Devices in the world are becoming more intelligent than automated, and are starting to exist naturally in our daily lives. Experts have suggested that the service paradigm will shift to ambient computing in the next 15 years.

At the e4ds news webinar on January 31, Director Kim Hak-yong of the IoT Strategy Research Institute explained the concept and cases of ambient computing technology. Director Kim Hak-yong claimed, “After the smartphone era, the ambient era will arrive, providing intelligent services by utilizing technologies that recognize users’ intentions.”

'Ambient intelligence' refers to the use of existing technologies to allow various smart devices connected in daily life to analyze data on their own and provide convenient functions to users. It is also said to have an invisible characteristic because it appears and provides functions only when needed.

■ 'Ambient', does what people want on their own

Since its activation in 2010, smartphones have become an indispensable part of our daily lives, with the adult smartphone usage rate in Korea reaching 97% and the average usage time of 5.2 hours, ranking third in the world. However, this trend has been on a downward trend since 2018, with smartphone shipments showing a -3.3% decline, and in 2022, it is expected to decrease by -11%, falling below 1.2 billion units. The reasons for this include: △expensive smartphone prices, △increased smartphone replacement cycles, and △decrease in the performance gap between new smartphones.

From the perspective of changes in Internet usage, Director Kim mentioned the metaverse, smart home, and connected car, but said, “Since these are not concepts that complement the immediacy of access and portability of smartphones, smartphones will gradually exist as terminals such as hubs, and various smart devices will coexist.”

Eventually, the service ecosystem will change to a paradigm that uses technology to meet the needs of users at the right time, and that is ambient. This is similar to 'ubiquitous', but if ubiquitous is a hardware aspect, ambient is an evolved concept of ubiquitous and is closer to software.

Ambient intelligence has three characteristics: intuitive, prescriptive, and personalized. This means that it can be executed with knowledge that is already known without learning, it executes before the user's actions, and it provides services tailored to each user.

Ambient is implemented in stages, starting with initial voice commands and automated routines, and then AI learns and analyzes to understand user needs. It is expected to become more advanced in the future based on user feedback.

■ Applied to Google, Amazon, and Ambient Smart Home
Ambient computing is expected to start with smart homes. Currently, AI speakers and wearable devices are being developed based on AI assistants that recognize the user's voice.

Amazon and Google have been paying attention to ambient computing since 2019. At CES 2023, Amazon showcased a mobile shelf that puts items into the refrigerator by itself, and an AI speaker Alexa that recognizes human voices and initiates a smart home through advanced AI. Alexa is expected to initiate 30% of smart home operations. Alexa's 'Premonition' function suggests services based on user behavior patterns.

Google has a Suggested Routines feature that suggests contextual automation routines when you add a new device, such as controlling your lights based on the alarm time set on your Google Nest Home.

LG Electronics is putting ambient computing at the center of its core mission this year, and AI is at the center of it. To this end, it has hired AI expert Kim Jeong-hee, executive director, and is cooperating with universities, research institutes, etc.

Ambient intelligence is also called ‘Calm Tech’ from a service design philosophy perspective. At last year’s ‘SDCC2022,’ Samsung Electronics mentioned Calm Tech as a technology that provides convenient services without people being aware of them, similar to ambient computing. Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and Head of Samsung Electronics DX Division, expressed his ambition, saying, “Based on the Calm Tech philosophy, we will provide a SmartThings experience that provides users with enhanced security in the hyper-connected ecosystem of things.”

Director Kim introduced Hi-pass, Apple AirPods, Amazon microwave ovens, and BMW concept cars as examples of ambient computing. BMW’s i Vision DEE has no buttons and can control the car with a conversation function. Google’s AI robot PaLM-SayCan is gradually developing the ability to understand and respond to human language. Director Kim said, “In order to implement ambient computing, trust in the devices as well as the companies that provide these services is necessary.”

In the Q&A session that followed, Director Kim said regarding the security of ambient computing, “In order to utilize and protect user privacy, when providing IoT services, personal information is used only in the relevant space and external leakage is prohibited.”

He also expressed his expectations regarding Korea's future competitiveness in ambient computing, saying, "Although Korea does not have high AI competitiveness in areas such as AI speakers and GPT, we have specialized companies in each field, so large platform operators will be able to make good use of these technologies to narrow the gap with overseas companies."

In response to questions about each operating system and standard of the Internet of Things for activating ambient computing technology, “Ambient is about existing technology providing intelligent services, and the same goes for chips and operating systems. In terms of communications, a standard called Matter has emerged, and the focus is mainly on Wi-Fi, Thread, and BLE. As the Matter standard becomes more widespread, the demand for devices is expected to increase. AIoT is the foundation technology of ambient, and Matter will lead to its widespread adoption,” he answered.