Always-on Society - Home and Leisure

We're in a sparsely furnished office with cardboard boxes on the floor, right next to a densely populated open-plan office. No one would suspect this is where visions for a global corporation are born. The first vision is scribbled on a piece of paper by Stefan Jenzowsky, head of a small strategy team that’s exploring new business areas for Siemens Communications (Com). It’s a circle intersected by two lines. "Imagine a video recorder with neither a hard drive nor a DVD burner," says Jenzowsky, pointing at the mysterious diagram. But in the digital home of the future, where would the films be stored? A third line leading out of the circle answers this question: Internet service providers receive the videos from the households via a DSL connection and store them in gigantic storage cabinets. "That’s much cheaper, because users pay only for the storage space they actually use," Jenzowsky adds.

It sounds visionary, but it’s already been created in a demonstration room in a southern suburb of Munich (see picture above). Here, visitors can try out the streamlined box with its glowing orange screen as they sit comfortably on a leather sofa. It’s a good way to get an impression of where the much-heralded convergence of communications technology and consumer electronics is leading us—and how it feels to be always online. In addition to a key for the network video recorder, the remote control’s features include a phone button that can be used to create a video phone connection.

The flat box which is called "Surpass Home Entertainment Solution" is online around the clock. Communications scientist Heidi Anders, who is also on Jenzowsky’s team, is convinced that always-on devices like this one are going to change our lives: "Surveys indicate that this is what customers want." The boom in broadband Internet access ( Facts and Forecasts) is smoothing the way for this development, she adds. According to Bitkom, a communications sector association, 15 percent of German households already have a DSL connection, and in two years that figure will be 21 percent, making Germany one of the world leaders in this regard. DSL already enables users to watch videos online if the data is transmitted in a compressed form.

The largest Belgian telephone company, Belgacom, will be launching a pilot project in around 1,000 households in November of 2004. In addition to a digital video recorder, Belgacom will be offering an electronic program guide, video-on-demand, games, e-shopping and surfing on the Internet. A similar program will be started in the Fall in 600 German households by telephone giant Deutsche Telekom. This Siemens development gives network operators the opportunity to more fully use the capacity of their DSL networks and open up new business areas, for example by renting out storage space in the network or making one feedback channel available for interactive television. This means that TV is no longer a one-way street. The viewer now has a direct line to broadcasters around the clock. Jenzowsky’s think tank is even working to develop appropriate broadcasting formats, such as a new game show similar to the legendary quiz show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." In this show, however, the candidates won’t be sweating in the studio chair—they’ll be at home in front of their own TVs. Video telephony will connect them with the studio and put them on the viewers’ TV screens.

Fully Networked Digital Homes. The Surpass Home Entertainment Solution is only one small element in the mix of devices that will be connected around the clock with the Internet and with one another. The man who can explain all the details of this scenario is Walter Reithmayer. In the Group Strategy department of Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, he clicks through images of the digital home of the future on his monitor. We first see a PC, then an LCD TV with a digital video recording station, followed by a music center, game consoles, a telephone, household appliances and much more—all on a single network. These items aren’t merely a pipe dream for Reithmayer, who uses a range of unusual devices at home. "I have to admit my wife isn’t crazy about my 25 remote controls," he smiles. "One for each of us would be enough."

For Reithmayer, the digital home will have many connections. These include a constant connection with the Internet (preferably DSL), and a link with a cable or a satellite dish. Inside the home, music and videos are brought to every room via wireless LAN or fast Ethernet cables. In the future, even the TV signal may be transmitted via WLAN to a TV in the living room or a notebook in the study, by means of a TV feeder. According to Reithmayer, no decision has yet been made about when to launch the magic box on the market. His scenario doesn’t include an all-purpose device that combines a TV and stereo system with a PC, one that ideally would also make coffee. "In the future we will continue to have many different terminals in our homes," says Paul O’Donovan of the Gartner market research institute. However, they may be completely digital and networked—for example, via the UPnP standard (Universal Plug & Play).

The boom in digital consumer electronics is also inspiring the manufacturers of PC hardware and software. In early 2004, Microsoft presented the Media Center Extender—a box that wirelessly networks a PC with a TV and a stereo system. The PC stores large volumes of digital music and video files originating from many sources, including the Internet. "The PC could even manage the entire house," says Andreas Schönberger, a product manager for WindowsXP. Lutz Gärtner from Siemens Com also believes such a scenario is completely realistic. He’s the head of an interdisciplinary team that has developed an architecture for the smart home of the future, where an integrated and unified user interface is wholly responsible for managing everything from entertainment, telephony and lighting to household appliances and building security. The owner can access this web-based user interface via several devices, including the TV, a portable tablet PC, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or a cordless phone (see Pictures of the Future, Spring 2004, SmartHome).

Gärtner has noted a recent quickening of the market. Telecommunications firms and home construction companies are increasingly becoming interested in services that are made possible by networking in the home. Services such as entertainment, security or energy management could be offered for a monthly fee. But customers won’t be confident that all of the networked components are completely compatible unless international standards are put in place. That’s why the members of the Digital Living Network Alliance include all of the major manufacturers from the IT and PC sectors as well as the consumer electronics and household appliances industries. Standards being developed in the UPnP Forum and the WLAN Forum will make it possible for consumers to integrate new devices into their smart networks without having to lay any new cables or hire specialists to do the job. At Siemens as well, a project in the corporate program top+ Innovation ensures that all of Siemens’ products can be combined with one another and are easy to install. A "Siemens Smart Home" label is being developed for these products.

A central role in Gärtner’s vision is played by a residential gateway that connects the home network with the outside world, in particular with the Internet. Jenzowsky’s set-top box is also in principle only a DSL router that has been adapted for TV entertainment systems—integrating a household management system would be the next step. Market researchers at ABI Research expect that in 2008 a total of 20 million such devices will be sold in the U.S. alone, although these will be adjusted to be compatible with local TV cable networks. According to Gärtner, the increasing number of broadband connections and the growing popularity of the Internet is fruitful ground for the growth of customer demand for comfort, security, time savings and cost-effectiveness in the private sphere. "Our aim now is to spur this demand by offering customer-oriented solutions that are easy to use," he says.

TV on a Cell Phone. Martin Gebler of Siemens Com has all kinds of new business models up his sleeve—and all of them involve cell phones. In the future, we’ll even be able to watch TV on a mobile phone. And because every mobile phone has a built-in feedback channel, mobile TV will be interactive from the very start. But first, the technology for mobile TV has to be developed. Gebler sees tremendous opportunities ahead for DVB-H (digital video broadcasting for handhelds). This spinoff from terrestrial digital TV (DVB-T) is specially adapted for handy "smart phones," which are expected to come on the market in 2005. But it will take several more years for DVB to be universally accessible. Nor is it yet clear how many channels, if any, will then be available for DVB-H.

But that doesn’t make Gebler any less optimistic. The first services will be offered to certain communities in connection with the 2006 World Cup in Germany. One such community could be spectators in the soccer stadiums, who would be able to watch replays of particularly exciting scenes on their cell phones during the game, in real time or slow motion. Sports reporters would be continuously supplied with game statistics. "There will be several channels, and you’ll be able to switch back and forth," Gebler promises. Developers are also thinking about the possibility of personalizing broadcasting services. For example, shops in pedestrian zones could inform passersby about special offers through small advertising videos that would be received only by the nearby owners of UMTS smart phones.

That would benefit TV broadcasters as well as mobile phone providers who offer a feedback channel via GSM or UMTS. A large share of added value would be created by companies generating new content for mobile infotainment from pre-existing material. Berlin already has "What’s up"—a subscriber service that provides tips from trend scouts on the hottest upcoming events via texts and images. There’s no lack of ideas to pursue, says Gebler: Music stations could use DVB-H to broadcast the Top 20 around the clock, for example, and listeners could choose their favorite video to influence the song sequence. Or users could participate in eBay auctions of fan items while they’re out and about.

The concept of "always online" will become a reality for phone callers too. Private customers can now use their cordless phones to make calls via the Internet—with the Siemens Gigaset M34 USB. The tiny USB plug uses the tried-and-tested DECT radio standard. It enables the user to make calls as usual via the phone network or to call via the Internet using a radio adapter, with a PC acting as the gateway.

Thanks to DSL, Internet telephony is inexpensive, and even for conference calls involving as many as five people. The Skype software program is based on the same technology as the Kazaa music file sharing service. "In the future, phone calls and data communication will take place directly via a PC by means of a residential gateway," says Marco Bambach, who is involved in Web telephony business at Com. In the future, the classic cordless DECT phones will be supplemented by WLAN phones that can be used to communicate at home via the WLAN router or at a public hotspot via the Internet. Thanks to higher computing power and larger displays, these devices will also make video telephony possible.

Picture Chat for Flirting. Germany’s mobile phone users will soon be enjoying a service that’s already become very popular in the United States; Push to Talk over Cellular (PoC). As with a walkie-talkie, the caller pushes a button to set up a connection with one or more friends. The technology doesn’t set up a fixed one-to-one connection, as is the case with a normal phone call; instead, a session is set up via GPRS using an Internet server. The sessions can be active as long as the callers wish, and they pay only for the time period when data is actually being transmitted. It’s similar to an Internet chat room, where you can play games or invite other people in. Mirko Naumann, a technology developer at Siemens Com, has already developed a possible extension called Picture Chat, which makes it possible for callers to send images and texts back and forth between mobile phones in a mobile chat room. According to Naumann, "It’s the ideal way to flirt."

Bernd Müller

What is it? It's a cell phone, but without a keypad or display. That’s right, it’s the My-Ay! This stylish egg-shaped object is a baby phone, alarm system, webcam and lots more in one. What’s more, it stays in touch with other cell phones via a built-in mobile radio module. It’s a classic always-on device. For example, if a certain sound level is reached, or if something moves in front of its lens, the My-Ay sends a warning SMS or an MMS with a photo. "Left in a car, it informs the owner if something unforeseen happens," explains Dr. Karl Bitzer of Siemens Com, father of the My-Ay. The My-Ay uses sensors to measure temperature, brightness, sound and movement. It even knows its own location. This watertight watchdog is programmed via SMS, a website or a WAP-enabled cell phone. It’s expected to be on the market in summer, 2005.