February 23, 2009 - by John Feilen
Being the quintessential dreamer; creative and somewhat ADD paired with having worked in various facets of technology over the past 10 years, I realized what I really love about it is the new and future vision. Does a specific technological advancement make our lives better us happier or healthier? How will we as a human race of conspicuous consumers adapt it into our daily routines? How will emerging technology continue to change our lives, work habits and how we allow it to allow us to dream?
Recently the following concepts, which are currently in research and development or limited release, have caught my attention. These are likely to appear in our homes someday and be instrumental in shaping the future smart home. Which of these new toys will you purchase to transform you life, show your success and impress friends?
3D TV’s
Technology adaptation is different for all of us. The football fan dreams of a larger HDTV with an even sharper picture and perhaps a 3D display someday. Philips Electronics is bringing this one step closer with a monitor which allows viewers to perceive high-quality 3D images without the need for special glasses. The technology uses image-processing software, plus display hardware that includes sheets of tiny lenses atop LCD screens, which gives the viewer the perception of depth. These are beginning to appear in shopping malls, movie theater lobbies, and theme parks worldwide. Someday perhaps the avid Chicago Cubs fan watching the game at home can feel as though the bat-breaking homerun, which was just hit to the stands in the outfield, is coming right at him through his TV screen. (http://www.research.philips.com/technologies/display/ov_3ddisp.html)
eHealth
If you’re in research and development in the Silicon Valley perhaps your dream of new technology is one that you will discover. One for which you will receive prizes, fame and wealth; it may even be a technology that saves somebody’s life. EM Finders, based in Dallas, Texas, has developed a device that can be discreetly worn by persons suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or autism. If an the individual cannot be found, the caregiver can remotely activate the device, which allows 911 emergency dispatchers to instantly locate the missing person and send help to the exact location. (www.emfinders.com)
Virtual Butler – Voice Interface & Facial Identification
What is the next evolution of the smart home? Will we be able to talk to our house? Will it talk back? Will an episode of the 1960’s TV show “The Jetsons” in which George Jetson talking to his robot maid, Rosie as she delivers his lunch become a reality? Will all of our household staff become virtual?
“Hello, Living Room. Please turn on the lights, turn up the heat and I want to watch Anderson Cooper on CNN.”
Living Room responds, “Good evening Mr. Smith. Certainly sir, right away sir!” Living Room continues, “How was your day Sir?”
“Fine Living Room. And yours?”
Will Living Room have a name beyond ‘Living Room’? Will Living Room have a face or perhaps be a 3D animated character, which appears on your flat screen HDTV as a virtual butler?
In 2001 I worked on a research and development concept with a Silicon Valley startup and major telecommunications provider, which featured a virtual butler; ‘Tom the Valet”. Tom lived on a flat screen TV (via a server-side application) recognized you thanks to a facial recognition program executed via discreet cameras and was able to understand and fulfill your every wish leveraging natural language processing software. Will we all have one someday?
Thank you for taking the time to read my first blog entry. Beyond having a self-established forum in which to publish that which I find interesting in emerging technology, I would like to begin a dialog; a dialog of ideas, questions and visions of future technology.
Would you like to have a virtual butler someday? Let me know. Please send questions or share your thoughts: johnsetblog@john-fred.com
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