Sentient computing
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Sentient computing is a form of ubiquitous computing which uses sensors to perceive its environment and react accordingly. A common use of the sensors is to construct a world model which allows location-aware or context-aware applications to be constructed.
One famous research prototype of a sentient computing system was the work at AT&T Laboratories, Cambridge (now defunct). It consisted of an ultrasonic indoor location system called the "Active Bats" which provided a location accuracy of about 3 cm. The world model was managed via the SPIRIT (http://www.uk.research.att.com/spirit/) database, using CORBA to access information and spatial indexing to deliver high-level events such as "Alice has entered the kitchen" to listening context-aware applications. The research continues at the Laboratory for Communication Engineering (http://www-lce.eng.cam.ac.uk/) at the University of Cambridge.
Some example applications of the system include:
- A "follow-me phone" which would cause the telephone nearest the recipient to ring.
- Teleporting desktops via VNC just by clicking their Active Bat near the computer.
- Spatial buttons which were activated by clicking the Active Bat at a particular spot (such as a poster).
- Measuring and surveying buildings.
- Location-Aware Games
References
- Andy Hopper, The Royal Society Clifford Paterson Lecture, 1999 - Sentient Computing. Philosophical Transactions, Royal Society London. 2000, Volume 358, Pages 2349-2358, Royal Society, August 2000 pdf (http://www-lce.eng.cam.ac.uk/publications/files/tr.1999.12.pdf).
- "The sentient office is coming" (http://www.economist.com/science/tq/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Story_ID=1841108), The Economist.