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ANTENNAE TREND REPORT APRIL 2010
SENSORIAL
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SENSORIAL This issue explores how the rapid growth of new interactive and connective technologies has opened the opportunity for more immersive systems. The result is products that meet new needs, merging medical, consumer, and technology markets – creating tremendous new business opportunities.
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CONTENTS
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FOCUS 08 Home Health The paradigm shift towards personal and interconnective diagnostics with a growing market for home health products that empower consumers with real-time information, enabling them to better manage their own health
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FEATURES 18 Invisible Interactions Interactions are becoming more responsive and immersive than ever before
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24 Automatic Automobiles Sensors are increasingly being built that can sense the road, other road users, and even you 30 Cellular Sensors The cell phone is the perfect sensor 36 Small and Mighty Are sensors smaller than blood cells the future?
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40 Buildings with Feelings Architecture that adapts and evolves SPOTLIGHTS 14 Zeo Personal Sleep Coach 22 Wii Vitality Sensor 34 Philips DirectLife
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Merging the health and consumer markets presents a huge opportunity to develop new innovations that offer consumers accurate, simple and actionable health diagnostics in their home
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HOME HEALTH MEDICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT HAVE CONVERGED WITH THE GROWING EMPHASIS ON HEALTH, WELLNESS AND PREVENTION
We are now seeing a blurring of the lines between traditional healthcare offerings and consumeroriented wellness products and services. To date, the health service has been principally a ‘sickness service’ to which we turn to when ill. In the near future this service may become more ubiquitous, delivering convenient and flexible services to individuals. Advances in technology and medical research are making it possible to envision an entirely new health care system that provides more individualized care without increasing costs. Each of us now carries around in our pockets a computer that is as powerful as one that used to fill a whole building just a few years ago. In the near future we will all carry around the computing power that now resides in hospitals, which often have long waiting lists before you can be diagnosed. The drive towards low-cost and miniaturized sensing devices will result in greater accessibility to health care and an increased awareness of our own health.
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This year there is expected to be a boom in the home monitoring of health as the cost of the technology rapidly reduces. This boom will also be driven by demographics. There were 600 million people in the year 2000 who were age 60 and above. There will be 1.2 billion by 2025 and then over 2 billion by 2050. The old system of health care cannot handle this change. Technology could enable new care models to replace the existing unsustainable focus on face-to-face clinical interaction – it requires a complete reinvention of the market, a paradigm shift towards personal and interconnective diagnostics. America and Western Europe’s middle class is aging rapidly too, and most will want to stay in their homes, and independent, for as long as possible. Nearly 80 million baby-boomers in the US are approaching ’seniors’ status, and they expect the best possible care. Moreover, tomorrow’s elderly are also more familiar with technology than those of today, and they have a desire to embrace it. This extensive market represents a potentially lucrative opportunity for a number of brands. As a result, it is predicted that there will be more than seven million people using home health care technology in the US and Europe by 2012, backed by the Obama administration’s focus on prevention and alternate care models, resulting in a higher budget for home monitoring solutions.
Left Withings Wi-Fi Scales www.withings.com
Technology could enable new care models to replace the existing unsustainable focus on face-to-face clinical interaction – it requires a complete reinvention of the market, a paradigm shift towards personal and interconnective diagnostics
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The market potential is enormous for any company that learns to leverage the science, target individuals and develop products and services that promote health
Wireless health is already becoming omnipresent in hospitals, and it is hoped that 50% of all care will move to the home in the next decade. The current $232 billion market is projected to grow 11 percent annually, growing to $452 billion by 2015, as consumers gain a heightened awareness of their own health risks. Wireless health devices are empowering consumers with real-time information, enabling them to predict medical risks, detect disease earlier and better manage their health status. Consumer product companies are not only leveraging the new science in the development of new products, but also have the marketing expertise and insights to target consumers that many healthcare organizations don’t have. Dozens of large and small companies are turning to wireless technologies to gain a slice of the potentially sizeable prize, where products are necessities rather than luxuries, and have high margins. Major electronics and computer companies such as Intel, IBM, Motorola and Philips are partnering with, or acquiring, medical companies in order to produce innovative products for remote health management. As part of their alliance, GE and Intel plan to invest $250 million over the next five years in research and development of home-based health technologies.
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GE Healthcare is developing a Body Sensor Network that collects patient-specific data, from body temperature and pulse-oximetry to blood glucose levels and respiratory function. The realtime information will be transmitted to practitioners including doctors, nurses, and caregivers. Other companies are also developing unobtrusive devices. The Zio Patch constantly records the heart’s electrical activity. The waterproof singleuse device can continuously record heart activity for a week for later analysis. Designed to be worn comfortably during normal daily activities the ease of use and inconspicuousness, helps increase the likelihood that a patient will wear the device for the entire prescribed monitoring period. Echo have developed a similar device for diabetics. The Echo Symphony tCGM is a biochemical sensor that adheres to the skin like a bandage and continuously analyses blood glucose without the need to prick fingers. The number of people with diabetes is growing, and currently stands at about 50 million people worldwide. Providing better care for diabetics presents an attractive opportunity. Further upstream, diabetics may be able to monitor their health by wearing a smart contact lens. The SENSIMED TriggerfishŽ system enables better management of diabetes via earlier diagnosis. The smart lens contains a wireless sensor to measure intraocular pressure. The patient wearing the
Above Intel Reader www.intel.com/ healthcare/reader Below SENSIMED Triggerfish速 www.sensimed.ch
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lenses will be continuously alerted to changes in the blood sugar level. Such a lens will also be able to test for glaucoma, which when worn over a period of time will provide valuable data that is not obtainable using conventional equipment. Home health products are not only targeting those with illnesses, but all consumers in order to help them manage their own health. Withings Wi-Fi Scale can connect to the internet, sharing information with Withings’ own website, as well as Twitter, Google and Microsoft’s health data management services to utilize social networks to drive weight loss targets. The device can be programmed for different household members, and provide each with their own separate data graphs and targets. Other devices are being developed for the home to make life easier. Intel have introduced the Reader – a device that uses a digital camera to capture printed material, an optical character recognition to convert print to computer-readable text, and speech synthesis to turn the text into comprehensible spoken language. It has been designed to make printed matter accessible to millions of people who find reading difficult or impossible, either because of vision problems or learning disabilities such as dyslexia. It is aimed at the 55 million people in the US who have eyesight problems and don’t want to be dependent on others for the pleasure of reading a novel, looking at a restaurant menu, or reading
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web site pages. These products represent just a few that we will see this year as the market booms. It is a disruptive technology that will create both opportunities and challenges for traditional healthcare and emerging market participants. But it will result in a new system that is personalized, preventive, predictive and participatory. As Dr Bob Galvin, GE’s Chief Medical Officer, is quoted as saying “The more you can move care away from the most expensive settings and into where people want to be, which is at home – and I think technology is the key to this – not only will people be happier, but you’re going to get to the kind of change the system needs.” Daily patient self-monitoring and centralized data analysis increase the effectiveness of preventive care, and allows healthcare professionals to attend to more patients than they otherwise might, and controls rising healthcare costs by helping reduce hospital readmissions. The market potential is enormous for any company that learns to leverage the science, target individuals and develop products and services that promote health. Developing solutions that meet the unique needs of each consumer whilst designing something that is going to work for millions, is key to gaining success.
Far left Echo Symphony’s Prelude SkinPrep System www.diabetesmine.com Left The HRS-I, or the human recorder system, gathers health-related information and transmits it wirelessly to a mobile phone or computer
The core diagnostic and therapeutic segment of the market is estimated at $24 billion and expected to grow by 10% annually, reaching $42 billion by 2015
The personalized medical care segment of the market is estimated at $4 billion and could grow to more than $100
billion by 2015
Wireless health devices are empowering consumers with real-time information, enabling them to predict medical risks, detect disease earlier and better manage their health status
The related nutrition and wellness market is estimated at $196 billion and projected to grow 7% annually to more than $290
by 2015
billion
Market research analysts estimate the size of the global market for genetic testing at $730
million, with a 20% annual growth rate
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Zeo Personal Sleep Coach www.myzeo.com Zeo tracks and measures your unique sleep patterns through the electrical signals naturally produced by the brain. As a result it can set the alarm to only awaken you during light sleep to ensure that you feel less disturbed and more refreshed. It’s primary focus is the tracking of sleep patterns, with the results presented to consumers in simplistic graphs, offering advice on how to improve the night’s sleep. The online service allows you to keep a ‘Sleep Journal’ so you can uncover the links between your sleep pattern and your lifestyle. Zeo has been proving extremely popular since it’s introduction, as consumers seek to take advantage of the benefits these products provide. Companies that provide consumers ways to actively track and shape their health with accurate and simple data are going to find increasing success in the future.
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To be relevant in the future and to attract new consumers tomorrow, you must create interactions that are pervasive and instinctive
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INVISIBLE INTERACTIONS INTERACTIONS ARE BECOMING MORE RESPONSIVE AND IMMERSIVE THAN EVER BEFORE
How we interact with computers has been changing rapidly over the last year or so, as new sensing technology has led to more intuitive ways of controlling and accessing media. Apple’s iPhone has proved to be hugely successful in no small part due to the multi-touch capacitive touch screen, and Nintendo’s return to the top of the games consoles market has been due to the completely different way of gaming that the accelerometers in the Wii-mote offer. These complex controllers are attracting new consumers to their brands, creating new types of activities, making a number of digitalized processes easier and more enjoyable. Over the next few years interactions are likely to become more responsive and immersive than ever before, and at a rapidly changing rate. Apple’s new iPad holds some unique possibilities for gaming and reading as the expanded screen makes things more possible than on the iPhone, giving consumers more control and flexibility. Apple hope that the iPad will expand its reach further into a territory previously dominated
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by Nintendo and Sony. iPhone gamers have already helped push the App Store past three billion downloads, as games have proved to be one of the most successful application categories, with video games making up over 20% of the iPhone’s 140,000 apps. The experience that these devices offer are unlike any other due to the combination of multi-touch, accelerometers, and large screens. In addition devices like the iPad are redefining the future of gaming. Apple already have more games than the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP combined, and these games could make the iPad the next must-have device for both casual and hard-core gamers alike. Sony are also looking to challenge Nintendo’s dominance amongst families, and in March they unveiled the PlayStation Move, a controller that tracks it’s movement for game play that is likely to be even more intuitive than the Wii. Likely to be released in the Autumn, Move has been designed to provide players with a realistic and precise feeling of holding the object that is on-screen,
Left Apple’s new iPad www.apple.com/ipad
be it a sword, a gun, or a racquet. When combined with the PlayStation Eye Camera it will appear that you (and your friends and family) are actually playing the games. Sony hope that it will improve game play on existing titles and that it will result in a host of brand new games that will attract even more consumers over to the gaming market. Despite the size of the industry, 60% of households do not own a videogame console, although consoles like the Wii have attracted more diverse consumers than ever before.
Producing more intuitive interactions presents many companies across all sectors a great opportunity to attract new consumers
Launched at a similar time to the Move will be Microsoft’s hands-free games controller, known as Project Natal. Unveiled last year the system ditches controllers altogether and uses full body movement sensing instead. The system allows users to play games controlled by body movements and speech rather than a handheld device. The motion-sensing system is capable of allowing players to kick a virtual football or pull an imaginary trigger, as well as APRIL ANTENNAE
60% of households do not own a videogame console
10 years since its debut, the Xbox has sold 39 million units and 500m games – generating around
$20bn in retail sales Nintendo have sold more than
56 million Wiis worldwide, compared to 39m Microsoft Xbox 360s, and 30m Sony PS3s
manipulate on-screen characters via natural body movement. Natal allows gamers to play without touching a controller, as it’s body gesturing system relies on cameras, sensors, microphones and software to understand voice commands and capture the motions of a player as they move around. Project Natal will go on sale in November 2010, and it will work with every Xbox they’ve sold and every Xbox they’ll sell in the future. Microsoft believe that with this device, we will see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognizes us. With such future innovations, technology is becoming invisible – making interactions pervasive and instinctive. Beyond the gaming sector, computers and televisions are developing systems that are more natural and instinctive, making controllers obsolete.
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Future screens are being developed where the pixels double to both present and capture images, as each acts as a tiny pinhole camera. These images will be able to track 3D gestures in the same way as a standard screen captures touch gestures. So whilst you are watching the screen it is watching you, and as a result it will let consumers control the TV with a wave of the hand. As technology advances companies are pushing the boundaries to develop systems that make our lives easier, better, and more enjoyable. As they do this they have to find new ways to offer consumers the same benefits that have been provided by physical controllers. Having something tangible in your hand provides haptic feedback, such as vibration or resistance, which makes the action more realistic. Nevertheless producing more intuitive interactions presents many companies across all sectors a great opportunity to attract new consumers.
The experience that these devices offer are unlike any other
Above Microsoft’s Project Natal www.xbox.com/en-US/ live/projectnatal/
Left In the future, screens will be able to track 3D gestures
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Wii Vitality Sensor wii.nintendo.com Nintendo have continued to push the boundaries in the gaming market. Later this year Nintendo will introduce the Wii Vitality Sensor – a pulse sensor that clips on to the player’s finger and connects to the Wii-mote. It measures heart rate to determine levels of excitement, nervousness and even concentration, with the data then used to adjust game difficulty. Nintendo hope that the Sensor will continue the success of peripherals like the Wii Balance Board which has become one of the largest development platforms. Linking the Sensor to the growing Wii Fit sector could prove profitable. Satoru Iwata, the President of Nintendo, said that devices like these would help tap into a new audience of gamers. “Traditionally, video games have been used to create excitement, but it may not be long before games help people unwind or even fall asleep.” Nintendo estimates that there are still tens of millions of people who have yet to enter the gaming market. Nintendo intend to continue innovating in order to appeal to this audience.
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AUTOMATIC AUTOMOBILES SENSORS ARE INCREASINGLY BEING BUILT THAT SENSE THE ROAD, OTHER ROAD USERS, AND EVEN YOU
Sensors have been built into cars since the early seventies, with systems such as anti-lock brakes, traction control, and parking sensors. Over the last thirty years these sensors have become increasingly sophisticated, and over the next few years we can expect to see the number of sensors in cars rapidly multiply as new technologies increasingly help improve safety and the driving experience. Drivers currently struggle to ‘see’ all of the warnings and hazards that exist on the road. A number of car manufacturers are investigating new systems that incorporate sensors to help users ‘see’. GM, together with the University of Southern California and Carnegie Mellon University, are developing a system that uses an array of sensors to track both objects on or near the road, as well as the position and angle of a driver’s head and eyes. Important information, helpful driving aids and warnings would then be projected onto the entire windshield.
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As an example, at night or in fog, infrared cameras could identify the edge of the road with the edges illuminated directly onto the windshield. Sensors are already being incorporated into cars that go beyond helping direct the driver by taking over some of the controls. Some cars already have cruise control systems that alter a car’s speed to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front, as well as technology such as semi-autonomous parking systems. Volvo’s new S60 will contain a system that can go one step further and sense an imminent collision with pedestrians and brake automatically if the driver doesn’t. This is only the beginning. We are entering an era in which vehicles will also gather real-time information about the weather and highway hazards, using this to improve fuel efficiency, make life less stressful for the driver, and improve the safety of other road users.
Left AIDA www.audireports.com
Below Nissan’s RA www.nissan-global.com
Technology has advanced to the extent where multiple sensors can gather and share information in order to make advanced decisions
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In Japan, a sophisticated sensing system is already being deployed with a network of infrared, microwave and radio transmitters being installed at the roadside. Approximately two million vehicles can already pick up news on congestion, roadworks, accidents, weather, speed limits and parking availability from these sensors. In the next few month’s this system will begin to alert drivers of cars attempting to merge into their lane and even warn if pedestrians or cyclists are in the road ahead.
All Volvo’s imminent collision detection system www.media.volvocars.com
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Rather than installing a roadside infrastructure manufacturers in Europe and the US are developing vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems so that vehicles can share information with each other directly. Sensors are not only being developed to sense the surrounding environment, but also to sense you. Audi and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing AIDA (Affective Intelligent Driving Agent), a robotic head that is mounted onto the car dashboard. The versatile face and neck allow the robot to make a wide range of human-like gestures that will be less jarring than standard warnings.
We are entering an era in which vehicles will also gather real-time information about the weather and highway hazards, using this to improve fuel efficiency, make life less stressful for the driver, and improve the safety of other road users
A downturned face with pleading eyes, for example, indicates that the driver’s safety belt is unbuckled. Moreover, it uses sensors inside and outside the car to sense the driver’s mood. For example, grip strength and skin-conductivity sensors located in the steering wheel could tell if the driver is tense.
Alan Taub, Vice-President for R&D at General Motors, expects to see semi-autonomous vehicles on the highway by 2015, and he sees “the potential for launching fully autonomous vehicles by 2020”, allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel completely.
Nissan are also working on a more life-like system for relating to drivers. RA, (the Robotic Agent) establishes the driver’s frame of mind by monitoring facial expressions and voice patterns. It then helps encourage the driver into a more positive mental state, as research shows that being in a more positive frame of mind can help to reduce accidents.
It is clear that technology has advanced to the extent where multiple sensors can gather and share information in order to make advanced decisions that often have life-critical consequences. As the technology advances it is important that car manufacturers develop systems that increase the safety on our roads, whilst simultaneously making the driving experience more enjoyable.
Honing these systems to identify and highlight important information in a natural and easy fashion for the driver to assimilate, will be significant and is certainly the future of driving. But it is likely that cars that actually drive themselves will displace these systems.
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Sensors are going to become ubiquitous, creating opportunities for numerous brands to obtain and share new pieces of information that can positively benefit people’s lives
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CELLULAR SENSORS THE CELL PHONE IS THE PERFECT SENSOR
The prevalence of cell phones means that they can become a powerful data-gathering tool if information is pooled
Over the last 3 years cell phones have included increasing sensitive and accurate sensors within them. From mics, to cameras to accelerometers, our phones have gained the ability to further interact with the consumer and the world around them. With third party developers constantly innovating the mobile communications industry with software applications, we can expect our phones to become smarter to the environment around us, even becoming our technological portal to content embedded in everyday objects. Currently, the rise of the smartphone application market has given consumers a broad range of software that utilizes the sensors embedded in the phones. These range from apps that can tell how far and fast you’ve jogged by utilizing the GPS components, to others that can record the decibel level in the room through the mic. These apps have found varying success – apps like ‘endomondo’ use the GPS on your phone to track your running or cycling and utilize a successful strategy of providing an online portal for users to follow each other, compete against friends and analyze their workouts.
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A slightly more obscure use for the technology in your smart phone could be as an alcohol breathalyzer. Using an attachment that is clipped onto the bottom of an iPhone or iPod, the iBreath Alcohol Breathalyzer is used by consumers to self-breathalyze themselves, with the reading displayed on-screen. It is hoped that by making such information more accessible for consumers, alcohol-related road deaths can be reduced. However, the prevalence of cell phones means that they can become a powerful data-gathering tool if information is pooled. Four of the top universities in the UK are currently developing a method of more accurately reading the air pollution in major cities, using the measurements gathered from a variety of cell phones to create a detailed map in real time. Electrochemical cells can be mounted inside cell phones, with the pollutants in the air converted into small electrical charges. This data is then transmitted via the phone network to a control centre where it is used to create a detailed real-time map of the air quality in the city. These mobile measurements could help improve the management of the air quality, as well as providing local information for those with respiratory problems. These measurements also give a more accurate measure of the level of pollution people are actually experiencing on the ground, compared to the current method that uses rooftop data.
Left Endomondo app for the iPhone www.endomondo.com
Although these sensors can be mounted to bicycles, cars and buses, it is the sheer amount of reliable data that would be gathered through cell phones that makes them such valuable tools. Large consumer electronics brands have also been looking at the possibility of embedding cheap, yet sensitive, sensors within their products, creating a vast network that could give information about a variety of environmental conditions. HP has started looking at such a system which they have named the Central Nervous System for the Earth (CeNSE). Aimed at creating a worldwide network that will “revolutionize human interaction with the earth as profoundly as the Internet has revolutionized personal and business interactions”, CeNSE will utilize sensors embedded in phones and other electrical products, linked together to regional data hubs. Although far reaching in its vision, it is not unfeasible that such a system could be created this decade – the increasing sensitivity and durability of low cost sensors means that the hardware already exists for such an information rich infrastructure to be created. APRIL ANTENNAE
All In the future we will be able to use our phones to interact further with objects using RFID technology
The capabilities of our smart phones are increasing all the time, and we can expect the next evolution to change the way we live and interact with products. Smart phones already have the capabilities to read barcodes thanks to their inbuilt camera and various software applications that can be downloaded. These apps allow you to ‘scan’ products, with price comparisons and even nutritional information being called up by the software. However, the evolution will be the introduction of RFID technology to cell phones, which will result in the ability to use the phone as a payment device. This has already been implemented in Japan with the Suica Chip, allowing consumers to pay with their phones to use the railway network.
within products, from packaging to toys, will allow content to be accessed via our phones. This data could range from advertising and viral media, to content that is specific to the product. For example, a blender or smoothie maker could allow consumers to access recipes via the RFID reader on their cell phones. This system also allows users to embed their own data within objects, linking memories or events to a particular object. A small wooden, children’s toy could have video clips of that child ‘embedded’ within it, creating an emotional link between the consumer, a personal event and a commercial product. And throughout all of this, the cell phone, with its numerous sensors and readers, would be a gateway to this information.
This is not the only benefit of using such a technology in cell phones. Our mobile devices could soon become our portals to information hidden within normal objects. Embedding RFID chips
The increase in the sensitivity and complexity of the sensors built into our cell phones is opening up new areas of commercial activity for numerous brands across a variety of industries. Whether it’s
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A small wooden, children’s toy could have video clips of that child ‘embedded’ within it, creating an emotional link between the consumer, a personal event and a commercial product
through pooling together the collective resources of all cell phones in a city to create accurate real-time data of the environment, or providing the tools to gain added benefits and information from everyday objects, our cell phones are fast becoming the technological portals to our future lives. Most interesting for brands is the possibility that consumers could soon be linking their personal events to branded products – the challenge for many companies will be how they provide suitable platforms that allow this, while still entwining their brand values with the emotions being ‘embedded’ inside their products. Those brands that reach out and scope these further opportunities will be the best placed to capture large parts of a new and exciting future market.
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Philips DirectLife www.directlife.philips.com Since October last year Philips’ DirectLife fitness tracker has been proving popular amongst consumers looking to get fit. Consumers wear a small activity monitor in their pockets, on their belts, or around their necks. It tracks movement via a 3D accelerometer, which shares information with a personal online portal where progress can be tracked, and tips, goals and activity ideas are offered. The device itself has green lights which illuminate as you meet your daily activity target – giving you a virtual pat on the back. Devices like DirectLife help track everyday activities, targeting the large market for those who wish to get fit but don’t like the gym. For those that desire even more motivation to keep fit, Philips are releasing Activa this month. Activa is an MP3 player whose accelerometer selects the songs that most closely match the tempo of your body’s movements. These devices monitor, measure and motivate to help you live a healthier lifestyle, and we can expect to see many more products from Philips in this sector as they look to become the leader in health and well-being.
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SMALL AND MIGHTY ARE SENSORS SMALLER THAN BLOOD CELLS THE FUTURE?
Nanotechnology is a cutting edge science – its benefits slowly becoming apparent in a variety of industries. Using this technology to create sensitive, microscopic sensors has found a lot of traction amongst a diverse number of markets – from medical, to transportation to consumer goods like food. We could soon be entering a new era of technology, where sensors have become hundreds of times smaller than the width of a human hair. The most commercially viable use of nanotechnology as a sensor is currently in food packaging. Many of the world’s top food consumer brands are currently working on how nano-sensors can be integrated into packaging formats to give added benefits to the consumer. Knowing the freshness of food is a key consumer need at the moment, and nanotechnology can be used to visually communicate if the foodstuff has gone off or not. Scientists have developed a particular nano-sensor that will detect the gases given off by
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Salmonella – these volatiles are then sensed by the nano-particles which will then communicate the state of the food to the consumer via an on-pack graphic. However, one issue that has proved a barrier to development in this area, is the consumer distrust and negative media that nanotechnology suffers from. Using technology that is so small, digestible and in such close proximity to food, makes many consumers uncomfortable, in a similar way as GM crops have. One solution could be, like with GM produce, to label the food if nanotechnology is used – this openness is more likely to gain consumer acceptance. Consumer acceptance could also be a barrier to one of the more exciting avenues for nanotechnology sensors – medicine. Nano-sensors are small enough to be injected directly into a patient, travelling along the bloodstream and infiltrating the major organs. These sensors could be designed to seek out specific genetic codes, such as cancer, or to detect early chemical changes in the body
Many of the world’s top food consumer brands are currently working on how nano-sensors can be integrated into packaging formats to give added benefits to the consumer
caused by viruses and diseases, giving the patient and medical services a highly advanced warning. Research undertaken at the New Florida State University has resulted in a bio-sensor that reacts to a biological element, such as skin, urine, sweat or blood. Developing this nanotechnology further could result in an affordable, disposable chip that could be placed on a consumers mobile device and diagnose conditions that would currently require a medical professional and lab testing. It remains to be seen though if consumers are ready to have smart technology injected into their bodies.
Above Nano-sensors are small enough to be injected directly into a patient
The possible applications for nano-sensors as a security measure is more likely to gain consumer acceptance however. Using a similar technique to that used in food packaging, ultra sensitive nano-sensors would be able to detect chemical vapors accurately and in minute detail. This could be implemented in airports and other transport terminals to detect the chemicals naturally given off by explosive devices. Other safety applications could be within the transportation industries – nano-sensors could be built into the body of an APRIL ANTENNAE
aircraft, supplying the pilot with real-time data on environmental conditions and the forces being exerted on the airframe. Nano-sensors could also be built into road systems, updating a central control room on everything from the weather conditions to the amount of traffic on the roads. The development of nano-sensors that co-ordinate and communicate together in a group has also opened up new opportunities to industries. Nanotechnology sensors that are smaller than a red blood cell, would be lighter than air and could ‘float’ in our atmosphere. Although each cell in this ‘smart-dust’ would be relatively unintelligent, millions of them working together would provide detailed information on the environment. ‘Smart-dust’ would move through our atmosphere, perhaps even reaching the upper levels and near space, providing atmospheric and meteorological data in a detail never seen before.
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Nanotechnology could be the next evolution in sensor technology, giving us unprecedented levels of data and changing the way we collect it. Nanosensors could infiltrate into our lives in a multitude of unseen ways – through our packaging, our buildings and our bodies. However, apart from the technological difficulties in bringing this technology to market, considerable barriers still exist with consumers, who are hesitant to accept such an invisible and perhaps invasive science. It will be a challenge for major consumer brands to not only use this technology in a commercially viable way, backed with real and pressing consumer needs, but also to reassure and educate their customers about nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology sensors that are smaller than a red blood cell would be lighter than air and could ‘float’ in our atmosphere
Above Security in airports could be assisted by nano-sensors that detect chemicals given off by explosive devices Left Nano-sensors could be built into the body of an aircraft to diagnose the condition of the airframe
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BUILDINGS WITH FEELINGS ARCHITECTURE THAT ADAPTS AND EVOLVES
Our homes, offices and hospitals consume more energy than almost any industry or commercial enterprise – buildings make up over 40% of the total energy consumption in the United States. Our buildings are also prone to damage from the wear and erosion that the environment and usage causes. But how can we know when our buildings are wasting energy, or if they are in need of maintenance and repair? A growing trend to make our buildings ‘smarter’ through using sensors could soon make homes and offices more efficient and easier to maintain. Designing buildings to adapt to the changes in their usage and the environment around them is the first step in making them ‘smarter’. Electrochromatic windows are a new innovation that is set to make our offices more energy efficient places to work by helping maintain a consistent temperature in the building. By changing color to block out the sun on warm days and retain heat on cold ones, the windows reduce consumption of air conditioning by an estimated 49% and lighting by 51%. The
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windows change color via an electrical field that is applied across them – the intensity of this field varies on how high the temperature is inside and outside the building, as well as the intensity of the sunlight. This is determined through sensors that are placed throughout a building’s interior and exterior. This ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions is a growing trend in architecture – with sensors being integral to this. The Adaptive Building Initiative is the latest innovation from designer Chuck Hoberman. Famous for collapsible domes and giant expandable video screens for U2, Hoberman is driving an effort to equip buildings with skins that change with the environment, ‘self-optimizing’ themselves. These buildings use computer controlled shading systems and glass sheaths that open or retract depending on how much sunlight there is. Sensors built into the exterior of the building co-ordinate with one another, moving the shades where it sees fit. The system is currently being installed into Madrid’s City of Justice campus, and is due for completion by 2011. However, more advanced systems are being developed to make our buildings more responsive and versatile.
Above and next page City of Justice, Madrid
This ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions is a growing trend in architecture – with sensors being integral to this
www.archicentral.com
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Some of the large computing brands have started to see architecture as a large area of opportunity, with the trend to make buildings ‘smarter’ a strong driving force for innovation. IBM has been working to create a system that will make an entire building more efficient and responsive to its usage. The system deploys a variety of sensors that are spread out across the building exterior and interior, and connected to a central hub. The building will then be able to ‘see’ if it is unoccupied or be able to identify pockets of heat loss, and take energy saving measures accordingly. Intel has also entered the market, focusing on domestic applications by developing a sensor/server that monitors the power consumption of various appliances. This data would then be sent to either a PC or home energy management console. However, Intel believes that this system could be evolved further, driving towards home automation.
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This would only be achievable if future appliances were ‘dumbed down’, moving the processing power and intelligence of the household to a central, controlling hub. This would buck the current trend for brands to make their appliances and electronics as smart as possible, and it is unlikely that they will be willing to change this policy, transferring the intelligence to a central hub. One area that hasn’t been immersed in technology is the actual building itself – though this could soon change. One of the main issues with buildings is that damage and erosion become apparent only when they become visible, which can be too late in some cases, resulting in high repair and maintenance costs. An emerging solution is the use of nanotechnology within the structure of the building itself. These sensors would be linked together wirelessly to create a highly sensitive network that would cover the entire architecture.
Some of the large computing brands have started to see architecture as a large area of opportunity, with the trend to make buildings ‘smarter’ a strong driving force for innovation
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This would give engineers and home owners alerts to any problematic cracks and damage, as well as structural erosion. The sensors would also monitor the temperature and moisture of the concrete, with nanotube sensors used for detecting cracks or breaks in materials. This allows engineers to make critical decisions about the operation and maintenance of the building, and can make more informed choices as to how to go about repairing any damage. This technology would also be particularly useful for bridges, which are often subjected to harsher environmental conditions and more strenuous usage. Governments are increasingly looking to promote smarter homes and more efficient living through legislation. In the US, California is leading the way through its new ‘green’ bills and legislation, with many of its local governments (such as
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Santa Monica and LA) adopting ‘green’ building ordnances. With a combination of governmental legislation and consumer desire for more efficient energy usage, our buildings are likely to become increasingly ‘smart’. Through the use of cutting edge sensor technology, we will be seeing new buildings incorporate a range of designs that will make the architecture more adaptable to changing environmental conditions. We should also expect to see large consumer electronics brands moving into this new area, as they see an opportunity to leverage their brand values and embed themselves further into people’s homes and lives.
One of the main issues with buildings is that damage and erosion become apparent only when they become visible...An emerging solution is the use of nanotechnology within the structure of the building itself Above left St Mary Axe, London Left Intel are developing systems that enable the control of buildings
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NewEdge + The Brewery is a dynamic innovation consultancy with a world-class team of strategists, trend forecasters, researchers and designers. We bring a fresh approach to growing business and brands through upstream and downstream innovation. Our Antennae Trends team are continually researching emerging design trends, ideas and creative thinking – from global product innovation through to changing consumer lifestyles. These trends indicate how markets are being shaped in the future, giving us the ability to anticipate how consumers are likely to respond to future solutions. If you would like to know more about our innovation consultancy, our trends research, or if you would like to comment on anything you have read in this issue, please email The Antennae team: antennae@newedge-thebrewery.com
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NEWS
We were recently awarded a prestigious gold iF design award for our work on the Dell Adamo XPS. This accolade follows a Red Dot “Best of the Best” Award for the same product announced last month. At only 9.9mm thin, this premium product is the world’s thinnest, fully featured notebook, redefining mobility in this highly competitive market. Using our experience of miniaturization from the mobile phone industry, we were able to architect both electronics and mechanics to deliver a radical new platform.
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ANTENNAE TREND REPORT APRIL 2010
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