er his invisible cloak? I bet there are times you wish you had one, maybe just to attend that special board meeting. Well, you may be able to acquire one in the near future. Research- ers in Japan have recently unveiled their first generation of optical camouflage. Tiny cameras positioned on the back of a garment allow the image behind the wearer to be projected onto the front of the garment, and as a result, the wearer appears transparent. Bacteria may also affect tomorrow's clothing; some fabrics may be engineered to eat odor-causing chemicals in human sweat or to secrete protective coatings. Eventually, we may see pollution-resistant, self-cleaning, color-shifting unitards cre- ated by molecule-sized machines that can build fabrics and garments from the bot- tom up, molecule by molecule. Are you wondering what all this has to do with next-generation networks? It has to do with changing traffic patterns. Researchers project that by 2010, 95% of the traffic on networks will come from machine-to-machine communications (i.e., with no human involvement). Embedded devices and intelligent wearables will require access to communications networks in order to be of value and must there- fore be considered as vital users in the development of next-generation networks. Human-Machine Interactions The realm of human-machine interactions covers a wide range of activities, including affective computing, brain-computer interfaces, software agents, aug- mented reality, virtual reality, teleimmersion, and the growing presence of robots. Today's computers generally respond only to keyboard inputs and mouse move- ments. Users have to learn special operating procedures to control their machines rather than rely on their natural communication abilities. ICT development is increasingly focusing on the creation of powerful human- machine interfaces. These emerging physical interfaces can be used for control Introduction purposes, including not just voice but also gestures, touch, and mime. It is even possible that the flows of electri