Information received via sight, hearing, touch, and even our brainwaves will form an intelligent mesh that augments reality

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., Nov. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Digital computing has transformed every aspect of society, and as new devices and new ways to connect continue to emerge, we will enter an era of Seamless Intelligence where human knowledge and intelligence will become ubiquitous to those using state-of-the-art information technology.

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IEEE Computer Society's 2022 Report, which surveys the futures of 23 technologies, explores this new world, where computing devices—from small, wearable devices and chips embedded under the skin to mobile devices, home servers, TVs, and refrigerators--will form an intelligent mesh that augments reality with information gathered from our fingertips, eyes, ears, and other senses, and even directly interfaced to our brain waves.

"We continue to witness an increase in the numbers, shapes, and sizes of computing devices, as well as an increase in connectivity," said Hasan Alkhatib, president of cloud and virtualization consultancy SSN Services and author of the Seamless Intelligence section of the 2022 Report. "As a result of this pervasive penetration of computing and communication capabilities, human knowl­edge, intelligence, and connectivity are increasingly enhanced and augmented by information technol­ogy."

At the heart of this revolution is seamless networking, made possible by wireless technologies such as Near-Field Communi­cation (NFC), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 4G and 5G. This new world will also require sophisticated intelligent coordination software; voice, image, and motion recognition; cloud-based APIs; and more sophisticated identity technologies.

Meta-identity information will play a major role, capturing a person's profile and managing pref­erences while, for example, shopping, eating, and traveling. For example, a hotel could detect a guest's preferred type of bed, floor level, or smoking status and automatically fulfill a reservation accordingly.

Pervasive and massive identity recognition will potentially deliver myriad benefits, such as cashless and contactless financial transac­tions, the ability to cross borders without stopping for inspection, or walking into a coffee shop in a foreign country and having the barista offer up a favorite coffee because of preferences appearing on her counter screen.

The application of seamless and pervasive intel­ligence will be particularly felt in healthcare. Patients may be able to walk into a hospital and have their entire medical histories be accessible to the attending medical professional from a centrally managed health vault. Patients won't need to state what medications they're taking or what immunizations their children received. Physicians will be able to track patients' digestive tracts without making an incision just by having them swallow a camera.

Progress in robotics will likely enable autonomous mass transit vehicles that automatically choose the best routes and already know passengers' destinations.

Among the other potentially useful applications of Seamless Intelligence:

Executives will receive continuous intelligence from big data analysis running in the background; and law enforcement will use smart sensors, surveillance cameras, and eavesdropping devices to capture criminals.

"By 2022, we project that we will be well into a phase where intelligence becomes seamless and ubiquitous to those who can afford and use state-of-the-art information technology" said IEEE Computer Society President Dejan Milojicic, who led creation of the 2022 Report.

The 2022 Report covers security cross-cutting issues, open intellectual prop­erty movement, sustainability, massively online open courses, quantum computing, device and nanotechnology, device and nanotechnology, 3D integrated circuits, multicore, pho­tonics, universal memory, networking and interconnectivity, software-defined networks, high-performance computing, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, natural user interfac­es, 3D printing, big data and analytics, machine learning and intelligent systems, computer vision and pattern recognition, life sciences, computational biology and bioinformatics, and robotics for medical care.

To download a copy of the report, visit http://www.computer.org/computingnow/2022.

About IEEE Computer Society

IEEE Computer Society is the world's leading computing membership organization and the trusted information and career-development source for a global workforce of technology leaders including: professors, researchers, software engineers, IT professionals, employers, and students. The unmatched source for technology information, inspiration, and collaboration, the IEEE Computer Society is the source that computing professionals trust to provide high-quality, state-of-the-art information on an on-demand basis. The Computer Society provides a wide range of forums for top minds to come together, including  technical conferences,  publications, and a comprehensive  digital library, unique  training webinars, professional training, and the  TechLeader Training Partner Program to help organizations increase their staff's technical knowledge and expertise. To find out more about the community for technology leaders, visit  http://www.computer.org.

Media Contact: Margo McCall, IEEE Computer Society, (714) 816-2182, Email Contact

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SOURCE IEEE Computer Society