Pictures of the Future      Spring 2005

Formulas for Success Must Focus on the Customer

Imagination is more important than knowledge, because knowledge is limited" is one of Albert Einstein’s best-known sayings. Exactly a century ago, Einstein himself demonstrated how important imagination can be when it’s combined with a generous dose of unconventional thinking. In the early summer of 1905, as a young technical expert at the Swiss Patent Office, he published a series of articles that revolutionized our understanding of space and time, matter and energy. But Einstein’s theories are by no means purely philosophical; on the contrary, they have far-reaching effects on our everyday lives. The more sophisticated our technologies become, the more they make use of Einstein’s discoveries. For example, the article about Einstein of this issue of Pictures of the Future reveals that modern navigation systems can deliver results that are precise within a few meters—and in the future, within a few centimeters—because their software takes into account the effects described in Einstein’s General and Special Theories of Relativity. To take another example, lasers—such as the new blue laser diodes from Osram—would have been inconceivable before Einstein published his ideas about quantum physics.

But Einstein was not merely a gifted theoretician. He also filed a series of patents, and one of them—a ship’s gyrocompass—even became a tidy source of supplementary income. In other words, he often combined theory and practice. What would he have thought of mathematical models that simulate the relationships between an individual’s genes and use this data to draw conclusions about the state of his or her health ( Biomax)? Or mobile radio networks that organize themselves (Fusing Ad Hoc & P2P)? Or systems that can detect a few billionths of a gram of pesticide in a liter of water ( Solutions for a Thirsty Planet)? All of these have been developed by the R&D laboratories at Siemens, which are implementing the results of leading-edge research in products that offer tremendous customer benefits.

Einstein’s discoveries were motivated by a thirst for knowledge. But for an industrial corporation it’s the customer who stands at the beginning and the end of every innovation. Which products will bring customers a competitive advantage, better performance or enhanced comfort? Personalization, for example, is a trend that satisfies people’s basic need to assert their individual identity. At the same time, it makes for easier operation of devices and systems—ranging from cell phones and cars to smart homes and electronic patient records. You can read in the Personalization articles about the solutions we’re developing for these applications and how their data security can be guaranteed.

Another major trend is the "graying" of our society—and here too we need innovative solutions in areas such as health care and household appliances (The Graying Society). Siemens’ broad range of products and services makes it uniquely suited to develop comprehensive solutions in this area and take advantage of synergies—and that goes for Remote Services as well. Whether it’s power stations or computed tomography, telemedicine, automobiles or locomotives, supermarkets in the UK or excavators in Canada—modern telecommunications make it possible to consult with experts who are in distant service centers. At Siemens, we’re developing tools, platforms and new ideas for all of these applications. After all, Einstein’s slogan "It’s important to go on asking questions" also applies to industrial companies. For us, that means constantly asking ourselves what we could be doing even better.