The Connected World

The advances in information, communication and networking give rise, both locally and globally, to a future universal human condition that we may concisely characterize as “the connected world”. Information and communication technologies (ICT), especially Internet and Web, are key infrastructures of the emerging networked world and so have a profound impact on our daily life. The "Connected World" programme carries out strongly interdisciplinary and integrative research focussed on these issues.

Many new applications have already become commonplace, such as social communities on the Web, discussion blogs and forums, peer-to-peer file sharing of music and video, Internet telephony, radio and TV, and virtual worlds. Many other innovations are appearing, especially as mobile and location-aware devices like smart phones, handhelds and other devices get connected to the Internet. They not only drastically change the way people communicate and share information, they will even change our personal environment at work and at home.

The Connected World programme investigates how individuals interact with a changing and increasingly intelligent environment, and how this influences their lifestyle. Experimental studies are a part of this, for which a new laboratory has been established called the Intertain Lab. The programme furthermore researches how the myriad of local and distributed social and technical interactions lead to the emergence of self-organizing network phenomena, structures, and services.