Pictures of the Future    Fall 2007

Hot Tip

Julian, a computer game designer, is preparing dinner in his networked home. The kitchen knows which ingredients he has on hand and suggests possible meals. Via a large, interactive display, Julian has access to the Internet, which he uses to chat with friends and order ingredients for cooking exotic dishes. And thanks to his fiber optic connection, Julian can also work from home

Can you think of anything special you’d like me to cook for dinner?" Julian asks his wife Catherine and blows her a kiss. "Don’t distract me from my driving!" laughs Catherine with a wink. "I’m not particularly hungry, so cook whatever you like. I’m on the way home now—my navigator tells me I’ll be there in just 20 minutes." "Want to watch a film after dinner?" "Sure, just pick something out. Use that introductory movie service subscription—you know, the one that automatically suggests films we might like. But wait—get a romantic comedy, OK? See you soon, love you!" Following this brief conversation, Julian’s face disappears from the edge of Catherine’s windshield, and the head-up display once again shows data from the navigation system and driving instructions.

Catherine is a doctor and she has built up her own consulting firm specializing in the networking of databases in the healthcare system. Her clients include large clinics as well as small medical centers. The medical profession has changed dramatically since she was a medical student 20 years ago. Today, healthcare is a sector in which there are more biotechnologists, computer experts, and software developers than physicians. This sounds complicated, but thanks to integrated diagnostics and therapy many things are simpler than they used to be.

Information about patients, their case histories and, most importantly, comparable cases with the names removed are available today to everyone involved, and that makes doctors’ work much easier. Doctors can make diagnoses faster, using genetic and protein databases when necessary, and choose the best therapy or medicine for a particular patient. Catherine helps clinics integrate information technology into their daily work processes. Today she has installed a software update in a newly built private clinic for heart patients.

Her husband Julian has made a profession out of his hobby and works at home developing scenarios for RealNetGames, one of the largest producers of online games. Using a 10 Gbit glass fiber connection, he can design the three-dimensional worlds of the role-play "Fellows of Glendalough" on four large displays. Together with his colleagues he’s now building an additional feature that will be made available in two months to the 250 million active members of the fantasy game community. Known as "The Descent," the feature will sport a complex of interconnected caves in which players will encounter a completely new type of being—creatures who initially appear to be very aggressive but later turn out to be intelligent inhabitants of an underground parallel world.

That’s why Julian has spent a lot of time in recent weeks exchanging ideas with spelunkers in Web 2.0 communities so that he can make the scenario as realistic as possible. As his workspace is networked with all of his project partners, Julian can work with them smoothly. New ideas and changes to the 3D worlds are immediately accessible to everyone. Because the system has a memory, previous work stages can be reconstructed. Right now, Julian is designing a complete city on the banks of an underground river.

But first, he has to make dinner. He has begun by selecting a film from a list of suggestions provided by his Web service and ordering it via video on demand. "Harry and Sally 2," a classic that’s one of his wife’s favorites. It’s fascinating, he muses, how these interactive databases generate precise profiles on the basis of your media behavior. Catherine would have liked the other films on the list too. His son Max has finished his homework and is now immersed in his favorite science fiction game. He makes gestures as if dodging imaginary foes.

Julian looks at the list of dishes his smart kitchen has put together on the basis of the ingredients available in the cooling and refreshment system. He decides to make spaghetti carbonara because there are still five eggs left and an organic dairy service will be delivering its next scheduled order the day after tomorrow.

His wife’s ring tone interrupts him as he’s chopping onions. Her face pops up in a window on the big display in the kitchen. "Julian, sorry, there’s been a small change in our plans for this evening. I’ve just had a call from a clinic where the patient database is going crazy. It’s probably a server problem that has nothing to do with my software, but I can confirm that only together with my colleague Cynthia. I’ve just reached a broadband hot spot, so I have a good connection via the car-to-car network. It’s going to take a while. We’ll probably have to check all of the log files. I’ve invited Cynthia to come to dinner later, to show her how much I appreciate her help, so please make something special, O.K. Sweetheart? A meal that she’s never had before. Bye. Cynthia’s calling back, we’ve got to get started…"

Grumbling a little, Julian goes to the range and turns off the heat under the water for the spaghetti and then logs in to his cooking club. The web site window tells him there are 247 members online. One of the hobby cooks will surely have a good idea for him.

He drags and drops the available ingredients in a window and starts the messaging application. The first replies arrive quickly, including one from Rob in England. Julian knows him from an online course offered by the school founded by Ferran Adrià, the famous Spanish chef. With a click of his mouse, he selects Rob right away and opens a video connection in another window.

Julian explains his situation. "I’m getting the impression that you don’t especially like Cynthia," says Rob. "Then I recommend you make baked curry fish with a pepper crust in coconut milk, spinach, and steamed potatoes. I’ll order just the right korma paste and the coconut milk for you at ‘Bombay Kitchen.’ They also supply through dealers in Germany and deliver in 20 minutes," says Rob. Julian thanks him and gets the fish from the freezer compartment…

One hour later, Cynthia, Catherine, Julian, and Max are sitting at the dinner table. "Wow, Dad! You’ve really outdone yourself," says Max. "Really, it’s delicious," adds Catherine. Cynthia, meanwhile, is busy scraping crushed peppercorns from her fish. Her cheeks are sprinkled with red spots, and beads of sweat glisten on her forehead. "Yes, very good," she concurs. "Thanks again for the spontaneous invitation" "Our pleasure," says Julian with a grin. "You are always welcome here…"
                                                                                                Norbert Aschenbrenner