Intelligent environments

Intelligent environments are everyday settings (e.g. buildings, vehicles, clothing, etc.) that are equipped with advanced networked computer-based systems, whereby their coordinated activity is orchestrated by so-called ‘intelligent agents’ with the aim of enabling better or new lifestyles for people. For example, such technology can lead to design of living environments that are more comfortable, usable, productive, secure, caring, social, entertaining or energy efficient. One example of such an intelligent environment is an intelligent building.

As this chapter is concerned with intelligent environments, it is important at the outset to understand what is meant by the term ‘intelligent’. Seemingly, intelligence is an intrinsic property of most life forms and, as such, it would seem to be a term that most people would understand and be able to define. However, it turns out that intelligence can mean different things to different people, varying between differing contexts and applications. For example, in the building industry the term is commonly used in a holistic way that seeks to capture all the phases of a building's lifespan, from design, through construction to management, by using methods that ensure that the building is flexible and adaptable, and therefore fit for purpose and profitable, over its full life. As Chen et al. (2006) stated: