<s>
Intelligent	B-Device
Environments	I-Device
(	O
IE	O
)	O
are	O
spaces	O
with	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
and	O
information	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
communication	I-General_Concept
technologies	I-General_Concept
creating	O
interactive	O
spaces	O
that	O
bring	O
computation	O
into	O
the	O
physical	O
world	O
and	O
enhance	O
occupants	O
experiences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Intelligent	B-Device
environments	I-Device
are	O
spaces	O
in	O
which	O
computation	O
is	O
seamlessly	O
used	O
to	O
enhance	O
ordinary	O
activity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IEs	O
describe	O
physical	O
environments	O
in	O
which	O
information	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
communication	I-General_Concept
technologies	I-General_Concept
and	O
sensor	O
systems	O
disappear	O
as	O
they	O
become	O
embedded	O
into	O
physical	O
objects	O
,	O
infrastructures	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
surroundings	O
in	O
which	O
we	O
live	O
,	O
travel	O
and	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
goal	O
here	O
is	O
to	O
allow	O
computers	O
to	O
take	O
part	O
in	O
activities	O
never	O
previously	O
involved	O
and	O
allow	O
people	O
to	O
interact	B-General_Concept
with	I-General_Concept
computers	I-General_Concept
via	I-General_Concept
gesture	I-General_Concept
,	O
voice	O
,	O
movement	O
,	O
and	O
context	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
of	O
having	O
an	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
capable	O
of	O
managing	O
an	O
environment	O
,	O
recollect	O
data	O
,	O
and	O
respond	O
in	O
consequence	O
is	O
older	O
than	O
we	O
would	O
expect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
novel	O
2001	O
:	O
A	O
Space	O
Odyssey	O
from	O
1968	O
,	O
long	O
before	O
the	O
microcomputers	O
revolution	O
,	O
you	O
have	O
the	O
fictional	O
character	O
HAL	B-General_Concept
9000	I-General_Concept
,	O
a	O
computer	O
capable	O
of	O
controlling	O
the	O
different	O
sensors	O
and	O
systems	O
of	O
the	O
environment	O
and	O
using	O
them	O
as	O
extensions	O
of	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
character	O
Proteus	O
from	O
the	O
1973	O
novel	O
Demon	O
Seed	O
also	O
portrays	O
the	O
same	O
characteristics	O
of	O
an	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
controlling	O
an	O
embedded	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
'	O
Intelligent	B-Device
environments	I-Device
 '	O
is	O
a	O
concept	O
and	O
expression	O
originally	O
created	O
by	O
Peter	O
Droege	O
for	O
his	O
homonymous	O
Elsevier	O
publication	O
of	O
1997	O
,	O
a	O
project	O
that	O
commenced	O
in	O
1986	O
:	O
Intelligent	B-Device
environments	I-Device
-	O
Spatial	O
Aspects	O
of	O
the	O
Information	O
Revolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
not	O
until	O
1991	O
with	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
ubiquitous	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
by	O
Mark	O
Weiser	O
when	O
we	O
start	O
seeing	O
an	O
inclination	O
from	O
the	O
scientific	O
community	O
to	O
study	O
the	O
area	O
of	O
computing	O
outside	O
of	O
the	O
typical	O
machine	O
with	O
a	O
keyboard	O
and	O
a	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
was	O
for	O
the	O
robots	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
person	O
in	O
the	O
room	O
with	O
different	O
tasks	O
with	O
the	O
help	O
of	O
vision	O
cameras	O
and	O
computer	O
sets	O
,	O
becoming	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
intelligent	B-Device
environment	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
idea	O
started	O
shifting	O
into	O
the	O
concept	O
we	O
have	O
today	O
of	O
intelligent	B-Device
environments	I-Device
,	O
not	O
only	O
an	O
environment	O
to	O
support	O
people	O
but	O
also	O
robots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
we	O
start	O
designing	O
products	O
,	O
either	O
software	O
or	O
hardware	O
around	O
this	O
intelligent	B-Device
environments	I-Device
,	O
the	O
effort	O
needed	O
to	O
complete	O
all	O
kinds	O
of	O
tasks	O
would	O
be	O
drastically	O
reduced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Practical	O
implementation	O
of	O
intelligent	B-Device
environments	I-Device
implies	O
the	O
solution	O
of	O
many	O
challenges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pervasive	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
systems	O
embedded	O
in	O
IE	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
proactive	O
and	O
to	O
accomplish	O
this	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
crucial	O
that	O
systems	O
can	O
track	O
and	O
determine	O
the	O
users	O
 '	O
intent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
right	O
now	O
,	O
algorithms	O
behind	O
the	O
intelligent	B-Device
environments	I-Device
are	O
constantly	O
being	O
reworked	O
by	O
the	O
simple	O
method	O
of	O
trial	O
and	O
error	O
in	O
artificial	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
degree	O
of	O
accuracy	O
of	O
intelligent	B-Device
environments	I-Device
depends	O
on	O
the	O
task	O
they	O
want	O
to	O
accomplish	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pervasive	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
systems	O
are	O
supposed	O
to	O
be	O
minimally	O
intrusive	O
and	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
be	O
capable	O
of	O
taking	O
decisions	O
that	O
will	O
help	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
crucial	O
for	O
pervasive	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
systems	O
to	O
find	O
the	O
right	O
level	O
of	O
pro-activity	O
and	O
transparency	O
without	O
annoying	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
Intelligent	B-Device
Environments	I-Device
Conference	I-Device
(	O
2007	O
)	O
points	O
out	O
:	O
"	O
Types	O
of	O
Intelligent	B-Device
Environments	I-Device
range	O
from	O
private	O
to	O
public	O
and	O
from	O
fixed	O
to	O
mobile	O
;	O
some	O
are	O
ephemeral	O
while	O
others	O
are	O
permanent	O
;	O
some	O
change	O
type	O
during	O
their	O
lifespan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
realization	O
of	O
Intelligent	B-Device
Environments	I-Device
requires	O
the	O
convergence	O
of	O
different	O
disciplines	O
:	O
Information	O
and	O
Computer	O
Science	O
,	O
Architecture	O
,	O
Material	O
Engineering	O
,	O
Artificial	B-Application
Intelligence	I-Application
,	O
Sociology	O
,	O
and	O
Design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
,	O
technical	O
breakthroughs	O
are	O
required	O
in	O
key	O
enabling	O
technology	O
fields	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
microelectronics	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
miniaturization	O
,	O
power	O
consumption	O
)	O
,	O
communication	O
and	O
networking	O
technologies	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
broadband	O
and	O
wireless	O
networks	O
)	O
,	O
smart	O
materials	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
bio-implants	O
)	O
and	O
intelligent	B-General_Concept
agents	I-General_Concept
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
context	O
awareness	O
)	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
today	O
,	O
companies	O
that	O
have	O
shown	O
significant	O
levels	O
of	O
flexibility	O
on	O
their	O
working	O
environments	O
and	O
with	O
their	O
employees	O
(	O
as	O
at	O
Microsoft	O
or	O
Google	B-Application
)	O
have	O
increasing	O
levels	O
of	O
productivity	O
and	O
employees	O
retention	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Artistic	O
expression	O
has	O
had	O
a	O
significant	O
influence	O
on	O
this	O
since	O
we	O
have	O
seen	O
new	O
forms	O
of	O
art	O
using	O
Artificial	B-Application
Intelligence	I-Application
and	O
IE	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
critical	O
applications	O
of	O
Intelligent	B-Device
Environments	I-Device
is	O
in	O
the	O
Healthcare	O
Industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Intelligent	B-Device
Environments	I-Device
will	O
help	O
us	O
monitor	O
different	O
natural	O
environments	O
at	O
a	O
much	O
higher	O
precision	O
and	O
granularity	O
than	O
the	O
currently	O
used	O
techniques	O
.	O
</s>
