As a result of the ongoing miniaturization of electronic circuits and the corresponding exponential increase in embedded computational power, we are reaching the point where it becomes viable to integrate electronics into people's environments. Ambient Intelligence (AI) refers to an electronic environment that is sensitive and responsive to the presence of people. Such an environment should be: 1. ubiquitous: surrounding the user by a multitude of interconnected systems 2. transparent: integrated and "hidden" into the background 3. intelligent: adapting to the people that live in This projected new product wave is generally believed to be based on some form of adaptive and intelligent, always connected, personal assistance. From an economic perspective, although IC technology now represents one of the largest and most influential markets in the world, there is still ample room (see figure 1) to extend the application range of Si technologies into the realms of the Experience Economy. In addition to providing additional functionality to societies already having affluent access to sophisticated technologies, AI also could allow computing-cost sharing over multiple households, and thus provide a lower cost alternative to make technology more accessible to the world.
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