While the capabilities and versatility of computing devices continue to grow, so does their complexity at both the hardware and software level. As more devices become essential to our daily lives, it will become increasingly important to conceal their complexity by reducing what people need to learn to operate them. Systems will need to be easier to configure, diagnose, network and secure. Imagine how useful it would be for a busy clinic in India adding a new MRI machine if the machine would automatically introduce itself to the clinic's diagnostic network and make adjustments for optimal performance and display given the local resources.

The goal here is "technology that just works." To conceal complexity, Intel Research is looking at a number of solutions.

• Relating user mental models with complex systems and technology to improve the use and adaptation of systems across devices and contexts.
• Enabling devices to explore their environment to discover other devices and capabilities, and then form integrated "teams" that self organize for higher functionality and performance.
• Better control of failure modes, graceful degradation and self-healing across ensembles of devices.
• Zero-knowledge applications and interoperation.

One sample project is "intelligent assistance." This involves using high-level understanding and modeling of complex digital environments and configurations to develop simple diagnosis, presentation and repair. We are also working on a "universal mediator" that uses intelligent broad spectrum analysis and mediation to handle a wide array of coding, protocol, application and security layers. Another project is using "digital living recipes" to match a user's devices in ways that best utilize the "ingredients" at hand.