Special Agents of the Future
Agents, Bots and Avatars Scenario 2015
In the near future, maybe by 2015, everything from home appliances to personal robots will be networked. The key to universal networking will be invisible software agents. They will ensure that devices exchange and filter information, work with each other, and be available around the clock from any location.
In the networked world of the year 2015, intelligent software units known as "software agents" will make life easier for humans by relieving them of routine tasks
Munich, October 2015: "Good morning, sorry to disturb you!" Michael Schneider rolls over and begins to wake up slowly. The voice repeats itself, this time in a more pressing tone. "What do you think you're doing, Ernie, didn't I tell you not to wake me before seven?" says the architect. "It's only five-thirty." He turns over and closes his eyes again. "I'm sorry," says Schneider's service robot, who bears a striking resemblance to R2D2 from Star Wars, "but our news agent informed me that pilots will be on strike at the today, so I instructed your travel agent to rebook your flight to Düsseldorf as a train ticket and postpone your presentation for two hours. Your luggage is already on its way to the train station, a taxi will be here at seven o' clock, your electronic train ticket is reservedand your breakfast is ready."
Schneider checks his papers again while eating breakfast. The El Greco painting "View of Toledo" on the wall suddenly disappears, to be replaced by the steel skeleton of a 20-story building. The painting's frame is in fact an electronic display unit, which now shows pictures of the building during various stages of construction, culminating in a picture of the finished building with a glass facade. "Now the hologram," says Schneider, and suddenly a three-dimensional miniature CAD image of the building appears 2 m away from Schneider's table. Colored lines show the frame of a filigreed construction that slowly turns on its axis. "Up," says Schneider, who just turned 40. All of a sudden, it becomes clear that the eight-sided building is actually hollow in its core. The inner courtyard basks in pleasant sunshine. It even turns out that the top floor contains a roof garden.
Are Agents for Real?
The automated, computer-networked world of the year 2015 is not a farfetched fantasy. The World Wide Web is one of the driving forces behind this development, and information content on the Internet already by far exceeds that which is contained in every library in the world. Experts believe that the Internet will develop into an inexhaustible source of knowledge in the next ten years, linking people around the world in an information network. It will then be possible for the inhabitants of the Global Village to communicate from any place and at anytime.
In view of this, it is only logical to make use of a technology that can automatically process all of the world's distributed data. This involves so-called software agentsintelligent computer programs that know their users' needs and preferences and can support them in their daily activities, or even serve as personal representatives. Such assistants will plan trips, reserve rental cars, bid at auctions, help job-seekers find employment, and ensure that industrial facilities and shipping fleets make optimal use of their capacity. They will do all this completely autonomously after being commissioned to do so by their users. Companies will be able to automate a range of activities, such as brokerage services, financial administration and customer service, thereby reducing costs and boosting efficiency. Internet surfers, conference participants, or sales consultants who are unable to be present at a specific location will send their avatars out into the computer networks, where they will conduct chats, advise customers in virtual showrooms, negotiate with business partners, play with children or purchase clothing. Use of such avatar technologies and content management systems will make it possible to enhance virtual spaces with almost unlimited amounts of additional individual data.
Service robots are no utopian vision. After all, they're about 90 % software. When equipped with the appropriate radio technology, they are capable of exchanging their "knowledge" with other systems. Nevertheless, it will be quite some time before we will see an intelligent electronic butler like Ernie, who can foresee developments and react in advance. One big challenge in this respect has to do with language recognition. Our everyday speech patterns, common sense, and methods of reasoning are so complex that it will be a long time before scientists can develop programs capable of producing the required results.
"Your taxi will be here in approximately five minutes," says Ernie. "Please don't forget that tomorrow is your mother's birthday, and that a table at her favorite restaurant has been reserved for nine o' clock in the evening. The flowers have already been ordered; the only thing left for you to do is pick out the present."
"Okay, and don't forget that the auction's today and I want to buy that rare Who album," says Schneider, as he slips his personal digital assistant (PDA) into his pocket. "And remember, don't go over the limit." "The auction agent has already been programmed," Ernie reassures him. After climbing into the taxi, Schneider inserts the PDA into the backrest console behind the passenger seat. In a matter of seconds, Ernie's virtual incarnation turns up on the monitor in the form of an avatar (see definition in the article "Invisible Helpers") and reads Schneider the latest sports news. Schneider's train is already waiting to depart at Munich Central Station. He settles into his compartment in the ICE 4 and takes out his laptop. Before turning to his current project, he books a two-week vacation in Tuscany through his travel agenta present sure to please his mother.
Later, while skimming through his video mails, he comes upon a message from his business partner in Düsseldorf. A change has been made to the design of the building. Schneider's personal agent has already been informed, a fact confirmed when Schneider checks the plans again and sees they have already been updated.
Immediately afterwards, Schneider's e-mail assistant informs him that an urgent message has been received from the construction foreman: "Three specialists called in sick, a pipe has burst and water is leaking into the basementwe can't stick to the schedule!"
"What's he talking about," mumbles Schneider to himself, as he drafts an e-mail response. "Why do you think we've got agents for workforce management systems? They can put a team of specialists together in no time. My agent will send out an order right away. Just tell me how many and what kind of people you need and I'll have a team sent over in two hours. It would be a joke if we couldn't stay on schedule."
Schneider leans back and relaxes. When he takes his customers out to the site this afternoon, he'll be able to use augmented reality goggles to show them what the building will look like when completed and use superimposed animations to offer them a look at interior details.
But that's later; now it's time for the fun part of the trip. He activates his PDA once again, and a chess board appears on the display. Schneider's game agent has found him an opponent he doesn't know, but who has a similar handicap. The game can begin. It's Schneider's move.
Evdoxia Tsakiridou