Book excerpt: Research into Smart Buildings and Spaces has increased rapidly over the last few years. This volume aims to address the convergence of research in Distributed Systems, Robotics and Human Centred computing within the domain of smart buildings and present a unique opportunity to investigate work that crosses the boundaries of these disciplines. It provides an overview of progress in a fast-moving area, by bringing together researchers, implementors and practitioners and the papers draw together the developments and concerns of those working on the different aspects of smart environments, as well as providing views on the future prospects for work in this area.