly, sors, spreadsheets, and com-
produced by humans. These puter games.

[2] Weiser, M. “The Computer for the 21st Century.” Scientific American 265, no. 3 (September 1991): 66-75.

The information gathered by the various sensors is then propagated to software modules that—assuming the role of miniature brains—store it, analyze it, change their own internal status and then decide accordingly upon related actions that should be taken, often affecting the state of the user’s physical or digital environment. In a future ambient-intelligence-enhanced world, there may be several such decision-making modules of different sizes, capabilities, and sophistication working independently, collectively, or even antagonistically.

[3] JRC/IPTS
2003. “Science
and Technology
Roadmapping:
Ambient Intelligence in
Everyday Life (AmI@
Life).” <http://forera.
jrc.ec.europa.eu/docu-
ments/Sand T_roadmap-
ping.pdf>

The Ambient Mirror

March + April 2009

[4] Zhai, S. and V. Bellotti. “Introduction to sensing-based interaction.” ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction ( TOCHI) 12, no. 1 (March 2005):1-2. <http://doi.acm.org/ 10.1145/1057237. 1057238>

Generally, unlike the approach of Big Brother, described in George Orwell’s 1984, it is expected that in the emerging ambient intelligence environments, most of the collected information will be distributed among the numerous sensors and applications (i.e., many “small brothers”), never making it to a centralized repository of any kind; also, due mainly to storage constraints, a large part of it will never be permanently stored.