refers to the movement of computational elements into everyday appliances. Like Anti-lock Braking Systems, the future will see "smart" doors, thermostats, refrigerators, etc. Like ABS, many of these systems will be important single function systems. Others will share information with other subsystems. At what point we can take user aware displays and input devices and conclude that the aggregate of devices at a location provides for a "smart room" is not clear. This suggests that there is a close relationship between being aware and being embedded. At the same time, we see that each brings a separate research focus.
In wireless communications, used to describe capabilities, such as Internet access, that are contained within a device.