Radio frequency identification (RFID) is expected to become an important and ubiquitous infrastructure technology. Based on the science and engineering of RFID technology, a new form of space "Animated Space" is envisioned to bridge the gap between physical and digital world in which real-world objects can communicate with users in order to convey their purpose, function, and history. Animated Space allows interaction of people in the space and provides timely and additional information which will enhance human activities and help in developing interest and discussion groups by associating information with objects and places. The designed network-based middleware for animated spaces, ASPEN, empowers the network infrastructure to deliver the information stored in the animated space to mobile users. Some of the unique features of ASPEN include: 1) the innovative mechanism for creating smart objects, 2) protocol for interaction with smart objects and smart devices, 3) sharing of information with other users using synchronous and asynchronous peer-to-peer communication, 4) object-oriented component model for content delivery depending upon user and device profile, 5) dynamic and intelligent content adaptation techniques and 6) efficient information storage in various formats, and reading levels and its retrieval. The animated space can lead to potentially very effective type of information evolution that can complement other information models and can reach a wide variety of people across a spectrum of settings. The work will have enormous potential to benefit society in areas such as education (e.g., informal learning, professional and technical learning, and special education such as delivery of content to people with disabilities) and safety (e.g. in emergency relief cases where multiple devices are used and interoperability of these devices would be beneficial).
