Keynotes

Keynotes

Prof. Emile Aarts, Philips Research
Ambient Intelligence 2.0: Towards Synergetic Prosperity

Abstract: Ten years of research in Ambient Intelligence have revealed that the original ideas and assertions about the way the concept should develop no longer hold and should be substantially revised. Early scenarios in Ambient Intelligence envisioned a world in which individuals could maximally exploit personalized, context aware, wireless devices thus enabling them to become maximally productive, while living at an unprecedented pace. Environments would become smart and proactive, enriching and enhancing the experience of participants thus supporting maximum leisure possibly even at the risk of alienation. New insights have revealed that these brave new world scenarios are no longer desirable and that people are more in for a balanced approach in which technology should serve people instead of driving them to the max. We call this novel approach Synergetic Prosperity, referring to meaningful digital solutions that balance mind and body, and society and earth thus contributing to a prosperous and sustainable development of mankind.
Prof.dr. Emile Aarts is Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Philips Research. He holds an MSc. and PhD. degree in physics. For more than twenty-five years he has been active as a research scientist in computing science. Since 1991 he holds a position of part-time professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology; from 1991-2007 with the faculty of Mathematics and Computing Science and since 2007 with the faculty of Industrial Design. He serves on numerous scientific and governmental advisory boards at national and European level. He is the co-author of more than ten fifteen books and more than two hundred scientific papers on a diversity of subjects in the field of Information and Communication Technologies. He has been involved in the launch of the concept of Ambient Intelligence and in the foundation of Philips ExperienceLab. His current research interests focus on computational intelligence and interaction design.


Dr. Matt Jones, Swansea University
From Bystander to Performer - Ambient Intelligence in a Digitally Extravagant Era

Abstract: Ubicomp and Ambient Intelligence visions, at least until recently, appear to dis-empower people. We - the users - are bystanders, who watch in awe at the workings of a subtle, hidden power; a benign divinity that might intervene to improve our lives. Meanwhile, on the streets, people speak loudly into mobile phones, gesturing as they stride; and young people swagger downtown in groups, chatting to their mates while simultaneously listening to iPods and updating their Twitter feed. In this talk, I will suggest that a promising direction for new research is one that recognises the delight and engagement people desire as they perform with and through pervasive digital media. I will draw on a range of examples from those designed for cosmopolitan world cities to those for isolated, rural, 'developing' world villages.
Matt Jones is a Professor of Computer Science at the Future Interaction Technology Lab at Swansea University. He has worked on mobile interaction issues for the past fourteen years and has published a large number of articles in this area. He has had many collaborations and interactions with handset and service developers including Orange, Reuters, BT Cellnet and Adaptive Info. He has been a Visiting Fellow at Nokia Research and is currently a member of its Scientific Advisory Board (Tampere, Finland). He is an editor of the International Journal of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing and on the steering committee for the Mobile Human Computer Interaction conference series. Matt is the co-author of "Mobile Interaction Design", John Wiley & Sons Nov 2005. His research work has focussed on the fusion of physical and digital spaces in challenging contexts. Since returning to the UK from New Zealand in 2005, he has been involved in projects including ones to explore the role of haptics, gestures and audio in mobile scenarios and storytelling in rural Indian Village.