2. AmI research
A number of research areas will have to converge to make AmI systems possible.
We discuss what we believe are the hard problems that research will have to focus on in order
to meet AmI goals and develop realistic AmI-based systems.
2.1 Distributed intelligence
Distributed intelligence encompasses those techniques that employ modular units of
intelligence, known as agents to create a pervasive and distributed layer of intelligence.
Intelligent units or agents can be thought of con- trolling all aspects of an AmI system, from
the sensing, to the understanding of information, to the elaboration and execution of behavior
in the augmented environment, more or less transparently, with the aim of aiding the user.