Smart homes, smart phones and high technology in your clothes. The concept is already here, says Dr Kieran Delaney of the National Microelectronics Research Centre in Cork, and its practical application is just around the corner.
The NMRC has received funding of £1 million from the EU under its Information Society Technologies Programme, one of the sub-texts of which is the "disappearing computer".
This means disassembling the lap-top or desk-top computer, putting its components to work in our everyday lives and writing new software programs for the home or office with more sophisticated intelligence than has been available up to now.
The smart home will have computer systems programmed to respond to various needs. They will be able to detect when a potential plumbing problem is in its infancy, heat and light rooms as required once prompted by a telephone call from the pub or office, and run the washing machine or microwave by voice command. The fridge will tell you what you need and when the "best before" dates are approaching.
Dr Delaney and researchers at the NMRC are working in this area and in two to three years should be able to announce significant progress, he says.
And the good news for theatre lovers and cinema-goers is that the technology now being perfected by researchers such as those at the NMRC will allow buildings to turn off those intrusive mobile phones during a performance.
Once you enter the restaurant or theatre, the building will take command. Mobiles will take messages but they will not be allowed to ring, except in cases where the phone is needed for emergency purposes. The smart buildings will know the difference, says Dr Delaney.
High-tech clothing, he adds, will reduce computers to Walkman-like devices which can be strapped on or woven into fabric. They will give the wearer/user an extra dimension in his view of the world around him and will have applications in search and rescue, tourism and sporting activities.
Making the computer package ultra-thin, discreet and practically undetectable is the challenge facing the researchers but it will be met and overcome, Dr Delaney insists.