SIEMENS

Flying freight capsules, self-driving cars, holographic displays that can be controlled by gestures, and a method for predicting and thus preventing a murder — these were some of the technological visions of the year 2054 presented by a team of futurologists that advised Steven Spielberg while he was making the film “Minority Report.” It’s anyone’s guess as to whether, in a few decades, our daily lives will actually turn out to be the way MIT scientists like John Underkoffler have described, or the way Douglas Coupland presented them in his novel Generation X from 2001. Visions of advanced technologies are nothing new. The Mayas, for example, decorated the walls of their temples with ornaments that look like flying machines. But what leads to such visions? Is it the urge for progress, the craving for something new, plain curiosity? Or is it perhaps simply the wish to make life better and easier for people? These days, the challenges of the time demand new solutions — technology in the service of humankind.

One example is healthcare. As Dr. Norbert Hültenschmidt from Bain & Company, a consulting firm, explains, “All healthcare systems face the same challenges, namely sharply rising costs due to increased demand for services — a process that is in turn being driven by greater prosperity and aging populations.” Diabetes and cancer, for example, are no longer problems exclusive to industrialized nations. The numbers speak for themselves, as 36 million people around the world die every year from these diseases. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of such deaths now occur in developing countries and emerging markets. Healthcare costs are also being driven by an increasingly aging society. Alzheimer Disease International (ADI) reports that dementia-related illnesses generated costs of approximately $604 billion in 2010. What can be done about this?

For one thing, many countries need to reform their healthcare systems. Technological advances could also lower costs and improve treatments — through personalized medical care, for example. June 26, 2000, represents a historic date here, since it was on this day that a press conference was held with U.S. President Bill Clinton, Craig Venter, and Francis Collins, two researchers who had just succeeded in deciphering the human genome. To this day, a major scientific goal is to open the door to individualized healthcare. Such a system would utilize knowledge about an individual’s genetic makeup together with early detection methods to identify diseases at a sufficiently early stage that prevention or effective treatment would be possible. The establishment of such a system could in fact improve the chances of patient recovery and survival while also lowering healthcare costs.

This is exactly the goal researchers in Siemens’ Translational Biotechnology project are trying to achieve. Together with partners at Heidelberg University, the scientists have developed software for analyzing the genes of individuals suffering from myocardial insufficiency. There are also other methods for detecting diseases at an early stage. Dr. Maximilian Fleischer from Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) is working on the development of a device that uses sensors to “sniff out” not only cancer but also allergies and infections from samples of exhaled air. Meanwhile, other researchers are working on a device that weighs about as much as a cell phone and is equipped with a sensor that may make it possible for amateur and professional athletes to determine how much fat they’re burning when exercising.

The fact that people are now living longer is good news, but it also means more people are getting sick. Aging doesn’t have to be a negative experience, however — tomorrow’s seniors could be networked, mobile, and independent. To this end, Siemens and its partners are conducting a three-month practical test of assistance systems that is designed to help older people live independent lives. The technology includes room sensors that detect potential emergencies and automatically call for help, and wrist watches that notify users if lights are on or if a window is open.
These technologies are still in the research stage, but others that make our lives easier are already available. Example include weather forecasting systems, the mobile Internet, traffic and transport information systems, and new types of household appliances. The list of such technologies will certainly grow. Siemens, for example, is now conducting a field test with partners in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in order to find ways of using intelligent information and communication technologies to automate the electricity supply in private households. Among other things, this would lower electricity costs for consumers.

According to Dr. Patrick Baudisch, who is conducting research into new and unusual operating concepts at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, smartphones might soon be a thing of the past. “Desktop computers and mobile devices will merge until at some point we’ll only be carrying one computer around with us that has the shape and functionality of a cell phone,” Baudisch predicts. This is just one of the many developments Baudisch is examining. Another one involves new operating interfaces such as “touch floors” that report emergencies much in the same way room sensors in the SmartSenior system do. Yet another project focuses on implanted medical devices like pacemakers that can be operated through the skin without any need for assistance from a physician.

If such innovations are to be successful, they need to be as user-friendly as possible, so ease of operation is the top priority for Siemens researchers. In line with this philosophy, Werner Chmelar and his team at the Siemens Mobility plant in Vienna, Austria have developed new grab handles for the Inspiro subway system. The handles look like tree branches, which brings to mind the concept of sustainability. Moreover, because they are of varying heights, they can be used by people of all sizes. The new subway will also be handicap-accessible. Klaus-Peter Wegge, who is himself blind, is testing different components and making suggestions for improvements. Usability experts from Siemens are also taking a close look at the user-friendliness of the work environment. Among other things, they are now developing an app that will allow train conductors to communicate with one another in real time, regardless of where they happen to be. This will save time and speed up operations. Similar apps for smartphones and tablet PCs will probably be used more extensively in the future in many different places, such as hospitals and industrial plants, where they will make work processes more efficient.

Doing a Lot with a Little. Technologies that make our lives easier are truly wonderful — but they aren’t accessible to everyone around the world. Around 70 percent of the people in India, for example, live on only two dollars a day. For them, it’s the necessities that are missing — things like clean drinking water, hygiene systems, and electricity. This lack of services has a huge impact on living conditions, especially in rural areas. But there are nevertheless reasons for hope.

In Amla, a village 130 kilometers north of Mumbai, Siemens installed solar power facilities and water filters in the summer of 2012. Since then, the villagers have been enjoying 20,000 liters of clean water per day and no longer have to make a long trip by foot to the next well. Illnesses such as diarrhea have all but vanished, although in India as a whole around 1,600 people still die from it every day. The residents of Amla now have electricity and light as well, which is helping to improve education because children are able to study at night. Project manager Prashant Chandwadkar believes this project is extremely important. “These technologies could be used to transform every village in India in a similar way,” he says.

Such examples make it clear that technologies that are useful to people don’t necessarily have to be as exciting as those presented in the movie “Minority Report.” Small and inexpensive solutions can also be very helpful. Sometimes even a 1.5-meter-long water filter can be enough to change the lives in a positive way. That’s what the 300 residents of Amla have discovered.