An architecture for the integration of physical and informational spaces

While computer processing power, storage space, and bandwidth capacities are experiencing exponential growth, individual human processing capabilities are not increasing significantly. Pervasive computing creates an environment that offers a wealth of computing resources, I/O capabilities, and sensors. This offers an opportunity for applications to interact with and monitor the physical environment and to provide a task-centric and mobile infrastructure for the modem user. However, this rich environment can also be overwhelming and distracting to users, in part because of a disconnect between the physical infrastructure observed by users and the information space seen by applications. In this paper we introduce AIPIS, an architecture for a technological bridge between the physical and informational realms of the human and the computer, respectively. The purpose of this bridge is twofold: (1) to provide to users a hands-free computing environment that automates much of the drudgery associated with use of computers, and (2) to focus human attention to only the critical aspects of task execution that require their input. We also describe the implementation of the Aura desktop, a first prototype of the AIPIS architecture.