Ambient Intelligence is a world in which technologies are intangible, invisible and seamlessly integrated in our environments. A world in which objects - traditionally inanimate - will be enriched by an intelligence that will make them almost 'subjects', capable of responding to stimuli from the world around them and even of anticipating them.
In such a world the 'relationship' between us and the technology around us will be of utmost importance. This relationship will no longer be one of user towards machine but of person towards 'object-become-subject', thus towards something that is capable of reacting, of being educated and responding.
It is therefore clear that the process that will take us towards Ambient Intelligence has to be human focused. Technology alone cannot successfully deliver solutions that take into account all the complexity that the new relationship between people and objects will entail: cultural, personal, ethical diversity and so forth.
Design - acting as the bridge between technology and people - has to ensure that these relationships are as enriching and as fulfilling as possible for the people who are served by these new intelligent objects. Design shapes these new relationships.
At Philips Design, we have been creating Ambient Intelligence solutions since the early Nineties through our visionary projects (such as vision of the future, the home of the near future, smart connections).
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