CHAPTER 7 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES Innovations for Tomorrow

New Technologies Are Surfacing Everyday. l Some will have a dramatic affect on the business environment. l Others will totally change the way you live your life. Introduction Whatever the case, we refer to these as EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. 7-2

YOUR FOCUS IN THIS CHAPTER l Emerging Technologies for the Senses l Emerging Technologies Related to the Internet l Emerging Technologies and the Wireless Revolution l Emerging Technologies to Make Your Personal Life Easier Introduction7-3

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR ALL THE SENSES For the Senses Technologies that will help you work with information in various forms that appeal to all the senses. These technologies include: l Three-Dimensional Imaging l Automatic Speech Recognition l Multimedia l Virtual Reality 7-4

3-D - TECHNOLOGY FOR REAL SIGHT l THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3-D) technology presentations of information give you the illusion that the object you 抮 e viewing is actually in the room with you. l Real 3-D technologies extend beyond pseudo 3 dimensions that you see in software such as spreadsheets. l It 抯 really only a matter of time before 3-D technologies become commonplace. For the Senses7-5

AUTOMATIC SPEECH RECOGNITION (ASR) SYSTEM l Beware - ASR differs from automatic speech understanding. l For example, what does, 揊 ruit flies like a banana?mean? l We have a long way to go before computers really understand what we 抮 e saying within the context of a paragraph or conversation. For the Senses not only captures spoken words but also distinguishes word groupings to form sentences. 7-6

STEPS IN ASR 1. FEATURE ANALYSIS - eliminates other noise and converts the digital signals of your speech into phonemes. See Figure 7.5, page PATTERN CLASSIFICATION - attempts to recognize your spoken phonemes by locating a matching sequence among words stored in an acoustic model database. 3. LANGUAGE PROCESSING - makes sense of what you 抮 e saying by comparing the possible word phonemes with a language model database. For the Senses7-7

TYPES OF ASR SYSTEMS l DISCRETE ASR - requires you to pause between each spoken word. l CONTINUOUS ASR - processes continuous streams of words - that is, normal speech. l SPEAKER-INDEPENDENT ASR - can be used by anyone, but have limited vocabularies that cannot be expanded. l SPEAKER-DEPENDENT ASR - lets you 搕 rain?it to recognize your voice. These have expandable vocabularies but can be used only by you. For the Senses7-8

WHAT IT WILL TAKE FOR ASR TO BECOME STANDARD l Greater storage for an expandable vocabulary l Better feature analysis to support continuous speech l More dynamic language models to support speech understanding l More flexible pattern classification to support many people For the Senses7-9

MULTIMEDIA Multimedia... l is a combination of content (information) and software (how you control it). l encompasses many forms of media for presenting information. l can present information through various forms of media simultaneously. l is a presentation you can control. For the Senses the simultaneous presentation of information through many forms of media that you can control. 7-10

MULTIMEDIA BUSINESS USES 1.To support internal processes - such as training. 2.To inform customers about products and services - such as interactive advertising. 3.To enhance products and services - such as ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING, which takes advantage of multimedia to publish items such as books and magazines in an electronic format rather than in the print-on-paper format associated with traditional publishing processes. For the Senses7-11

BUILDING A MULTIMEDIA APPLICATION 1. Analysis 2. Design 3. Programming 4. Production 5. Testing and documentation 6. Delivery For the Senses First and foremost, you need money (multimedia applications are not inexpensive to develop) and creativity. Then, follow these six steps See Figure 7.8 page 275

1.ANALYSIS - Identify (1) the subject matter, (2) target audience, (3) setting, (4) why multimedia, and (5) other needed developers. 2.DESIGN - Develop content by creating STORYBOARDS (a visual representation of your multimedia objects) and define the navigation methods (including linear, menu, hierarchy, network, and hybrid). See Figures 7.9 & 7.10 on pages 275 & 276. For the Senses7-13

3.PROGRAMMING - convert storyboards into multimedia objects using MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING SOFTWARE (software specifically designed to help you create a multimedia application). 4.PRODUCTION - concentrate on building special forms of media - usually sound and video. For the Senses7-14

5.TESTING AND DOCUMENTATION - allow users to experiment with the application and make changes as necessary. 6.DELIVERY - place multimedia application on some type of storage device, usually CD-ROM because of its durability and ample storage space. For the Senses7-15

VIRTUAL REALITY Making You Feel Like You 抮 e There l Virtual reality incorporates 3-D to give you a real-life illusion. l Virtual reality creates a simulation of a real-life situation. l In virtual reality, special input devices capture your physical movements and special output devices send physical responses back to you. For the Senses a three-dimensional computer simulation in which you actively and physically participate. 7-16

I/O DEVICES IN VIRTUAL REALITY l GLOVE - captures and records the shape and movement of your hand and fingers and the strength of your hand and finger movements. l HEADSET - captures and records the movement of your head and displays various views. l WALKER - captures and records the movement of your feet as you walk or turn in different directions. For the Senses7-17

APPLICATIONS OF VIRTUAL REALITY l Entertainment such as race car driving and golfing. l In movies such as Congo and Disclosure. l Demonstrating safety features on cars. l Training airline pilots. l Training assembly line workers. l CAVE AUTOMATIC VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS (CAVE) - special 3-D rooms spread across the world which may run across the Internet. For the Senses7-18

CYBERSICKNESS The Downside of Virtual Reality l Eyestrain -from a low-resolution headset for displaying views. l Simulator sickness - because physiological inputs and outputs are out of sync. l Flashbacks - experiencing deja vu or a temporary disassociation with reality. For the Senses7-19

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE INTERNET l Electronic cash, which you can use to purchase products l The convergence of your telephone, television, computer, and cable TV service For the Internet7-20

ELECTRONIC CASH (E-CASH) Virtual Money on the Internet l A file that represents a denomination of money in electronic form. l You pay an Internet merchant with e-cash. l That Internet merchant can use it to buy other products or trade it in at a bank for real money. For the Internet exactly what its name implies - an electronic representation of cash See Figure 7.12, page 283

WHAT 扴 HOLDING UP E-CASH? l Anyone Can Be an Electronic Bank. l There Are No Standards for How E-Cash Should Look. l Merchants Must Have Accounts with Electronic Banks. l E-Cash Makes Money Laundering Easy. l E-Cash Is Easy to Lose. For the Internet7-22

COMMUNICATING THROUGH AND ACCESSING THE INTERNET l Internet Telephones l Cable-Ready Computers l Cable Modems l Internet PCs l All-Purpose Home Computer For the Internet7-23

INTERNET TELEPHONE l Lets you make almost-free long-distance phone calls all over the world. l First, you pay a fee to (only about $50) and register with an Internet phone service provider. See Figure 7.13, page 286. l Then, you connect to its Web site and browse a list of people on the Internet with similar phone-calling capabilities. For the Internet the technology tools required to carry on a phone conversation over the Internet. 7-24

l CABLE-READY COMPUTER - a computer that you can connect directly to a cable TV outlet to receive programming you can watch on your monitor. –You can watch TV while doing your work on the same monitor. l CABLE MODEM - a special communications processor that connects your television to a cable TV service provider. –Through it, you can receive TV programming. –You can also access the Internet and see it on TV. –Cable modems are about 300 times faster than a traditional computer modem. For the Internet7-25

INTERNET PC l Have limited storage and internal memory capacity. l Have limited CPU speed. l Designed specifically for cruising the Internet and little else. l Also called 揾 ollow PCs. l Only cost about $300. For the Internet a computer that supports only Internet access. 7-26

ALL-PURPOSE HOME COMPUTER l Most people already have everything they need for communicating through and accessing the Internet. l Almost all personal computers today have the necessary gadgets for working on the Internet. l You just need to figure out how to make them work. For the Internet7-27

THE WIRELESS REVOLUTION Virtual Connectivity l Addresses two key issues - portability (Is it easy to carry around?) and mobility (Can you work anywhere with it?) l Includes two groups of technologies: –technologies for mobilizing people (smart phones and the global positioning system) –technologies for mobilizing technology (wireless local area networks) Wireless Revolution7-28

TECHNOLOGIES FOR MOBILIZING PEOPLE l SMART PHONE - a cellular phone that also acts as a transmittal and reception station for digital page messages, messages, and faxes and also has Internet access capabilities. l GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) - a collection of 24 earth-orbiting satellites that continuously transmit radio signals you can use to determine where you are. See Figure 7.16, page 290. Wireless Revolution7-29

TECHNOLOGIES FOR MOBILIZING TECHNOLOGY l WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK (WIRELESS LAN) - a network that covers a limited distance in which all components or computers are connected without physical cables. Wireless Revolution7-30 See Figure 7.17, page 291

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR YOUR PERSONAL LIFE l SMART CARD - a small plastic card (about the size of a credit card) that contains a memory chip on which a sum of money can be recorded and updated. l INTELLIGENT HOME APPLIANCE - an appliance that contains an embedded IT system that controls numerous functions and is capable of making some decisions. For Your Personal Life7-31

TO SUMMARIZE l New technologies are emerging everyday. l Some will become standard - others are simply fads that will not survive. l Emerging technologies for all the senses: –Three-dimensional imaging –Automatic speech recognition –Multimedia –Virtual reality 7-32

TO SUMMARIZE l Emerging technologies related to the Internet –Internet telephones –Cable-ready computers –Cable modems –Internet PCs –All purpose home computer l Emerging technologies for the wireless revolution –Smart phones –Global positioning system –Wireless local area networks 7-33

TO SUMMARIZE l Emerging technologies to make your personal life easier –Smart cards –Intelligent home appliances 7-34