Ambient Internet -- doc

Ambient Internet Living in a Sea of Information Trip Home Page Day Map Snippet List Picture List Index Reference Pages
Section Headings Location-dependent Information Scenarios Implementation Determining Location Services	We are immersed in a sea of information as we go about our daily lives -- walking around our neighborhoods, driving, sitting in our living rooms, even hiking in remote wildernesses We’re unaware of most of it, because our senses are not equipped to receive it. We can see some light waves and hear certain sounds, but we can’t perceive infrared radiation, supersonic sounds, or radio signals. Other animals have the ability to pick up information we can't access. Dogs, for example, can hear high-pitched sounds that don't register with us or pick up a scent that we would never know about; this gives them a very different picture of the world from us.
	Imagine that we could "hear" the history of a building as we walk past, or "see" the performance stats of a basketball player as we watch her on the court, or "smell" a traffic jam a few miles away. Huge amounts of information are embedded in our environment; the more we can see, the smarter we are. We humans have always enhanced our senses by developing devices that enable us to pick up information that otherwise would escape us. TVs receive radio waves and translate them intelligible pictures and sounds. Night-vision goggles detect body heat and permit us to see "in the dark."
	A combination of information, communication, and location technologies will help us perceive more of the sea of information we’re immersed in: what I like to call the "Ambient Internet."
Location-dependent Information Top of article	One great aspect of the Internet is that it is not dependent on location. You can access its information anywhere on the planet, provided you have the necessary software, the right equipment (a computer and a modem), and a connection. The location of the server that houses the information doesn't matter. Content residing on a server in Malaysia is available in Moscow, Mozambique, or Michigan (download times and connection fees may vary!).
	But there are times -- lots of times -- when the information you want is actually location-dependent and time-specific. You want to know right then and there, while you are watching the game or while you are walking around a historical neighborhood, not later on at home or in the office.
	We will access this kind of information with pocket-sized "digital companions," which will extend our ability to get information when and where we need it. They will be able both to access the Web and to connect to information sources that are set up at a particular site such as a museum, a shopping mall, or a sports venue.
	Imagine a digital companion that can respond to simple questions with answers about your environment. It can provide you with pertinent, targeted information. It can learn your interests, and offer you the excitement of unexpected discoveries. Personalization will make our experience of the Ambient Internet even richer and more fulfilling. The system will know, for example, that I like Thai food on the basis of past inquiries I’ve made. When I ask for restaurant recommendations, it’ll put the Thai ones at the top of the list. It will also know what I prefer in arts, music, movies, and places to go.
Scenarios Top of article	Say I’m out on Saturday afternoon, and I get this urge to see a movie; I want to know what’s showing, where the nearest theater is, and when the next show starts. And by the way, I want a map, too. The digital companion I carry in pocket, or the computer in my car, will be able to connect to the Web, find the information, and guide me there.
	Or say I’m traveling and exploring a new city. I might to know where the nearest three-star restaurant is or how to get to the art museum. My digital companion will become my guidebook, helping me get the info I want, and I can listen to directions discreetly through an earpiece. When I get to the museum, I’ll be able to take a personalized tour of its collection. The museum can create detailed explanations of each work and make it available via, say, infra-red signals. I can explore the work that interests me in the sequence I choose. I'm standing in front of a painting by the Velasquez. With my device I can access all the information I want about the Spanish master. I can delve into the details about the artist that lots of other people might not care about. The information I care about will be available on the wall or in the guided tour, not just in a hefty catalog or in a difficult-to-access database.
	The next day, for a complete change of pace, I decide I want to catch a National Basket Association basketball game. The score is tied with less then a minute to go. Charles Barkley of the Houston Rockets drives to the hoop and is fouled. The other team calls a timeout. While I'm waiting for the action to begin again, I decide that I want to check on how good a foul-shooter Sir Charles is. I can pull out my pocket device and get access to the statistical database available in the local sports arena to find that out. I really want this information there and then, not when I get back to my hotel room after the game is over.
Implementation Top of article	So how do we receive this kind of information? A variety of wireless data connection solutions already exist, each with its own strengths and weaknesses:
	Paging, both one-way and two-way, has the advantage of very low power requirements, which means that batteries can last for a month or longer in normal use. However, the amount of information that can be transferred is limited. The available bandwidth is asymmetric: much more available for transmissions to users than for messages back to the service. Thus, paging is most useful for broadcast applications where information flows from a central site to one or more customers. Packet Radio has medium power requirements with a consequently shorter battery life of the order of 2-7 days. Its bandwidth capability is fine for text messages but not multi-media. Communication is symmetric and doesn’t support broadcast: data must be sent to each user separately even if the messages are identical. Cellphone-based data communications have high power requirements (battery life about one day) but sufficient bandwidth for voice messages and graphically rich information. The network is symmetric, but there is little support for broadcast. These networks can increasingly support both paging and data circuits, in addition to voice traffic. Infrared data communications are increasingly being used for point-to-point wireless connections between computers and peripherals. The data rate can be very high but the range is typically limited to a few feet. Longer range solutions (tens of meters) are also becoming available, but are currently limited to corporate networking. It is likely that broadcast systems could have much greater range, suitable for deployment in large spaces like sport arenas.
	Though the amount of information that can be transmitted by wireless will probably always be less than by wired means, a variety of techniques can be used to optimize wireless communications:
	Information can be downloaded while your portable device is connected to a high bandwidth wired connection, e.g. when it is docked. Data and bitmaps that only change infrequently can be broadcast to all receivers during off-peak times. Dynamic data is broadcast in real time and inserted into static content when requested. Information obtained from general-purpose Web pages can be reformatted and compressed to reduce the transmission requirements; for example, color images can be reduced to black and white if the receiver has a gray-scale display, or removed entirely if graphics aren’t supported.
Determining Location Top of article	Many Ambient Internet scenarios require a determination of your location. This can either be an absolute one, e.g. latitude and longitude, or a relative one, e.g. "near the corner of 5th and Main".
	Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) services can determine absolute location. Combining data from American and Russian satellite systems will give a precision to within a meter in the near future. The size and cost of GPS receivers are coming down rapidly, and they are likely to be an option in digital companions in the near future. A drawback of GPS is that it requires line of sight to the satellites; thus, it will not work indoors. It is possible to "pipe" GPS signals indoors, though the resulting location would be that of the roof antenna, not the receiver inside the building.
	Relative location can be obtained by knowing the location of a nearby transmitter; for example, each picture in a museum show might have an infrared beacon that broadcast relevant information. Thus, your receiver will "know" which picture you are looking at. A similar approach can be used with wireless radio networks that use a cell structure, e.g. cellular phone or paging networks. The accuracy of the location obtained in this way depends primarily on the size of the cell, though triangulation of the signals from multiple cells can also be used. It is typically 50-100 meters – enough to know which city block you’re on.
Services Top of article	We will likely be able to obtain Ambient Internet information from a variety of service providers, such as travel agents, malls, museums, sports arenas, zoos or by subscribing to a service such as a city guide.
	Users may subscribe to services from a variety of providers that use different transmission/location mechanisms. They may also choose broadcast data from one network and on-demand information from another. Thus, there will be a need for the industries concerned to develop a platform that can combine these technologies and services into point products.
	The information industry has many years’ experience building platforms that combine the best offerings from a variety of providers into a single user experience; the World Wide Web is a recent example. Ambient Internet services will probably work in a similar way, with vendors using industry standards to provide a platform for an exciting array of services that will further enhance our emerging Web lifestyle.