Intel Research Seeks Ways to Put Computer Intelligence into Everyday Objects
From: Seattle Times - 12/09/2004
By: Kristi Heim

Intel Research director James Landay leads a research team in a "ubiquitous"
computing effort to embed computer intelligence in everyday objects; Landay
says his facility's collaborative relationship with the nearby University of
Washington will help researchers "see [new technologies] earlier by being
closer to the ground." Among the projects Landay is focusing on is Place Lab,
which has developed software that helps a mobile device determine its
location by monitoring for surrounding radio beacons, such as uniquely
numbered wireless access points that deliver Internet service and signals
from cell phone base stations; Place Lab can recognize a specific beacon and
localize it within 50 to 75 feet by comparing it with a set of access points
stored in the mobile device. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology may
be more accurate, but Place Lab director Anthony LaMarca says Place Lab has
the advantage of being able to operate indoors and in urban environments
where GPS cannot function. Another initiative of interest to Landay seeks to
develop sensor networks that can anticipate human behavior, an example being
radio-frequency identification tags attached to everyday objects that
register a specific action when someone picks an object up, for instance. The
action is linked to a computer program with steps required for 20,000
different activities, and which can deduce that tasks have been completed if
the person follows the proper steps. The project's goal is to enable
Alzheimer's sufferers to lead more independent lives by allowing caregivers
or relatives to remotely track their activities, and training programs could
also benefit. The open collaboration and information-sharing model supported
by Intel Research and UW means that both Intel and the university jointly own
projects, and thus equally benefit. Former UW Computer Science and
Engineering Department Chairman Ed Lazowska notes that he was able to attract
many professors to the school thanks to Intel's presence. 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002113724_intellab09.html

Links:
http://www.placelab.org/
http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/landay/
http://www.intel.com/research/exploratory/activity_recognition.htm