Scan Monthly No. 028June 2005 |
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Signals of Change
The Art and Science of Sound
SoC111
Sound has been the poor relation of sight for too long, according to some people. Experts in acoustics are starting to bring the same innovative spirit that has driven graphics and visual applications to the world of sound. Sonification (the sonic equivalent of visualization) is just the beginning.
The Emerging Digital-Media Landscape
SoC112
A full-service digital-content creation/distribution infrastructure is emerging to enable small, independent, freelance content producers to create and distribute their own content. Whether the development merely supplements or dramatically transforms the media landscape depends on how the current majors react.
Petsumerism
SoC113
The evolution from "ownership" to "relationship" that continues apace between humans and their companion animals has raised the status of companion animals to an unprecedented level. "Petsumers" are making pet-product buying decisions using a frame of reference more typical of the one they use for humans than for pets when spending more than $35 billion on pets each year in the United States alone.
The Instant Economy
SoC114
Fast service is an example of an old idea that's currently undergoing some reworking and a new emphasis. The instant economy is based on the notion that time-strapped consumers do not have the time— or patience—to wait anymore.
The Human Environome
SoC115
The human body has several mini ecosystems operating within at any given time. The bacterial ecology of the lower digestive tract and the bacterial ecology of the mouth are just two examples. Metagenomics is the study of the genetic makeup of such ecosystems, and we can call the aggregated genomic traits of such localized environments environomes. Human environomes are likely as distinctive as human fingerprints.
Emotions, Faces, and Robots
SoC116
If robots are to succeed in the consumer marketplace, developers will have to move past the notion that humanoid features provide no real benefit. The potential for humans to identify with robots emotionally may turn out to be key, not only in convincing humans to buy robots, but in enabling the humans to adopt behaviors that allow the robots to accomplish all the tasks that the robots are capable of.
Insights
| RFID-Related Security and Privacy Issues | View full summary |
| D05-2508 | Download this Insight |
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RFID (radio-frequency–identification) technology can be a powerful tool to enable new levels of consumer safety. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends the use of RFID technology to minimize counterfeiting of prescription drugs. Companies and consumers can better monitor perishable products for expiration dates. Tire manufacturers are contemplating the use of RFID technology to track faulty tires back to the original manufacturing batch for recall purposes. RFID technology can provide the means to ensure that consumers receive authorized, quality auto parts rather than shoddy, unsafe counterfeits. But privacy concerns are leading some groups to advocate radical solutions to privacy concerns—such as "killing" RFID tags at the checkout—that would prevent consumers from benefiting from postpurchase safety applications. This study looks at the pros and cons of the security and privacy issues in RFID technology implementations. Author: Martin Schwirn. 15 pages. |
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| Pervasive Computing Update: 2005 | View full summary |
| D05-2509 | Download this Insight |
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Pervasive computing has been a topic for SRI Consulting Business Intelligence since before June 2002. We have examined the interaction of pervasive computing with areas as varied as building automation, health care, games, radio-frequency identification, environmental monitoring, vehicles, and security. Pervasive computing—a combination of modern information technology, advanced networks and devices, and sophisticated sensors—is a suite of technologies that will allow people to create intelligent environments that, in turn, will transparently monitor and respond to people's needs and desires. This study provides an update on the development of pervasive computing by examining whether pervasive computing is still relevant, why pervasive computing has been so difficult to implement, and what pervasive-computing technologies will be capable of in the near future. The study distinguishes among three types of pervasive computing: ideal, strongly pervasive, and mildly pervasive systems. The study also identifies the major enabling components of pervasive computing (sensors, networks, processors and computers, software, and interfaces) and identifies the areas that currently constitute the greatest challenges for implementers of pervasive computing. Author: Alex Ledin. 9 pages. |
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Calendar
Scan™ Abstract Meetings
Scan abstract meetings (in which SRIC-BI [now SBI] staff participate in a free-form discussion of current Scan abstracts) are open for client observation/participation on:
- 20 July 2005 at 9:00 am
- 21 September 2005 at 9:00 am
- 19 October 2005 at 9:00 am
- 25 January 2006 at 9:00 am
- 22 March 2006 at 9:00 am
- 17 May 2006 at 9:00 am
- 19 July 2006 at 9:00 am.