Pervasive computing: What next?

Each year more than ten billion embedded microprocessors are produced. This number is expected to increase spectacularly over the next decade, making electronic devices more and more pervasive. Such devices will range from a few hundred transistors (small sensors, actuators, etc.) to millions of transistor devices (multicore processors, displays, memories, sensors etc.). Wired and wireless network technologies are used to interconnect these components to realise broader, more capable, networks. Electronic devices and systems exist around us providing different services to the people in different situations: at home, at work, in their office, or driving a car on the street or at car park.