It is our vision that "the world around us" will be the interface to information and a medium for communication and cooperation of people. The world of everyday objects and places will be augmented with information processing (augmented reality). Information will be represented and communicated in digital form as well as by real world objects. This requires an integrated design of real and virtual worlds taking the best of both worlds. In this vision, the computer as a device moves to the background and "disappears" into the environment. At the same time, functionality is in the foreground and available via multiple, networked devices providing for "pervasive and ubiquitous computing" either integrated in the architectural environment ("roomware") or "mobile" (wearable computing). The innovative features of cooperative buildings are the result of the flexible and dynamic configuration of so called "roomware" components into interactive knowledge and cooperation landscapes. Roomware results from the integration of room elements (e.g., walls, doors, furniture) with information and communication technology. In 1997-98 we built the prototype environment called i-LAND: an interactive landscape for creativity and innovation. i-LAND integrates several roomware components such as an interactive electronic wall (DynaWall®), an interactive table (InteracTable®), different versions of computer-enhanced chairs (CommChair®), and the Passage mechanism.

In 1999, we have now built the second generation of roomware components together with our industrial partners in the R&D-Consortium "Future Office Dynamics" (FOD). They consist of newly designed versions of the initial prototypes as well as of new roomware components (ConnecTable®, InterWall®). They are also part of two installations at EXPO 2000 in Germany.

For additional information, please see:
 
Ambient - Workspaces of the Future
Roomware

Norbert A. Streitz GMD  - German National Research Center for Infomation Technology IPSI - Integrated Publication and Information Systems Institute Darmstadt, Germany streitz@darmstadt.gmd.de

Norbert Streitz has also taught at the Department of Computer Science of the Technical University Darmstadt since 1987. Previous appointments have included the Technical University of Aachen in the Department of Psychology from 1978-1986, the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and the Human Media Lab in the Intelligent Systems Division of the Electrotechnical Laboratories (ETL), Tsukuba Science City, Japan. He has edited 14 books and published more than 75 technical publications. He is an associate editor of the journal ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS) and a regular member of the program committees of the relevant national and international conferences in Hypermedia, Human-Computer Interaction, and CSCW.