Ambient Learning

Abstract

The vision where living and working spaces adapt to people is becoming a reality thanks to the increased embedding of computing power into everyday objects. Ambient learning focuses on the way people adopt technology in their everyday life and how technology adapts to the environment. Ambient learning is a new area in ubiquitous computing (UC) about the different learning processes that occur between people and smart technology environments. This chapter is organized as follows. First, we provide a definition of what ambient learning is, and its relevance to ubiquitous computing. Next, we present the learning concepts behind ambient learning and a detailed example of training a user. Then we examine in detail the technological building blocks behind the smart products supporting their ability to learn from each other and assemble or “compose” their functionality.