Pictures of the Future      Spring 2005

Always at Your Service

May 2015. Jan Brenner, an augmented reality specialist, just joined a company that provides remote maintenance services to customers world­wide. Today he’s getting a truck in Australia back on the road.

Well, Tony," asks Jan Brenner. "Did anything happen while I was on my coffee break?" "No, everything’s okay," replies Tony Wang. "I even had time to look at all the data from the computed tomographs at the Mayo Clinics. They all look good, except for one. I left a note asking the chief technician in Rochester to have a comprehensive diagnosis performed as soon as possible—it can’t be done during normal operations. I don’t think the X-ray tube will last much longer," says Tony as he scans operating data sent by medical equipment at other hospitals.

Jan sits down again at his workstation in the Hardware Center of Superior Remote Services (SRS). He’s been working for two months now at SRS, the most important company in the remote control sector. The company earns its revenues exclusively through the remote monitoring, control and optimization services it provides for every conceivable type of apparatus, machine and equipment. In his previous job, Jan was an "augmented reality specialist" for a software company that designed virtual computer worlds for water parks. But the job advertisement that his employment agency found on the Web sounded even more interesting. That’s why he decided to come to work at SRS.

At first he was amazed by the broad range of services the company offered. SRS started out as a small service operation for PCs and game consoles 15 years ago, when the danger of viruses from the Internet was still considerable. By offering fast and reliable on-line assistance, SRS soon dominated an important part of the market. Little by little, it received monitoring and maintenance contracts from larger companies as well. Through purchases and cooperative projects with manufacturers, the company eventually gained expertise related to industrial units and processes in areas as diverse as power stations, building maintenance technology and diagnostic equipment in hospitals. Jan quickly realized that the company’s success was ultimately based on its employment of leading specialists from all over the world. After a month of training at company headquarters in Dublin, Jan was dispatched to his native Prague, one of the company’s four main branch offices. If he does well here, he may soon be working in Shanghai, Bangalore or Boston.

Suddenly, his co-worker Elizabeth Rowley rouses him from these pleasant thoughts: "Hey, Jan! Wake up! You’ve got a call from Australia!" Elizabeth, a brunette from Ireland, throws him an angry look, turns her back on him and continues her conversation in Russian. She’s talking to the engineers at a gas turbine power station in St. Petersburg, trying to persuade them to use the operating parameters she has optimized for them so that they can increase the facility’s efficiency. Elizabeth, who has a degree in mechanical engineering, is visibly irritated as she explains to the shift foreman that the figures are based on a comparative analysis of 250 other power stations. As she speaks, she impatiently swings her foot back and forth.

"In their eyes, I’m just an insignificant game designer," thinks Jan as he tries to avoid staring at Elizabeth’s legs. Absent-mindedly he says into his headset, "SRS Hardware Center, AR Department. Jan Brenner speaking. How can I help you?" "Hi, Jan," says a resonant voice. "It looks like I’m stuck in the outback." "Wait just a second for the image transmission to kick in." A split-second later on his big monitor, Jan sees the cab of a truck, with Ayers Rock in the back­ground. Suddenly the image swerves, and a sweaty man wearing a hat appears onscreen. He’s obviously holding his cell phone camera in front of his own face. "Hi, I’m Thomas from TALogistics—we’ve got a maintenance contract with you. I’ve got frozen pork bellies in the back, and my engine just broke down. It’s going to be dark soon. Can you link up with me and find out what’s going on? I hope it’s nothing serious—‘cause if it is, the things are going to melt on me in the fridge compartment." With Thomas still grinning at him, Jan quickly establishes radio contact with the truck’s onboard computer. He uses a code to access Thomas’ log-ons and takes a look at the most recent data available. "I wouldn’t worry," he says. "It doesn’t look like a mechanical defect to me. But the temperature under the cab is very high. And I also see that a ventilator in the onboard computer is out of commission. The system has probably crashed because it’s overheated. Wait just a minute, I’m going to download the operating instructions for the truck. In the meantime, I’d like you to open the lid of the onboard computer. I’ll tell you precisely where to hold your cell phone camera."

Jan tells the trucker exactly what he has to do to repair the ventilator. On his cell phone display, Thomas sees the markings Jan is transmitting to him from the video that’s part of the operating instructions. This allows Jan to help him out with the order of the instructions, such as loosening various screws and removing a number of covers. In only ten minutes, Thomas has uncovered the ventilator. "Aha," he says, "I see what’s going on. One of the contacts is loose. Darnn unpaved roads responsible."

Attach the cable, screw everything together again and reboot your computer. Maybe you should stick your chewing gum on it for good measure," jokes Jan. "By the way, have you been using more diesel fuel recently?" "How did you know that?" asks Thomas. "I was starting to think the stuff was evaporating from the tank!" "Well, the problem is probably the injection system. Our automatic diagnostic tool suggests a software update, which should optimize your synchronization in no time. I can send you the update right now." Jan jots down a note for himself to check the trucking company’s other vehicles as well, he wishes Thomas a good trip, and brings the service call to a close.

In the meantime, Elizabeth has convinced the Russian engineers to use the parameters she has worked out for them, and she’s sold them a one-year contract for an optimization tool. She’s been watching Jan in action for a while now. "You know, for a greenhorn you’re not too bad," she remarks, and for the first time her gaze isn’t mocking. ‘It’s now or never,’ Jan thinks to himself. "Um, Elizabeth, you know we’ve got a maintenance contract with that fancy Italian restaurant... the one, over near the Carl Bridge," he says. "Isn’t it about time we showed them our new energy-saving model? How about the two of us stopping by there, just casually, maybe this evening…"
                                                                                                Norbert Aschenbrenner