<s>
Ambient	B-General_Concept
devices	I-General_Concept
are	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
consumer	O
electronics	O
,	O
characterized	O
by	O
their	O
ability	O
to	O
be	O
perceived	O
at-a-glance	O
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
glanceable	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ambient	B-General_Concept
devices	I-General_Concept
use	O
pre-attentive	O
processing	O
to	O
display	O
information	O
and	O
are	O
aimed	O
at	O
minimizing	O
mental	O
effort	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Associated	O
fields	O
include	O
ubiquitous	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
and	O
calm	B-Operating_System
technology	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
is	O
closely	O
related	O
to	O
the	B-Operating_System
Internet	I-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
Things	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
Magazine	O
announced	O
ambient	B-General_Concept
devices	I-General_Concept
as	O
one	O
of	O
its	O
Ideas	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
in	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
award	O
recognized	O
a	O
start-up	O
company	O
,	O
Ambient	B-General_Concept
Devices	I-General_Concept
,	O
whose	O
first	O
product	O
Ambient	O
Orb	O
,	O
was	O
a	O
frosted-glass	O
ball	O
lamp	O
,	O
which	O
maps	O
information	O
to	O
a	O
linear	O
color	O
spectrum	O
and	O
displays	O
the	O
trend	O
in	O
the	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
products	O
in	O
the	O
genre	O
include	O
the	O
2008	O
Chumby	B-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
2012	O
52-LED	O
device	O
MooresCloud	O
(	O
a	O
reference	O
to	O
Moore	O
's	O
Law	O
)	O
from	O
Australia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Research	O
on	O
ambient	B-General_Concept
devices	I-General_Concept
began	O
at	O
Xerox	O
Parc	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
paper	O
co-written	O
by	O
Mark	O
Weiser	O
and	O
John	O
Seely	O
Brown	O
,	O
entitled	O
Calm	O
Computing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
purpose	O
of	O
ambient	B-General_Concept
devices	I-General_Concept
is	O
to	O
enable	O
immediate	O
and	O
effortless	O
access	O
to	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
developers	O
of	O
the	O
idea	O
state	O
that	O
an	O
ambient	B-Operating_System
device	I-Operating_System
is	O
designed	O
to	O
provide	O
support	O
to	O
people	O
carrying	O
out	O
everyday	O
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ambient	B-General_Concept
devices	I-General_Concept
decrease	O
the	O
effort	O
needed	O
to	O
process	O
incoming	O
data	O
,	O
thus	O
rendering	O
individuals	O
more	O
productive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
of	O
ambient	B-General_Concept
devices	I-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
traced	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
,	O
when	O
preliminary	O
research	O
was	O
carried	O
at	O
Xerox	O
PARC	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
company	O
’s	O
official	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ambient	O
Orb	O
was	O
introduced	O
by	O
Ambient	B-General_Concept
Devices	I-General_Concept
in	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
prominent	O
ambient	B-Operating_System
device	I-Operating_System
is	O
Chumby	B-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chumby	B-Application
was	O
able	O
to	O
push	O
relevant	O
customizable	O
data	O
(	O
weather	O
,	O
news	O
,	O
music	O
,	O
photos	O
)	O
to	O
a	O
touchscreen	O
through	O
Wi-Fi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
1	O
July	O
2014	O
Chumby	B-Application
is	O
available	O
only	O
as	O
a	O
paid	O
subscription	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
recent	O
products	O
such	O
as	O
Amazon	B-Application
Alexa	I-Application
can	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
adopting	O
the	O
spirit	O
of	O
ambient	B-General_Concept
devices	I-General_Concept
,	O
in	O
that	O
they	O
operate	O
in	O
the	O
background	O
,	O
responding	O
to	O
both	O
users	O
and	O
external	O
data	O
sources	O
.	O
</s>
