Preparing for the Intelligence Era

This article provides an overview of various technologies meant for developing intelligent digital engineering ecosystems. The article also highlights the need to develop new methods for combining visual and haptic impressions to provide a high degree of immersion, and enable touching and moving virtual objects. Some current activities are devoted to studying and improving the relation between humans and computing devices. One of these activities is the Human–Computer Confluence, an interdisciplinary initiative funded by the European Commission, as part of its Future and Emerging Technologies program. Intelligent digital engineering ecosystems will closely link research and academic institutions with industry and policymakers, and will facilitate the networking of innovation knowledge. They will enable the widespread adoption of augmented reality; the seamless integration of virtual and physical worlds; establishing a new baseline for human functionality; and experimentation with novel modalities of expression. They will accelerate advances in neurocomputation, artificial general intelligence, and other novel technologies, as well as the synergistic union of the human brain, intelligent computing devices, and the ambient intelligence environment to usher in the Intelligence Era.