Ubiquitous proxemic systems

I also read about this in Interactions. It is a fancy term for a system that knows its surroundings, your actions, and acts accordingly. A complete system would know:

• who you are (exactly or some category)
  
• where you are (e.g. in the kitchen)
• how far away you are
• where you are looking (e.g. at the screen)
• if/how you are moving (e.g. pointing at the screen)

So for example when you get close to a video touch screen, it could turn an ad on (customized to your identity). If you look away, it could automatically pause. If you lift your hand towards it, it could switch to a navigation menu.

There are lots of potential applications for this kind of system. Just let your imagination run wild.