Ambient Intelligence—the Next Step for Artificial Intelligence

Ambient intelligence (AmI) deals with a new world of ubiquitous computing devices, where physical environments interact intelligently and unobtrusively with people. These environments should be aware of people´s needs, customizing requirements and forecasting behaviors. AmI environments can be diverse, such as homes, offices, meeting rooms, schools, hospitals, control centers, vehicles, tourist attractions, stores, sports facilities, and music devices. Artificial intelligence research aims to include more intelligence in AmI environments, allowing better support for humans and access to the essential knowledge for making better decisions when interacting with these environments. This article, which introduces a special issue on AmI, views the area from an artificial intelligence perspective.