Overview of the 4S Project

In this paper an overview of the EU-FP6 "smart chips for smart surroundings" (4S) project is given. The overall mission of the 4S project is to define and develop efficient (ultra low-power), flexible, reconfigurable core building blocks, including the supporting tools, for future ambient systems. Dynamic reconfiguration offers the flexibility and adaptability needed for future ambient devices, it provides the efficiency needed for these systems, it enables systems that can adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions, it enables communication over heterogeneous wireless networks, and it reduces risks: reconfigurable systems can adapt to standards that may vary from place to place or standards that have changed during and after product development.