Ambient intelligence, the next paradigm for consumer electronics: how will it affect silicon?

Ambient Intelligence refers to an environment where the user experience is what matters. People want to have fun, feel free, enjoy life, feel secure, be in control and be productive. This experience is not linked to one particular device but is realized by a network of devices present in the environment that will provide us these experiences in an intelligent way. Ambient Intelligence is introduced as a new paradigm in consumer electronics. Some of the technologies required for Ambient Intelligence are covered, with a focus on IC consequences. Ongoing work in three fields is described: ubiquitous radio, intuitive user/system interfaces and three-dimensional visual displays. These three fields highlight the diverse nature of Ambient Intelligence technologies as well as the resulting requirements for ICs. Considerations with respect to an introduction timeline of Ambient Intelligence are given.