The core of IoT evolution to ambient computing is intelligence. Companies are therefore attempting to infuse intelligence into their IoT solutions.

Ambient computing is the technology that integrates software, hardware, and human-machine interactions to create a user-responsive environment. Ambient computing and intelligence have their applications in heterogeneous industries and diverse aspects. Precisely, ambient computing is all about making the Internet of things (IoT) work efficiently. Ambient computing involves automated ways to collect information about real-world behavior. It uses historical and social data to derive patterns, predict behaviors, and accelerate improvements.

Ambient intelligence refers to the combination of IoT sensors, sensor networks, and human-computer interaction (HCI) technologies powered by Pervasive-Ubiquitous Computing, big data, and artificial intelligence frameworks. This technology paves the way to a futuristic world where sensors, embedded in everyday use devices will create an intelligent environment that adapts to the user's needs and wishes seamlessly.

Ambient intelligence can be leveraged in a wide range of technologies viz., biometrics, affective computing, RFID, Bluetooth low energy, microchip implants, sensors like the thermometer, motion detectors, photo-detectors, proximity sensors, and nano-biometrics. The sensors will gather data that shall be interpreted and analyzed to adjust or predict user expectations.

By 2020 there is expected to be a three-fold increase in IoT devices to 34 billion far surpassing a human population of 7.5 billion. There will be nearly five times more intelligent machines engulfing and supporting human communities than there will be people. Companies like Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Apple, and Amazon are investing in this next phase of computing which is the foundation and infrastructure for ambient computing.

Google, Microsoft, and Ambient computing

The core of IoT evolution to ambient computing is intelligence. Companies are therefore attempting to infuse intelligence into their IoT solutions. Google has an advanced AI platform, a competitive cloud solution, and the recently released Google Assistant SDK so that companies can add Google Assistant to their hardware. Microsoft, last year demonstrated its cloud-based supercomputer which was able to translate "three billion words across five million articles in less than a tenth of a second" using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA).

Ambient computing for brands

As systems become more advanced, computing will be able to speed up actions and complete tasks with greater efficiency.  It's essential to understand where your brand can leverage this efficiency to make consumers' lives easier. For example, can home improvement brands offer voice skills to help with DIY

Make Voice Assistants a default part of your strategy: Voice-enabled assistants offer a huge opportunity in ambient computing.  They are gathering huge amounts of data on customer preferences and in turn, customers are using their voice devices to make purchase decisions. Getting on these platforms now will set brands up with valuable data to have a future in auto-decision making.

Ambient Commerce: With AR glasses with voice activation likely to replace the smartphone as the consumer's main user digital interface, think about the opportunities for product placement in interactive environments for purchase.