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Esprit programme seeks a new way to use computers
Brussels, 4 October, 1996: Esprit, the European Commission's IT research programme, is to provide up to 18 million ECU for a radically new research initiative on "intelligent information interfaces" (i3). Launched by Esprit's Long Term Research unit, i3 aims to find effective new ways for ordinary people to use information technology.
As we approach the next century, people are encountering a growing number of information systems, devices and services. If these are to be used naturally and effectively by the broad range of people in their everyday lives (and not just the specialist few), it is vital to find usable, acceptable and effective ways of interacting with these systems and services.
Stepping away from the technology-focused approach of the past, i3 considers human, societal and technological factors together in the development of new solutions. These will aim to engage people as active participants in the creation and use of information, rather than viewing them as passive recipients of pre-packaged or broadcast information.
i3 also marks a breakthrough in Esprit funding practice as it calls for research on two competing visions of the future. These visions were arrived at through a competition, held earlier this year, which asked for new ideas on how people could interact with information or each other using technology as a medium.
"Connected Community", the first of these visions, focuses on developing new tools that will promote the sharing of knowledge and experience between people in local communities or neighbourhoods. It boldly rejects virtual reality as the solution to future communication but rather suggests ways of enhancing real-life links between ordinary people. It seeks to build upon the real world characteristics of communities to promote new forms of interactivity.
The second vision, "Inhabited Information Spaces", aims to develop virtual information spaces in which people who may be geographically dispersed can interact with each other and with information sources and services. People, representations of people and information agents interact within a common environment. The spaces may range from purely virtual cyberspaces through to real world ones augmented by technology. They have the potential to enable new forms of meaningful collective interaction on a global scale.
In the long term the results of this radical research initiative will feed back into commercially available systems, but the goal at this stage is to encourage new thinking and new approaches in the development of new technologies.
Simon Bensasson, head of Esprit's Long Term Research unit which runs i3, commented:
"We now have computers capable of storing, processing and communicating vast quantities of data. We need to make this capability available to the broad population to use - not just specialists. That is the real goal of i3. With i3 we are providing a long term vision while at the same time attacking the problem of turning that into reality. We did not create these visions ourselves - we got them by asking companies and universities to help us define them in competition."
With the i3 initiative, Esprit is hoping to attract applications from enterprises that would not normally become involved in IT research. "Many of the most important innovations in user interface design and the application of IT have come from design and creative organisations, community groups or non-technical individuals", said Bensasson. "We hope that these same groups will use the i3 initiative to build alliances with technology companies and academic institutions, and so to bring their skills, knowledge and understanding to bear on this key issue."
The i3 initiative is seeking project proposals from organisations throughout Europe. Applications must be submitted by 18th December and will be evaluated by an expert panel. It is expected that projects will start in early 1997. Full details of the initiative can be found on the i3 Web site (see below).
For further information, please contact:
DG III Information and Communications Office
Tel: +32 (2) 296 65 49
Fax: +32 (2) 299 19 26
DG III Esprit Programme, Long Term Research - Jakub Wejchert - email: Jakub.Wejchert@dg3.cec.be
Tel: +32 (2) 2968032
Fax: +32 (2) 2968390
Information is also available on the I3 home page
The URL of this document is /esprit/src/eyepress.htm
It was last updated on 11 October 1996, and is maintained by Carla Moris, email: carla.moris@dg3.cec.be