NIST DEVELOPS SMART SPACE TEST BED.

NIST is developing a test bed, data transport system, and metrics to support the development by industry of Smart Work Spaces. These will blend sensor-based perceptual interfaces, pervasive computers, flexible networking, and information retrieval tools to support the knowledge workers of tomorrow. They will use numerous, easily accessible computing devices connected to each other through both wired and wireless network infrastructure. This trend is creating new opportunities and challenges for IT companies to place computers and sensors in virtually every device, appliance, and piece of equipment in buildings, homes, workplaces, factories, and even clothing. Successful deployment requires new techniques in measurement, compatibility testing, frequency management, human computer interactions, and biometric security.

As part of this program, NIST developed Smart Flow System software to integrate and encourage interoperability of the numerous computing, imaging, speech, and other devices that may be incorporated into a Smart Space environment. The Smart Flow System is actually a middleware data transport and distributed processing system and is now being deployed, along with a unique 59-element microphone array, in several R&D laboratories.

Products developed in the Smart Space Test Bed are also being used in the Smart Meeting Room project and will be used in conjunction with a project in wireless networking performance and compatibility testing.

The program has also developed a novel signal-to-noise measurement algorithm based on Gaussian mixture estimation procedures. The algorithm allows measurement of the root mean square (RMS) power for the mixture of background noise, unvoiced fricative speech, and voiced speech encountered speech recognition experiments. This metric allows precise measurement of performance of noise reduction algorithms such as adaptive filters and beam formers used in speech signal acquisition.

Starting in 1998, NIST has conducted a series of annual industry conferences on Smart Spaces and pervasive computing. Some of these have been developed in cooperation with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The 2001 Pervasive Computing Conference was held at NIST in May 2001. Details about the conference may be found at www.nist.gov/pc2001. More details about the NIST Smart Space Laboratory can be found at www.nist.gov/smartspace.