Smart Hotel Rooms in New Year City

Many researchers have worked so hard trying to realize the dream of Mark Weiser -- ubiquitous computing. Now finally, applications of ubicomp have found their ways into our everyday life -- Smart Hotel Room.

When regulars like Laurence Wiener check into the Mandarin Oriental in Manhattan, they get more than a smile from the concierge and a mint on their pillow.

Wiener's hotel room knows how warm he likes it - 68 degrees Fahrenheit, or 20 Celsius.

It welcomes him with a personal message on his television set. It even loads his most frequently dialed numbers into the phone.

And the bellhop did not have to do a thing.

At the Mandarin and other high-end hotels, new computer systems that connect individual rooms to network servers can now keep track of guests' preferences and change the room conditions automatically.

These "smart" systems can learn whether a frequent guest likes the lights dimmed, the curtains closed or the room toasty.

They can also personalize the electronics so that John Coltrane, for instance, greets jazz buffs when they enter their rooms. And sensors in refrigerators alert maids when the minibar is running low on soda.

Source: Your hotel room knows just what you like By Ken Belson (IHT)