ICST Transactions on Ambient Systems

Editor(s)-in-Chief: Silvia Gabrielli and Tiziana Catarci

The design of Ambient Systems is a cross disciplinary endeavour aimed at supporting and augmenting people’s activities in everyday life, by embedding computational intelligence in the distributed network of devices available in their living environment. While technology needs to become more and mor…

The design of Ambient Systems is a cross disciplinary endeavour aimed at supporting and augmenting people’s activities in everyday life, by embedding computational intelligence in the distributed network of devices available in their living environment. While technology needs to become more and more invisible to provide smart support, novel forms of user experience and multimodal interaction need to be devised to enable fluid, intuitive and appealing transitions between the physical and digital world. This journal seeks contributions from leading experts and visionary thinkers in industry and research, about the principles, interaction paradigms, methods and applications that best can drive the future design of Ambient Systems and their human-centred, situated interfaces. Relevant topics covered by this journal concern: * Methods and tools for the development of Pervasive Environmental infrastructure * Design of highly immersive contents for Ambient Media * Trustful mechanisms for context awareness, social sensing and inference * AIterative design and evaluation studies of multimodal interfaces * Adaptive and personalized solutions for ambient intelligence * Embodied agents and affective interfaces * Personal, social, safety and ethical issues raised by Ambient system applications, such as Domotics, Ambient Assisted Living, Pervasive Edutainment Environments

more »
Submission Instructions
Publisher
ICST
ISSN
2032-927X

  • Welcome message from the Editors-in-Chief

    Editorial in ICST Transactions on Ambient Systems 11(10–12): e1

    Silvia Gabrielli, Tiziana Catarci

    Abstract
    more »

  • The homes of tomorrow: service composition and advanced user interfaces

    Research Article in ICST Transactions on Ambient Systems 11(10–12): e2

    Claudio Di Ciccio, Massimo Mecella, Mario Caruso, Vincenzo Forte, Ettore Iacomussi, Katharina Rasch, Leonardo Querzoni, Giuseppe Santucci, Giuseppe Tino

    Abstract
    Home automation represents a growing market in the industrialized world. Today’s systems are mainly based on ad hoc and proprietary solutions, with little to no interoperability and smart integratio…Home automation represents a growing market in the industrialized world. Today’s systems are mainly based on
    ad hoc and proprietary solutions, with little to no interoperability and smart integration. However, in a not so
    distant future, our homes will be equipped with many sensors, actuators and devices, which will collectively expose
    services, able to smartly interact and integrate, in order to offer complex services providing even richer
    functionalities. In this paper we present the approach and results of SM4ALL- Smart hoMes for All, a project
    investigating automatic service composition and advanced user interfaces applied to domotics.
     more »

  • Design and deployment of a new wireless sensor node platform for building environmental monitoring and control

    Research Article in ICST Transactions on Ambient Systems 11(10–12): e3

    Essa Jafer, Rostislav Spinar, Paul Stack, Cian O’Mathuna, Dirk Pesch

    Abstract
    It is commonly agreed that a 15–40% reduction of building energy consumption is achievable by efficiently operated buildings when compared with typical practice. Existing research has identified tha…It is commonly agreed that a 15–40% reduction of building energy consumption is achievable by efficiently
    operated buildings when compared with typical practice. Existing research has identified that the level of
    information available to Building Managers with existing Building Management Systems and Environmental
    Monitoring Systems is insufficient to perform the required performance-based building assessment. The majority
    of today’s buildings are insufficiently sensored to obtain an unambiguous understanding of performance. The cost
    of installing additional sensors and meters is extremely high, primarily due to the estimated cost of wiring and the
    needed labour. From these perspectives wireless sensors technology proves to have a greater cost-efficiency while
    maintaining high levels of functionality and reliability. In this paper, a wireless sensor network mote hardware
    design and implementation are introduced particularly for building deployment application. The core of the mote
    design is based on the 8-bit AVR microcontroller, Atmega1281 and 2.4 GHz wireless communication chip,
    CC2420. The sensors were selected carefully to meet both the building monitoring and design requirements.
    Beside the sensing capability, actuation and interfacing to external meters/sensors are provided to perform
    different management control and data recording tasks.
     more »

  • Wildfire safety with wireless sensor networks

    Research Article in ICST Transactions on Ambient Systems 11(10–12): e4

    Andrey Somov

    Abstract
    Nowadays, the Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) paradigm is extensively used for the environmental monitoring including wildfires. Like other disasters, this phenomenon, if not detected early, may have …Nowadays, the Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) paradigm is extensively used for the environmental monitoring
    including wildfires. Like other disasters, this phenomenon, if not detected early, may have grave consequences,
    e.g. a significant pecuniary loss, or even lead to human victims. This paper surveys the approaches to early wildfire
    detection using WSN facilities with a special focus on real deployments and hardware prototypes. In our work we
    propose not merely a description, but a classification of the fire detection methods which are divided into three
    groups: gas sensing, sensing of environmental parameters, and video monitoring. Then the methods are
    comparatively analyzed from the viewpoints of the cost, power consumption, and implementation complexity.
    Finally, we summarize our vision of the prospects of resolving the wildfire detection problem using WSNs.
     more »

  • FM-CW radar sensors for vital signs and motor activity monitoring

    Research Article in ICST Transactions on Ambient Systems 11(10–12): e5

    Octavian Adrian Postolache, Pedro Manuel Brito da Silva Girão, José Miguel Costa Dias Pereira, Gabriela Postolache

    Abstract
    The article summarizes on-going research on vital signs and motor activity monitoring based on radar sensors embedded in wheelchairs, walkers and crutches for in home rehabilitation. Embedded sensor…The article summarizes on-going research on vital signs and motor activity monitoring based on radar sensors
    embedded in wheelchairs, walkers and crutches for in home rehabilitation. Embedded sensors, conditioning
    circuits, real-time platforms that perform data acquisition, auto-identification, primary data processing and data
    communication contribute to convert daily used objects in home rehabilitation into smart objects that can be
    accessed by caregivers during the training sessions through human–machine interfaces expressed by the new
    generation of smart phones or tablet computers running Android OS or iOS operating systems. The system
    enables the management of patients in home rehabilitation by providing more accurate and up-to-date
    information using pervasive computing of vital signs and motor activity records.
     more »

  • Living without a safety net in an Intelligent Environment

    Research Article in ICST Transactions on Ambient Systems 11(10–12): e6

    Juan Carlos Augusto, Paul J. McCullagh, Julie-Ann Augusto-Walkden

    Abstract
    Computing systems comprise a surreptitious and intrinsic part of our daily life activities. Applications that support humans in daily life facilitate the development of the so-called Intelligent Env…Computing systems comprise a surreptitious and intrinsic part of our daily life activities. Applications that support
    humans in daily life facilitate the development of the so-called Intelligent Environments. Like any technology
    Intelligent Environments can fail. This paper examines potential negative consequences of such systems if they are
    too naively or optimistically developed and used. The aim of this work is to encourage those contributing to the
    technical area to reflect on these issues and to provide symbiotic solutions which make such a powerful technical
    development safer for humans so that it can unfold all its potential to empower future citizens, especially the
    vulnerable.
     more »