The Ubiquitous Computing (UC) idea envisioned by Weiser in 1991, has recently evolved to a more
general paradigm known as Ambient Intelligence (AmI) that represents a new generation of
user-centred computing environments and systems. These solutions aim to find new ways to obtain
a better integration of the information technology in everyday life devices and activities.
AmI environments are integrated by several autonomous computational devices of modern life
ranging from consumer electronics to mobile phones. Ideally, people in an AmI environment will
not notice these devices, but they will benefit from the services these solutions provide them.
Such devices are aware of the people present in those environments by reacting to their
gestures, actions and context. Recently the interest in AmI environments has grown considerably
due to new challenges posed by society, demanding highly innovative services, such as vehicular
ad hoc networks (VANET), Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), e-Health, Internet of Things and Home
Automation among others. The main focus of this edition of the UCAmI Conference will be "Ambient
Intelligence: Sensing, Processing and Using Environmental Information".
Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) proposes solutions based on Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) to enhance the quality of life of elderly people. AAL promotes the provision
of infrastructures and services for the independent or more autonomous living, via the seamless
integration of info-communication technologies within homes and residences, thus increasing
their quality of life and autonomy and reducing the need for being institutionalized or aiding
it when it happens.
One natural and critical human need, where Ambient Intelligence can be used, is healthcare. In
such a domain, ubiquitous systems can be used to improve quality of life of the people. While
Ambient Intelligence in health applications is increasingly getting research momentum, it does
not reach a level of maturity yet. Reasons for such deficiency include not only the challenges
of understanding the health domain by computer scientists, but also the difficulty of dealing
with a critical domain, where errors are unacceptable. In this sense, a track of Health is aimed
at boosting this area of research by focusing not just on innovations on the infrastructure and
technology required for achieving the ambient intelligence in health, such as smart environments
and wearable medical devices, but also on the development of novel testing, verification and
evaluation techniques that make possible the actual implementation of such innovations.