INGENIEUR
of entire systems of production, management and
governance.
The time of mobile and social
The possibility of billions of people connected by
mobile devices, with unprecedented computing
power, is being accelerated by edge computing.
The Internet has provided a shift to decentralized
and distributed computing from the centralized
computing model that started in the third
industrial revolution. Unprecedented processing
power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge,
are unlimited; often at an individual’s fingertips
through their device. On the social front a
paradigm shift is underway in how we work and
communicate, as well as how we express, inform,
and entertain ourselves. Our devices will become
an increasing part of our personal ecosystem,
listening to us, anticipating our needs and helping
us when required, even if not asked. Over the next
30 years, we will be entering an intelligent world,
where things will be intelligent and able to sense
and connect. These advances will be powered by
leading ICT technology. Devices will be the sensing
6
14
VOL
VOL 73
55 JANUARY-MARCH
JUNE 2013 2018
organs of the intelligent world; networks will
connect them together; clouds will be its digital
brain, a source of intelligence.
In addition, these possibilities are multiplied
by breakthrough emerging technologies that are
converging, and can also be viewed as digital
transformation accelerators. Examples of these
breakthroughs are artificial intelligence and
cognitive computing, robotics, Internet of Things
(IoT), autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, digital
currencies, blockchain and distributed ledger
technology, nanotechnology, biotechnology,
materials science, energy storage, and quantum
computing.
Digital fabrication technologies are interacting
with the world on a daily basis. Engineers,
designers, and architects, are combining
computational design, additive manufacturing,
materials engineering, and synthetic biology to
pioneer a symbiosis between micro-organisms,
our bodies, the products we consume, and even
the buildings we inhabit. Industry digitalisation
cannot be achieved with a single technology: It will
require the synergy of cloud, network infrastructure
(pipes), and devices. For enterprises, their ICT
systems are shifting from siloed architecture to