The Magazine For Reseach and Innofation (Fall 2004)

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Fall 2004
Pictures of the Future

T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R R E S E A R C H A N D I N N O VAT I O N
COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE SENSOR TECHNOLOGY
Always-On Society Intelligence Inside Superhuman Senses
PICTURES OF THE FUTURE
EDITORIAL
CONTENTS
Europe and Siemens: Innovation Is the Key
n recent months, Europe has laid the groundwork for future development. The extension of the European Union in May 2004 created the worlds largest single market, which has the economic power of the U.S. but more inhabitants than the U.S. and Japan put together. The election of a new European Parliament in June was soon followed by a breakthrough when the leaders of the EU states agreed on the text of the future EU constitution. All of this brings Europe an important step closer to its declared goal of becoming the most dynamic economic region in the world even though much remains to be done in terms of economic reforms. or companies like Siemens, the new Europe offers tremendous opportunity. This is where we generate 57 percent of our sales and employ two-thirds of our workforce. After the opening of the Iron Curtain, weve also been able to revive contacts that go back for more than a century, and today Siemens employs about 25,000 men and women in central and eastern Europe. That brings us closer to customers who demand many infrastructure services and a pool of well-qualified workers whose labor costs are in some cases only one-sixth of those of their colleagues in Germany.
ALWAYS-ON SOCIET Y
Scenario 2015: Fantasy Online Trends: Always Online Life at Work: The Mobile Office Security: Moving Target Interview with Thomas Geitner, Board Member and Group Technology Officer at Vodafone: Why Cell Phones have a Multimedia Future Industry: Real-Time Value Home and Leisure: Two-Way Street Facts and Forecasts: Boom in Broadband Technologies Far East: Broadband Mecca Society: Heading for the Lonely Crowd? 8 11 14 17 19 20 23 26 28 31
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36 39 42 44 45 46 48 51 53 55 56
ut in terms of costs alone, neither Germany nor Europe will be able to compete with other business locations, for example, those in Asia. The EUs strengths must be sought elsewhere: in its socially stable economies, and, above all, in its peoples high level of creativity, thanks to which we have a good chance of taking the lead in innovation. And that will be the key to our competitiveness in the future. Siemens too has set its sights high. We want to be the trendsetter in everything we do. Johannes Feldmayer is a member of the Siemens AG Corporate Executive Committee. He is responsible for the business region Europe, as well as for several Siemens Groups and corporate departments (L&A, SBT, CIO, GPL). nd thats why weve chosen innovation, along with customer orientation and global competitiveness, as the focus of our top+ business excellence program. A major aspect of this program is the synergy between the Siemens Groups for example, the development of platforms such as a uniform architecture for control systems of every kind, or wireless LAN for use in applications ranging from cell phones to data transmission in factories (see p. 20). Well thought-out platforms not only help to save costs but also permit more flexibility and higher quality, thanks to reusable modules and that means more benefits for our customers. An additional focus of our innovation program is on areas where we intend to set trends whether its the rise of the mobile office (see p. 14), the smart home (see p. 23) or the real-time enterprise (see p. 20).
Scenario 2015: Living Memory Trends: Creating Tomorrows Codes Programming: Taming Complex Systems Security: Faultless Future? Facts and Forecasts: Falling Prices and Exploding Complexity Quality: Model Process Pervasive Computing: Developing a Digital Aura International Development: Software in the Global Village Standardization: Efficiency Revolution Interview with Prof. Michael Cusumano, MIT on an Automatic Transmission for Software Patents: Protecting Innovations
SENSOR TECHNOLOGY
Scenario 2015: Sensing the Best Wine Trends: Superhuman Senses with information on: Sensors in Textiles, Tires, Engines and Turbines Computed Tomography: Fast Ceramic in X-Ray Light MEMS: Buildings that Think and Act Sensor Networks: Smart Grains of Sand Biosensors: The Pocket Laboratory Optical Sensors: Electronic Eagle Eyes Facts and Forecasts: Toward Intelligent and Networked Sensors Gas Sensors: Digital Bloodhounds Interview with Dr. Udo Weimar, University of Tuebingen, on Sensors that Can Smell 60 63 68 70 72 74 77 80 81 84
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Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004
his issue of Pictures of the Future also demonstrates the high percentage of crosssectional technologies at Siemens for example, sensor technology (see p. 60 85) and software (see p. 36 57). Most of the added value in almost all of our business areas is based on software, even if its not immediately visible in the products. Our 30,000 software developers thats more than at many leading software houses basically make us one of the leading software companies in the world.
am convinced that Siemens is well on the way to becoming the leader in innovation and achieving a significant competitive edge. But the question remains: What will Europe look like in 2020? We recently commissioned TNS Infratest to conduct a study on this intriguing issue. The article that begins on page 4 reports on the future scenario we will publish as Horizons2020.
F Cover, top right: Software is ultimately nothing but mathematics and logic, translated into lines of code and yet it makes the world go round. More and more products contain software, though the user may not be aware of it. Bottom left: Sensors like this innovative CO2 gas sensor are moving in everywhere.
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Horizons2020 Scenario A Glimpse of Things to Come Research Cooperation: Feitoza Foundation, Manaus, Brazil Start-Up / Spin-Off: PolyIC the Chip Printers (Polymer Chips) History: Electronic Ears (Hearing Aids) Patents: LEDs Illuminate Runways / Chin Up in the Car of the Future Innovation News: Wristband with RFID / SPECT CT Technology for Early, Accurate Diagnosis / Cell Phone Photo Diary Feedback / Preview
HORIZONS2020 SCENARIO
Horizons2020 A Glimpse of Things to Come

What developments will characterize our society, our economy and our political system in the coming ten to 15 years? With its Horizons2020 scenario the result of a comprehensive questionnaire sent to international experts Siemens hopes to stimulate public discussion of the issues involved and help formulate appropriate solutions.
n the theater, the props and the stage setting traditionally define the framework within which a certain scene will unfold. The Greek term scenarium originally referred to a plot summary, and its meaning was later expanded to mean the directors overview of the dramatic production. The modern word scenario has been borrowed from stage terminology to mean the framework within which future developments will evolve. For example, Siemens uses Pictures of the Future scenarios to illustrate the most important technological trends in the companys business areas. But on what kind of stage will the developments of the coming years and decades take place? What social, political and economic frameworks are involved? To find the answers to these questions, Siemens commissioned TNS Infratest Munich, a business research company, to conduct an initial study throughout Europe. Since 1947, TNS Infratest has conducted thousands of studies for clients from the public and private sectors, including a number of studies of future scenarios. The company is part of the London-based Taylor Nelson Sofres, one of the worlds leading market research companies, which has more than 14,000 employees in 70 countries. The study which was commissioned by Siemens, entitled Horizons2020, will be presented to the general public for
the first time during the Science Days in Munich at the end of October, 2004. Horizons2020 is not about political scenarios such as those that were developed by the RAND Corporation during the Cold War, nor is it about strategic scenarios that companies can use to forecast probable future developments, says Dr. Joachim Scharioth, CEO of TNS Infratest Business Research, who was already working out scenarios at the Battelle Institute in the 1980s. Instead, it develops a so-called communication scenario. With Horizons2020, we depict several possible futures that are consistent in themselves and together describe the entire range of possible developments. In other words, they are like the stage settings in a theater because they show us how much scope we will have to shape the future. The aim of communication scenarios, he adds, is not to forecast future developments and the likelihood that they will actually happen. Rather, the goal is to clearly visualize a variety of possible futures and their internal relationships. The client Dr. Barbara Filtzinger, head of Public Relations at Siemens Corporate Communications adds: Through Horizons2020 we aim to initiate a dialogue with interested parties in the general public about possible developments, the challenges facing us and conceivable solutions. Weve chosen a timeframe of 15 to 20 years, which is far
enough in the future not to be a simple continuation of todays situation but is also not so distant that our ideas would be only wishful thinking or science fiction without any connection to reality. How long 20 years can be should be clear to anyone who thinks back to the way things were in 1984. In those days, who would have dared to predict the collapse of the Eastern bloc or the eastward extension of the EU? And who had any idea of the coming Internet? Mobile phones were as yet unknown and hardly anyone had a personal computer. Alternative Developments. In order to find out how experts view current trends in specific areas, TNS Infratest developed an extensive questionnaire together with Siemens and an international advisory board and sent it to several hundred experts throughout Europe. The areas involved covered economics and politics, technology and the environment, and culture and society. The group included many experts at universities who reflect on the future of their respective research areas as well as company CEOs and European political leaders, says Scharioth. The questionnaire contained many descriptors that is, two alternative descriptions of possible future developments. The 116 questionnaires returned in the first round were processed and the non-critical descriptors in other
words, the areas where most of the experts were in agreement were filtered out. The remaining descriptors were divided into critical descriptors here, the experts split into two opposing camps and those marked by a wide diversity of opinions. For the latter group, a new questionnaire was sent out, and this time the experts were informed about the opinions that had been expressed by their colleagues throughout Europe. This made the responses more definite, explains Scharioth. As a result of the two questionnaires and the meetings of the advisory board, TNS Infratest identified a total of 76 critical descripHORIZONS2020: T E N M E G AT R E N D S
Increasing globalization Increasing longevity Fewer children Greater significance of women in business and society Free choice of lifestyle Growing significance of virtual communities Networking of communication media Growing mobility (delocalization) Growing migration to Europe Acceleration of technological knowledge creation and product cycles
tors, 32 non-critical descriptors and 10 megatrends (see box below). That makes this Siemens study one of the most comprehensive and complex ones I know of, says Scharioth. Normally, he adds, research companies are commissioned to carry out much more specific studies. For example, automakers such as BMW or VW wish to find out about the future of mobility, and companies like Shell are interested in trends in the energy supply sector. So far, I havent heard of any other companies commissioning a study that examines every area of peoples lives and works with as many as 76 critical descriptors, he says. Of course, one reason for this is that
Evaluating Europes Future. Scharioths team therefore investigated which alternatives the experts judged to be especially important, how often they were mentioned and the extent to which they were correlated with a positive future index. To this end, the experts were asked their opinions about how positive the future would be in their respective regions and fields of expertise. A total of 38 percent of the experts believed that living conditions in Europe in 2020 would be very good or excellent, whereas only 16 percent expected good economic conditions in 2020, and a mere seven percent believed the social climate would be positive. By contrast, 56 per-
Experts from all over Europe reviewed developments in all areas of life.
such broadly conceived scenarios do not serve purely economic corporate goals, since they cannot make reliable predictions about the likelihood of these scenarios actually taking place, adds Scharioth. After all, in purely mathematical terms, 76 critical descriptors yield 276 = 75 x 1021 (75 billion trillion) possible futures. It wouldnt make much sense to carry out a statistical evaluation of that much data. cent of the experts expected cultural life in Europe to be exciting in 2020. All in all, we received 38 different descriptor impressions that are likely to have a positive impact on the future, says Scharioth. In order not to arrive at one purely optimistic and one purely pessimistic future scenario version, TNS Infratest used a strategy that, according to Scharioth, has rarely been used in previous studies. We put about the
HORIZONS2020 SCENARIO
same number of positive alternatives for the descriptors in Horizon1 and Horizon2, he says. That was the only way to ensure a meaningful discussion; otherwise everyone would have welcomed the one scenario ver-
sion and rejected the other one. Additional input came from the Pictures of the Future scenarios, as worked out by Siemens experts from Corporate Technology and the Groups. These deal with the most important techno-
logical trends of the future. Horizon1, the first scenario version, describes a development very much in the European tradition: a relatively strong state and a society that values solidarity and sustainability. Such a society is
willing to accept a modest rate of economic growth along with the associated consequences for its social services system. The other scenario version, Horizon2, which is also logically consistent, sketches an economically
dynamic society shaped by markets and global competition. In addition to being very flexible, such a society must be prepared to accept a high level of individual responsibility and greater social risk. Horizon1 and 2 taken
together define the framework within which Europe will most probably develop between now and 2020. The reality will certainly lie somewhere in between. I Ulrich Eberl www.siemens.com/horizons2020
H O R I Z O N 1 : T H E D E C E L E R AT E D S O C I E T Y
HORIZON2: THE PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED ME SOCIETY
In the first version of the Horizon2020 scenario, by 2020 European national governments, political bodies and societies have developed sustainable solutions to the problems of health care, education and old-age care. They have also found ways to ensure legal security and protect their citizens effectively from terrorism. A 35-state Europe has still not completely evolved, but Europe is nonetheless a peaceful island floating in the chaotic global ocean, in contrast to other associations of states and economic blocs. Europeans generally trust their governments, political parties and trade unions. Their basic attitudes are conservative, and they tend to hold on to tried and tested institutions. They are skeptical about major changes and immigration by non-Europeans. In this society, a socially responsible market economy is highly valued, as are top environmental quality and the shared European cultural tradition. Companies, organizations and individuals are judged according to their fairness, consideration for others and sense of responsibility. People feel responsible for the generations that will follow them. Environmentally friendly technologies are very popular, and sustainable economic planning is desired and actively promoted. With regard to the ethical applications of genetic engineering and biotechnology, Europeans have agreed on a common denominator that allows industry to establish secure legal claims in these areas. Security is so highly valued that people are open to new technologies for surveillance and personal identification. However, any innovations that might lead to outside scrutiny of their behavior as consumers are roundly rejected. People focus on their private spheres, old people are well integrated in society and children represent one of the very highest values. The proportion of patchwork families and other non-traditional lifestyles continues to increase, but it is relatively easy to combine families and careers. Thanks to modern communication media and the growing trend toward the information, knowledge and service society, people are increasingly doing a large proportion of their professional work at home. The smart home, with special zones for me-
dia, work and rest, is gaining in importance and peoples lives are once again centering on their homes. These overall developments represent a trend toward deceleration in large parts of Europe. People are putting a brake on their demands, partly as a necessary response to global competition and partly as a matter of free choice. Economic growth is slow, and as a production location Europe cannot keep pace with the up-and-coming countries of Asia. In central and northern Europe, the service and information sectors are well developed; in eastern Europe, traditional industry is strong, and in southern Europe the strongest sector is tourism. The amount of disposable income in private households is declining, partly as a result of the growing proportion of self-financed healthcare, pensions and security. In addition, the cost of mobility is growing, because an increasing proportion of the transport infrastructure is being privately financed, from toll roads to local public transportation and parking fees. As a result of declining incomes, consumption is no longer a status symbol and the trend is toward careful shopping. In the private sector, do-it-yourself services are gaining in popularity. Cars and other major investments are often shared, cultural tourism is on the increase, and hotels are selected for their flair, as the aim of travel is in many cases meditation, carefully chosen pleasures and closeness to nature. Peoples lives are becoming more deliberate, quiet and socially secure, because the differences in income between rich and poor are gradually shrinking. There is a large variety of work models to choose from, and they permit new combinations of earning, learning and leisure time. Many people are striving to achieve the right balance between work and leisure, even if they need to hold down two or even three jobs, and they try to schedule out times so theyre not continuously accessible. For many individuals, relaxation and retreat into private comfort zones, enjoyment of life and a holistic focus on health are more important than professional success.
In the second scenario version, a dynamic market economy is the distinguishing feature of Europe in the year 2020. National states now define only the regulatory framework and restrict their services to minimal state-supported social security even in areas they had in the past regarded as essential. Because government attempts to reform the areas of education, health care and retirement provisions have failed, these areas have been increasingly taken over by private companies. This has led to the creation of international education and healthcare companies, and an increasing number of private firms are responsible for such matters as citizens safety from terrorists and network saboteurs. The healthcare and security sectors are the strongest engines driving the economy. Hand in hand with the retreat of the state goes an emphasis on individual responsibility, motivation to achieve and flexibility. Self-realization is regarded as the highest goal, and consumption is a value in itself. Change is viewed as positive, and citizen initiatives and self-help groups have gained significant ground. Companies as well as individuals strive to further their own interests. Lifestyles in this society are characterized by rampant competition and little commitment to permanent structures. Private as well as professional partnerships are quickly formed and just as quickly dissolved. Many plans are very short-term, and private networks fluctuate greatly. Some friends are for evenings at the theater, while others are for vacations. The world has become a village. Its nothing unusual to have friends and acquaintances all over the globe who are easily accessible, thanks to increased mobility and more powerful communication technology. Meanwhile, the traditional family is losing significance and being replaced by a wide variety of relationships. Only affluent couples find it easy to combine children and careers. On the whole, all these developments are leading to an increase in social problems. People who are time poor and money rich stand in contrast to those who are time rich and money poor. A well-educated elite dominates economically and culturally. There is conspicuous consumption, multifunctional adventure vacations and luxury brands as well as poverty, no-frills vacations and dis-
count stores. It is also easier to move from one social class to another, and social advancement is easy for high achievers at least in principle. A variety of educational institutions compete with one another, and most new jobs are being created in the areas of information acquisition, processing and communication. Thanks to the development of the knowledge society especially in the core states of Europe a moderate but constant rate of economic growth has been achieved. Consequently, the average amount of disposable income has risen and there is still some leeway for private consumption in spite of the pressure to privately finance individual healthcare, pension plans, mobility and security. E-commerce has become part of everyday life, as has the use of the Internet and multimedia communication. All the devices that surround us daily are intelligent and networked, and autonomous systems (robots and software agents) help us with our everyday tasks and professional work. Constant accessibility, even when were traveling and during our leisure time, makes it possible to delocalize the workplace people can do their work anywhere in the world, and that makes it easier to form ad hoc teams for a variety of projects. Thats why more and more companies are working with a small core team of employees and a large number of cooperative arrangements and flexible contracts with freelancers. At the same time, this means that companies are making greater efforts to keep their valuable employees for a longer period of time. On the other hand, workers feel less loyalty to their employers. Every generation is its own top priority, and as a result, overarching issues that affect more than one generation are seldom addressed. Global competition for resources energy, water and food is in full swing and is causing shortages outside of Europe. Environmental protection receives lip service as an important value, but most people are not prepared to pay a higher price for it. With regard to biotechnology, genetic engineering and medical therapies, every country has its own ideas about what should be permitted and therefore medical tourism is on the rise as wealthy patients travel to other countries in order to take advantage of advanced therapies.
HIGHLIGHTS
Always on in the Mobile Office
A LWAY S - O N S O C I E T Y
SCENARIO
2015
Whether its phone calls, e-mails or SMS, future systems will know where, when and how people can best be reached, thanks to LifeWorks. Page 14
Dialing up a Multimedia Future
Vodafones Thomas Geitner has high hopes for UMTS and data services that transform cell phones into all-purpose multimedia devices. Page 19
The Value of Real-Time Information
Comprehensive networking of all production and equipment data will increase cost-effectiveness in industry. Page 20
Two-Way Street
TV will be interactive and even accessible on your mobile phone. Broadband access, wireless technologies and networked household appliances will transform the home environment. Page 23
Lonely Crowd?
Sociologists expect a shift to new communication norms. Constant accessibility will increase the value of privacy. Page 31
Peter, a participant in an online computer game, has taken on the role of a dwarf and is fighting alongside his three teammates. His home entertainment system gives him a realistic impression of the games virtual world by means of his 3-D glasses, while a data glove enables him to move through his virtual surroundings. But suddenly, theres an emergency call from the real world
2015
Fantasy Online
Munich, October 2015: Bogoroth, the dwarf, is battling his way through the virtual world of a computer game. Back in real life, hes Peter, the engineer, who has just corrected a malfunction at the factory.
ovely elf-woman, its a pleasure to see you again, says Peter, greeting his fellow player. Peter has taken the afternoon off so that he can dive into the virtual world of the computer game Fellows of Glendalough. Dwarf Bogoroth, I greet you, answers Alwyne, the elf-woman. The others must already be at the meeting place. A severe trial awaits us today. Peters hand is sheathed in a data glove with sensors that translate his finger movements into computer commands. Peter balls
his hand into a fist, which is the signal for his figure in the game to start walking. In the real world, Peter is sitting in a comfortable armchair and wearing 3-D glasses. The stereo display and sound system of his home entertainment system provide him with an astonishingly realistic impression of the games virtual setting. His voice and his movements are transmitted via a high speed data transmission line into the Internet, or, more precisely, into the game server. There, all the information gathered from all the players converges
in real time and is immediately sent back to the players. Peter is now at the entrance of the valley in which the monastery of Glendalough lies. He can see the stone tower of the monastery looming above the treetops. Alwyne is at his side, clad in a white chiffon gown. Peter has already forgotten that in the real world hes not the 294-year-old dwarf Bogoroth but a 40-year-old engineer who works for a major automotive supplier. Hail, Bogoroth and Alwyne, calls the magician Eogarth as the two of them step
SCENARIO
2015
into a clearing. Beside the blue-robed magician stands a tall man Grimbergen, the archer. Eogarth is the leader of their team, which meets at irregular intervals in the virtual world of the game. The four of them have known each other for about two years, but they know very little about each others true identities. Peter suspects that Alwyne is a journalist. Eogarth seems to be a teacher or a professor. And Grimbergens prowess as an archer suggests that he might be a policeman or a soldier. Here in the forest lie the hidden fragments of an amulet. Each of us must look for a fragment. A floating sphere will show you the direction in which you must search, says Eogarth, explaining the task before them. Bring your fragment back to the meeting place. Once we put the amulet together, we will progress to a higher level of the game, he adds. If you are prepared for the challenge, the time has come to go forth. Peter checks his weapons and his supply of food before plunging into the forest in pursuit of the hovering sphere. Soon, the dwarf has lost sight of his comrades. The forest is dark and deep... Two hours later, Peter finds himself in a cave. He has had to do battle with a troll and a huge snake. By means of a display, he has also been able to track the adventures of his companions, who have made good progress. Alwyne is on the way back with her amulet fragment, and Eogarth is engaged in a swordfight. Peter is standing in a treasure chamber and has just solved the riddle that will open a wooden chest that contains the amulet. Suddenly, the ringing of his mobile phone jerks him out of his fantasy world and an urgent message appears on his 3-D display. Oh no, this cant be happening! Peter exclaims. The call can mean only one thing: Somethings gone wrong at the plant. Its his day off, and he made sure hed be inaccessible. Only the crisis center of his company received the authorization to be put through to him in case of an emergency. An engineer once again, Peter puts the game on hold and answers the phone: Whats happening? In a flash, the treasure chamber disappears and the display is transformed into a computer screen. The sorting
machine for the compressed-air cartridges has crashed, a technician informs him. We cant get it going again. In a few minutes the production line will come to a standstill. OK, Im logging on, says Peter. He dials into the company network, receives authorization and gains access to all the data he needs on his large home monitor just as though he were sitting at his workstation. The company he works for produces airbags around the clock. New software for industrial Ethernet was installed two days ago, and maybe some part of it is incompatible with the machines control system. Peters an expert when it comes to production, but his suspicion can be confirmed only by his colleague Mark, who understands the software installed at the company better than anyone else. Could you please set up a video conference with Mark for me? asks Peter. Mark is in India at the moment, setting up new contracts with Indian software developers. Seconds later, Marks image appears on the monitor. What could be so important that you need to interrupt my dinner? he asks jokingly. It doesnt take him long to figure out whats going on. Its definitely a compatibility problem, he says. Can you get me the documentation just before the system went down? he asks his colleagues at the company. Lines of codes promptly glide across the display. Peter can see no pattern in the flood of letters and figures but Mark obviously can, because he soon says: An update of the control program should take care of things. Peter, youll find the modules in my file. OK, Mark, thanks! If that doesnt do it, well get back in touch, Peter replies. He finds the module and immediately starts the installation of the update. Integrate the sorting machine into the network again, he says to the technician in the control center. OK, its working again. Please send me an e-mail documenting the event, he says before signing off. He then immediately clicks on the Glendalough icon, which has been pulsating the whole time to indicate that its in the standby mode. Once again, he becomes the dwarf Bogoroth. He lifts the amulet fragment out of the wooden chest and hastens back to the meeting place. I Norbert Aschenbrenner
Harry Strasser, Chief Innovation Officer at Siemens Com. Strasser now finds it easier to read, write and send e-mails when hes on the move thanks to the new Siemens SK65 cell phone. The phones complete keyboard appears when its housing is turned.
TRENDS
Group ICM have merged to become Siemens Communications in October 2004. The new Group has nearly 60,000 employees who generate annual sales of about 17 billion euros, offering infrastructure and terminals from a single source. A main activity area at the division involves the LifeWorks concept, which Siemens is using to bring together separate networks such as company LANs, mobile communications networks and fixedline networks into a single platform (see p. 14). Telecommunication companies are already using the Internet Protocol (IP) for longdistance phone calls, where data is transmitted as separate packets rather than via a reserved line. The advantage here is that much more data can be transmitted when pauses in conversation are used to transfer additional data. The UMTS mobile communications standard also utilizes this packet switched system. And it is already possible to route calls made via cordless phones through the Internet (Voice over IP, or VoIP). In the future, a communications device will have perhaps only one external IP interface but have different modems working inside, with each utilizing a different standard, says Dr. Jrgen Schindler, who works on Access Technologies at Siemens Com. When Worlds Converge. This convergence trend involves two currently separate worlds. Standardization committees in partnership projects for third-generation mobile communications (3GPP) are working on unifying the mobile communications networks, which include UMTS and HSDPA. These networks let users roam freely, since data is forwarded from one mobile radio cell to the next. On the other hand, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is working on standards for transmission techniques that originated on the Web: WLAN and, for greater distances, WiMAX. Central radio servers used in conjunction with these technologies make users independent of wires. But users cant leave the transmission radius of a hot spot without the risk of losing the connection. Experts refer to this as a nomadic system, as opposed to true mobile radio. The worlds of 3GPP and IEEE are ap-
Always Online
In the always on society of the future, well be able to continuously keep in touch with the whole world, if we choose regardless of which terminals we use and without having to think about how the data is transmitted. Siemens is creating devices and networks to meet just these challenges.
he Internet will soon be as omnipresent as the electricity that comes out of your socket. One current trend in telecommunications is to be always on (online). For me, that means being available and able to communicate when I want to and how I want to, says Harry Strasser, Chief Innovation Officer at Siemens Communications (Com). Actually most of us are already more or less always available. Just about everyone has a cell phone, a fixed-line connection, e-mail and Internet access. But no one is really always on yet. Thats because availability is often difficult due to the number of devices involved in communication. Moreover, accessing the Internet and writing e-mails on a cell phone isnt much fun, and downloading music, images and documents requires much higher data transfer rates than are currently the
norm. The telecommunications industry has developed many new processes for broadband communications on both a mobile and fixed-line basis. Were approaching a point of fragmentation in terms of data transmission technology, says Strasser. An important goal in this regard is the seamless transfer between different technologies. Users shouldnt notice which transmission standard their laptop, cell phone or PDA is using whether its WLAN or WiMAX, UMTS or HSDPA (see box on p. 13). Several different standards will co-exist over the next few years, but fixed-line networks, mobile networks and the Internet will ultimately merge. Siemens has responded to this trend with one of its biggest restructuring programs in recent years. The fixed-line Group ICN and the mobile communications
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TRENDS
Stationary In motion
proaching each other, says Schindler. UMTS is increasing data transfer rates and the WiMAX standards 802.16e,g will improve mobility in the future. Mobile network operators and UMTS users place great store in the stability and quality of their telephone conversations. With WiMAX, though, the connection can suddenly be cut off, which is a problem when dealing with encrypted, secure data as with online banking, for example, Schindler says.
an e-mail feature from the U.S. company RIM that was previously only available in the rather quirky BlackBerry devices. A special server automatically sends e-mails to the users cell phone and office PC. The calendar and address book can be synchronized and company data accessed. The SK65 also offers a new form of communication: Push to Talk over Cellular (PoC) which Siemens calls Push and Talk a type of walkie-talkie for cell phones (see p.
UMTS, WLAN, WiMAX tomorrows cell phones will need to handle them all.
Standards are a key success factor for always on, says Thomas Geitner, board member and Chief Technology Officer at Vodafone (see p. 19). As an example, Geitner points to the GSM standard, which made a decisive contribution to a rapid drop in prices for everyone. True always on wont be achieved until fees are lowered and new rate models are introduced, says Thomas Knstner, who is responsible for new media at the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. Always on will surely change our lives. Critics already warn of the stress from being constantly available, but sociologists claim this wont be a problem when individuals can decide for themselves how available they want to be (see p. 31). In our free time, well communicate more rapidly, in a more targeted manner and more frequently than today, whether playing online games or exchanging messages via cell phones in walkie-talkie mode. E-mail has already changed the workplace; always on will simply add a new dimension (see p. 14). Productivity will again increase significantly, says Strasser. It will soon be routine to use e-mails via cell phones or UMTS-enabled laptops as an integral element of communications. Cell phones become walkie-talkies. One of the first cell phones to accommodate mobile mailing is the new Siemens SK65, which was introduced in August 2004. The device has
But to be always online, seamless switching must be feasible. Siemens developers have built a demonstrator that makes it possible to change networks during a call. The caller uses a data card in a laptop or PDA to call via either the company network (Ethernet), a WLAN or the UMTS network. If the user leaves the office during the call, the Ethernet connection is cut off. The VoIP data packets then automatically take the most efficient route depending on the availability of other networks. The unit also allows the UMTS network and WLANs to be simultaneously used to increase the transfer rate if large amounts of data need to be sent. The system wont be ready for market launch until at least 2005.
SDR Project Manager at Siemens Com. Well proceed gradually and first incorporate several standards, like UMTS, GSM and WLAN. Product development can begin in mid-2006, says Landenberger, who adds that Siemens would enjoy cost benefits from manufacturing cell phones with SDR. For example, with the new software it would be possible to decide which transmission standard and regional market to equip the unit for after assembly. Gbit/s with your cell phone? Siemens is also lead partner in the EU-sponsored WINNER research project. The projects 40 partners plan to develop a universal radio technology to supplement current standards after 2010. One goal is to achieve data transfer rates of up to one gigabit per second (Gbit/s) at distances under 100 meters, and approximately 100 Mbit/s for a broader radius. In the laboratory, Siemens developers have already achieved data transfer rates of 360 Mbit/s with a carrier frequency of five gigahertz and a bandwidth of 100 megahertz, divided into 256 subfrequencies using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). This reduces the effect of echoes, which often occur at such a high carrier frequency due to reflections from buildings, for example. The researchers are also using wireless multihop stations a combination of base station, repeater and router. Thanks to such stations, signals can be redirected around obstacles and amplified. During a recent field study in Munich, these multihop stations significantly increased the range of such radio systems. Researchers are also working on a combination of several antennae (MIMO) to raise the transmission rate to one Gbit/s. So at least data transfer rates would no longer pose a problem for realizing the always-on society. But one limit will always exist: U.S. mathematician Claude Shannon, who invented the concept of the bit and founded information theory, calculated 50 years ago that, depending on transmission bandwidth and ambient noise, there is a theoretical limit to data transfer speeds. A cell phone could receive a maximum of 100 to 1,000 Gbit/s if such a super cell phone doesnt start smoking from all that data. I Norbert Aschenbrenner
MANY ROADS LEAD TO THE MOBILE INTERNET

Mobility
High-speed train In vehicle Driving in the country

3G / UMTS
Beyond 3G (requirements for 4G)
Driving in the city Walking Shifting locations

(nomadic behavior)
GSM GPRS
possible WiMaxexpansion EDGE HSDPA WiMax (IEEE 802.16e)
In buildings Personal sphere
DECT Bluetooth
WLAN (IEEE 802.11a,g)
WiMax (IEEE 802.16a,d)
0.1
10
100
Data transfer rate (Mbit/s)
Key technologies: (see Pictures of the Future, Spring 2002, p. 11 for more information): UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System): Standard for third-generation mobile communications (3G); operates in specially licensed frequency bands in the twogigahertz (GHz) range. Its theoretical maximum data transfer rate is two megabits per second (Mbit/s). But there are two limits to any type of mobile radio technology: First, all users of a given cell share the available capacity. Secondly, the maximum data transfer rate decreases when the users speed of movement increases. In practice, UMTS achieves a rate of 384 kilobits per second (kbit/s) when downloading data (downlink). HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access): A further UMTS software development, with a maximum downlink data transfer rate of 14.4 Mbit/s. The base stations capacity can be increased by 50 percent by optimizing the modulation and coding algorithms and by making distribution of the data load at the base stations more efficient. Siemens network technology already supports the HSDPA protocol; so the only thing still needed for implementation is a software update. Siemens also plans to introduce an HSDPA card for laptops at the end of 2005. Thereafter, cell phones will also support the HSDPA standard. WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network): A locally limited radio network operating in frequencies not subject to licenses. Inside a hot spot with a range of ten to 50 meters, a WLAN achieves maximum data transfer rates of 11 Mbit/s (Standard IEEE 802.11b at 2.4 GHz) and 54 Mbit/s (IEEE 802.11a at five GHz; or IEEE 802.11g at 2.4 GHz). WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access): An expansion of WLAN. Like WLAN, WiMAX transmits data packets (small packets, like on the Internet) at frequencies of between two and 11 GHz; the data transfer rate can reach 75 Mbit/s. Depending on the standard (IEEE 802.16a, b, d, e, g), a range of several hundred meters to several kilometers is possible. Here too, all users share the data transfer capacity. Unlike with UMTS, WLAN and WiMAX users speed of movement is restricted to a maximum of walking speed. Siemens is developing a solution for WiMAX networks thats scheduled for market launch in the summer of 2005. Along with a base station, the package will consist of integration support and other services. Intel plans to begin installing WiMAX chips in notebooks in 2006. GSM, GPRS and EDGE: Standards for second generation mobile communications. DECT: Standard for cordless telephones. Bluetooth: Standard for wireless communication between devices in a limited area. 4G: Requirements for fourth-generation mobile communications.
High-bandwidth videoconferencing will soon be possible on the move as well.
26). And Siemens has developed a picturechat system that functions in a similar manner. Tests conducted in cooperation with the mobile network operator TeliaSonera during a World Rally Championship in Finland were successful. Users were able to see on their SX1 cell phones who was online at any given moment. They then simply pushed a button to send pictures taken with the phones camera to the other users. Siemens developers combined both services at the wireless trade show in Cannes in early 2004, enabling users to operate PoC and the picture-chat system simultaneously.
Next year, Siemens will introduce a UMTS cell phone with an integrated WLAN. This requires a unit equipped with two chips. And Siemens Com developers are even working on integrating different transmission standards on a single chip, with the Software Defined Radio (SDR) system. With SDR, a hard-wired chip architecture will no longer decide the frequency a terminal can transmit or receive in. Software installed in the unit will decide, so one cell phone can function in all networks. I can imagine a market launch for such a comprehensive solution at the end of the decade, says Holger Landenberger,
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Siemens manager Dr. JohannHeinrich Schinke needs to make only a few clicks to reach colleagues around the world. The right communications channel is chosen by HiPath OpenScape.
The Mobile Office

The use of different terminals and separate networks makes accessing office data difficult when on the go. But help is on the way. Siemens has developed solutions for ensuring unimpeded, user-friendly communications.
ohann-Heinrich Schinke is sitting in front of his laptop in Munich. The screen displays a list of his contacts addresses. Schinke decides to call his colleague Michael Maier in San Diego. Behind Maiers name are several icons that stand for various types of communication Schinke can select. He skips over the symbols for e-mail and instant messaging
and opts for the highlighted voice icon. It means Michael is currently accessible by phone, says Schinke while putting on his headset and clicking on the telephone icon. Soon Schinke has a connection to Maier, even though he doesnt know if hes reaching his colleague on the latters cell phone, fixedline phone or PDA. Hello Michael, please
dont hang up, says Schinke, Im going to get Werner Schmid hooked up as well. Schinke then looks for Schmids name, clicks on the icon and Schmids phone begins ringing in Florida. As soon as Schmid picks up the receiver, a three-way conference call can begin. Schinke then calls up a document onto his screen in order to discuss it with his colleagues. In 2010, 65 percent of the work at companies will be performed by teams separated in terms of space, time or in some cases both. In 2000, this figure was only 45 percent, says Dr. Stephan Scholz, head of Carrier Development at Siemens Communications (Com). In the future, employees in project teams will therefore be even more dependent on having access to up-to-date personal information, such as that contained
in address books or schedules. And access to corporate data is just as important, regardless of what kind of terminal or infrastructure is being used or if employees are on the go. Broadband applications for all types of multimedia data transmission are therefore needed. Siemens has now developed the first solutions to make life easier for the mobile office workers of the future. Until recently, it was often difficult to establish immediate contact with colleagues on normal workdays, as many of them were on the road or in meetings. Youd end up leaving one or more messages on the answering machine and sending an e-mail. The person you tried to reach had to listen to all the messages and then delete them, says Schinke, who is responsible for the product definition of multimedia applications in the Enterprise Systems business area at Siemens Com. I just demonstrated our solution to this problem. Called LifeWorks, our concept combines previously separate networks such as company LANs, mobile communication systems and fixed-line networks into one system that enables uninterrupted communication. The key component of LifeWorks is a software-based switching station known as Softswitch. It functions as a cross-network control and connection interface that directs and forwards incoming signals. The mediaindependent Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) plays a key role here, as its the worlds first protocol that can be used in all communication environments (fixed line, Internet and mobile wireless). According to experts from Siemens, SIP will become the dominant protocol for multimedia communications in the future. Because all SIP user access data is centrally stored on a single server, its possible to determine at all times if and how anyone can be contacted, irrespective of the time, network, location or device. Voice, Data and New Customers. Developed by start-up company Siemens Network Convergence (SNC) in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Softswitch has helped Siemens gain new customers. One of these is the New York-based company Cablevision, whose 100,000 subscribers can now use
Thanks to a virtual cell phone secretary, users will one day be able to employ profiles to determine which calls are forwarded.
their TV cables to make phone calls thanks to Softswitch. Telephone companies Bellsouth and SBC have also begun to introduce the Siemens system. LifeWorks enables network operators to offer new, innovative services, says Eve Aretakis, head of SNC. That sets them apart from their competitors and allows them to tap new sources of income. The first marketable LifeWorks product is HiPath OpenScape. In addition to three software components for presence, collaboration and communication, the system consists of terminals and a gateway that creates a bridge
HiPath OpenScape is easy to use, as all applications are administered via a uniform PC interface developed in cooperation with Microsoft. The system is now only usable with Windows, but it will be adapted for Linux as well in the future. Users define when and through which terminal they can be contacted, allowing them to remain inaccessible if necessary. The system also comes with a VIP function that gives preferential treatment to certain callers. If the person to be contacted is inaccessible, the system determines to whom or through what medium contact attempts should be forwarded. The systems biggest advantage is that users can be accessible at all times at a single number, wherever they are. Whats more, the system always selects the least expensive route. Virtual cell phone secretary. HiPath OpenScape is already being used by the Greek hotel chain Grecotel, the German Military College near Munich and a German furniture manufacturer. Now developers are working to integrate mobile communications into the
OpenScape users are reachable worldwide, all the time and at a single number.
between telephone and IP networks, explains Rudolf Bitzinger, head of technology, Enterprise Systems, at Siemens Com. HiPath OpenScape brings together telephone and email communication, voice-controlled services, text messaging, calendar functions and instant messaging a service that lets users chat and exchange data in real time. Furthermore, it is possible to conduct network-independent video conferences with several participants, and for several individuals to jointly work on documents and files of all types. This is a particularly important aspect, since it substantially reduces the number of business trips required. The systems core architecture was designed by Com employee Randy Wuerfel in San Jos, California, who was named Inventor of the Year at Siemens in 2003 in recognition of his patent registrations. system. We want to have all the features available on mobile devices as well, says Dr. Thomas Werner from the Mobile Networks division at Siemens Com, who coordinates Siemens-wide activities in the Mobile Enterprise segment as part of the top+ Innovation program. That would make it possible to transmit voice messages or e-mails to a smartphone without needing to call them up separately, he adds. Researchers synchronized the Outlook content by using the Sync ML open standard. This enables data synchronization, ensuring that cell phones, PDAs, laptops and PCs are always up to date, even across great distances. Siemens has integrated SyncML into its cell phones, making it possible for cell phones to receive e-mail. As a result, in the near future, mobile network operators will be
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SECURITY
able to transmit new cell phone software via their networks, which will simplify service. In August 2004, Siemens unveiled its SK65 cell phone a first step toward the mobile office. The phone is equipped with a BlackBerry function for forwarding e-mails to mobile phones (see p. 12). Another step is the virtual secretary for mobile devices, which allows users to select profiles such as Conference or Vacation to determine for which individuals or services (such as text messages or MMS) they will be reachable. Callers who also have the Presence Service Virtual Secretary installed in their phones can immediately see in their address books which profile the intended recipient has activated. When callers click on the name, they are told when the recipient is scheduled to be done with a meeting and if he or she currently accepts text messages or might still take urgent calls. Siemens Com is now checking how this intelligent filter function might be integrated into the next generation of cell phones.
Werners team has also developed a system thats already being used by more than 50,000 people in Norway and Sweden, most of whom work for companies with large numbers of mobile employees. Called mobile Private Branch Exchange (PBX), this solution serves as a cell phone network switching station. It lets people conduct conference calls and address groups via their cell phones, says Werner. This is particularly convenient in the service sector, where teams of maintenance technicians form so-called hunting groups. If the first person on the list is not reachable, the call is forwarded on down until somebody accepts the commission. But its not just the mobile communications sector thats changing: Fixed-line networks are now also being transformed. Voice
and data communication are being combined, and the next generation of telephone networks will transmit voice communication via Internet Protocol (IP). To do so, the networks cut the voice signals into small packages that are transmitted individually before being recombined at their destination. This approach is a sensible alternative for companies, as most of them already have an IP infrastructure. Voice-over-IP (VoIP) will play a key role in the future because it costs less to transmit voice signals through data channels, says Dr. Tilo Messer, who is responsible for innovations strategy at Siemens Coms Chief Technology Office. In addition, the price of the corresponding terminals is becoming increasingly attractive, and voice transmission quality has recently improved considerably .
Viruses on a cell phone? With so many different mobile operating systems, hackers have to work hard to get in.
Next-generation telephone networks will transmit voice over the Internet.

But even VoIP keeps users tied to wires. It would be more convenient, however, if employees were reachable when moving about at the company. To achieve this goal, the method of choice is clearly wireless LAN (See graphic, p. 13). And with the help of VoWLAN (Voice-over WLAN), WLAN infrastructures could also be used for voice communication and services in the future. A VoWLAN handset would allow employees to use their phones at other workstations or while attending a meeting, says Messer. Wireless Broadband Internet. But theres still room for improvement when it comes to bandwidth and transmission range. Siemens has teamed up with Intel and the WiMAX Forum (an industry organization) to standardize new broadband radio technologies. Siemens Com will probably launch the first WiMAX components on the market next year (see p.13). WiMAX is an addition to systems such as DSL and UMTS, says Werner. It has advantages in areas where cables cant be laid, and can be used to connect whole regions to the Internet. I Evdoxia Tsakiridou
quently because those potential targets are all using the same operating system, invasions like this will cause much less damage in mobile terminals. Thats because, unlike in the PC world, there isnt a uniform platform for mobile terminals, explains Dr. Stephan Lechner, who is responsible for the security of information technology at Siemens Corporate Technology. Experts predict that, even after the expected market consolidation for mobile communications systems, there will be at least three to five different manufacturers. But their operating systems for example Windows CE, Palm and Symbian are very wellknown to hackers. In theory, that means a virus attack could affect some 20 to 25 percent of all mobile phones. Until now, viruses have been able to successfully attack mobile phones only by ex-
only caused the word Cabir to be displayed on the cell phones, theres simply no way we can predict the potential damage from mobile phone viruses. They could cause the display to freeze, for instance, trigger calls to expensive pay-per-minute numbers or unleash SMS mass mailings. Avoiding Nightmares. Hackers have to have a great deal of information about the cell phones or smartphones they want to attack, notes Otmar Knoller of Siemens Communications. What kind of software is installed? Which protocols are supported? When a user connects a mobile terminal to a PC to synchronize data, for instance, this creates a new, potentially unprotected connection to the internal data network that bypasses the firewall. At that very moment, it would be possible for a hacker to obtain unauthorized access to the Intranet, or a worm could enter the Intranet from the cell phone. Thats a nightmarish thought for companies, but it remains purely hypothetical for the time being, according to Lechner. Hackers would not only need a wealth of technical information; theyd also need to know exactly the time when the data was synchronized with the PC, which person was doing the synchronizing and which data that person could access via the Intranet, explains Lechner. This scenario also assumes that no security mechanisms exist at the time the synchronization takes place. The technological cognoscenti actually know about many worst-case scenarios like these. But a technical solution already exists for most of them. Today, few manufacturers are supplying firewalls for mobile terminals. But when cell phones with high-speed Internet access come into widespread use a few years from now, users will be able to choose from among many security solutions for their
INTERNET ACCESS IN AIRCRAFT AND HIGH - SPEED TRAINS
Starting in 2006, passengers in the new wide-bodied Airbus A380 jet will be able to make phone calls and surf the Internet with their own equipment, provided the equipment usesthe WLAN, Bluetooth or GSM standards. Organizations taking part in this Wireless Cabin project include Airbus, the German Aerospace Center DLR, and the Program and System Engineering (PSE) unit of Siemens Austria. The systems core component is a specially designed mobile communication facility that combines various transmission technologies. An antenna extending along the length of the aircrafts roof permits communication by phone or PC at every seat. WLAN will allow passengers to access websites or e-mail accounts, while the GSM antenna will enable them to make phone calls. Conceivably, Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as printers or FujitsuSiemens Pocket Loox PDAs, could also be used. Here, a central mobile communications system would transmit the data via an external antenna to a satellite, which forwards it to ground stations. In September 2004, the consortium tested the technology during a demonstration flight in an Airbus A340. With WLAN, the Internet can also be accessed from high-speed trains with an entertainment server, in which films and games can also be stored. The data is transmitted outside the train by a broadband multilink combiner box, based on UMTS systems developed by Siemens. Transmission is unimpaired even when the train travels through tunnels or at top speed.
Moving Target
If youre always online, you are always a potential target for hackers. Businesses, in particular, need solid, multilayered protective mechanisms as their employees access corporate data networks from the outside.
irst the bad news: All the problems weve already experienced on the Internet viruses, worms, Trojan horses, denial-of-service attacks and more well also experience on our mobile terminals in the future, regardless of whether theyre ordinary cell phones or smartphones. The good news is that we already know most of the security problems the always-on society will have to contend with. We know them from the Internet. So mobile communications arent subject to any totally unknown risks. On the contrary: While mass attacks of viruses paralyze entire corporations and millions of private PCs more and more fre-
ploiting particular, model-specific weak spots. The Cabir cell-phone virus for instance, which was rampant in early summer 2004, exploited a weak spot in the Bluetooth wireless technology. Only four mobile phone models of one manufacturer were affected, and then only if the Bluetooth function had also been activated. And though that virus
Hackers need a lot of information to attack like which software is installed, and which protocols the phone uses.
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INTERVIEWS WITH EXPERTS
phones as with PCs today. Mobile personal firewalls will shield the terminal. Companies will establish a centralized profile that defines which users are authorized to access which applications. But its possible that private users, on the other hand, might lack the know-how required to set up a complex security profile. Theyll be able to get standardized profiles. Secure Tunnels. And virtual private networks (VPNs) will also be technically feasible. With this technology, data transfer, for example data sent from a cell phone to a corporate server, takes place via a secure tunnel over the Internet. Along with precise authentication, this technology is the ideal way today of providing security in mobile Internet communications. And regardless of whether the connection is made from outside to the Intranet or using Voice-over-IP telephony, VPNs can transmit sensitive data securely. A virtual con-
tions in a key. Before the software could find the right combination, the key would in most cases have already been changed. Automated Security. At present, though, private users of open WLANs probably run no greater risk than having someone read their private e-mail. In truly sensitive transactions such as online banking, customers are protected anyway by end-to-end encryption and secure authentication by means of PIN and TAN codes. Data entered and encrypted in the terminal are decrypted only in the banks computer center. The browser automatically activates these safety provisions when it opens the banking site. The same kind of automatic features will also protect the users of mobile multimedia devices. Siemens is guided by the principle that security must originate in the product and not depend on the customers awareness, Lechner points out. Experience has shown
Why Cell Phones Have a Multimedia Future

Thomas Geitner (49) has been a member of the Board of Vodafone Group Plc. since May 2000. As Group Technology Officer, hes in charge of technological development, the expansion of UMTS and business integration for the entire Vodafone Group. Prior to joining Vodafone, he was a member of the Board of the RWE Group with responsibility for telecommunications.
Are you already always on? Geitner: Of course. On the Internet, with my mobile phone and with the BlackBerry. To me, always on means that I can always communicate, even when my partner at the other end isnt available online at the time and that I have access to the information I need, anytime. But sometimes it also means I have to exert the self-discipline to turn it off. Does constant accessibility have a greater impact on the professional environment or in the private sphere? Geitner: Always on impacts our business life more profoundly than our private life. But I havent met anyone yet who uses e-mail for business and doesnt take advantage of it at home. I think they go together. What else needs to be done to develop always on to its full potential? Geitner: In my view, technology isnt the bottleneck. The greatest challenge is making things easier to operate. And thats a multifaceted challenge. How user-friendly are the devices? How readily is information available in portals? What services are being offered to the customer? Whats more, manufacturers of terminals are improving security and working to increase battery life. That sounds trivial, but its a major problem. Vodafone uses the slogan Vodafone live! Whats that about? Geitner: Vodafone live! isnt a slogan. Its a product and marketing concept that encompasses different services weve developed from the customers point of view. Early on, the mobile communications industry
attempted to sell data services using buzzwords like WAP or GPRS, but there werent many takers. Weve chosen a different approach. Just a few clicks from snapping a picture to sending the MMS, and just one click to get on the Internet. Thats new.
data there are many services, and you cant single out any one of them. The market will be more segmented than in the GSM era.
Security must originate in the products not in the mind of the customer.
nection is established between a companys special security server and the mobile terminal. All of the security transactions are transmitted through this connection, as is the encrypted user data. The security awareness of mobile users is quite limited at present. Anyone who surfs the Internet using public WLAN access in hotels, airports or cafes without activating the recommended security features is easy to spy on. This is because todays wireless networks frequently provide standard encryption of data packets with a key length of only 40 bits. The longer a key is, the more secure it is. Thats because the number of possible keys doubles with every additional bit. The standard for high security is a key length of at least 128 bits. With key lengths like this, it would take a hacker using special software too long to test all possible combinathat private users as well as many smaller companies hardly bother with consistently updating the protection of their Internet access to the latest status both mobile and in the home. One solution would be updates of already purchased software that are transmitted automatically and securely. This approach could also be used to protect smartphones against virus attacks. Absolute security, however, will still be technically and organizationally impossible to achieve. Just imagine youre aboard a flight. Youre using your notebook to communicate via a VPN Internet connection with your marketing chief, and its about a highly confidential marketing strategy. Sure, youd have a secure communications link, but the person behind you could easily spy on anything thats happening on your screen, Lechner cautions. I Katrin Nikolaus
Is the concept working? Geitner: Sure. Weve been marketing it for a couple of years. This summer we had about three million active Vodafone live! users worldwide. Thats far more than we expected when we started. And increased usage also brings down prices: In Germany we now charge 39 euro cents for an MMS. Thats less than half of what it used to cost. What else can we look forward to, when UMTS becomes widely used? Geitner: With Vodafone live! and Vodafone office weve created the marketing platforms for mobile data services. First we gained experience in this market by using GPRS, and we learned which services and what content the customer really needs and wants. In 3G, were continuing to put that experience to good use. Were expanding our applications and were making our portals faster, more colorful and richer in content. Moreover, videotelephony is adding a new dimension. And of course weve been accumulating experience for quite some time with a UMTS card for laptops and PDAs. In that area too well have more to offer in the future. Have you found the killer application for UMTS yet? Geitner: The killer application for mobile communications is voice. When it comes to
Your customers wont have more money to spend than they do now. What enticement will you use to boost sales? Geitner: Enticement is not whats needed. Well offer our customers solutions to solve their problems, to make their lives simpler and more enjoyable. Private individuals in Germany presently spend 3.5 percent of their budgets on mobile communications. That figure is already higher in other European countries. Mobile communications wasnt a mass market at all twelve years ago. And theres absolutely no reason to assume that expenditures for mobile communications are going to level off.
Which data services are successful now? Geitner: Downloads of ringtones are growing by 50 percent annually. If wed predicted four years ago that this sector would amount to ten percent of the global music market by 2003, everyone would have laughed at us. But thats what happened last year, and every multimedia cell phone thats added boosts the number of music playback devices. Another surprise was the mushrooming growth in download of games. Five years from now, no one will question that the mobile phone is a device customers use on a large scale for consumption of media.
and WiMAX are technologies that work well, but only in hot spots, not over large areas. If that becomes relevant to our customers, they can also access WLAN now or WiMAX later on their Vodafone account. But UMTS is the most widely usable, and its also simple to operate.
Will there be a UMTS-WLAN-WiMAX cell phone someday? Geitner: The day will come when the customer wont want to be bothered anymore with having to think about access technologies. Instead, theyre simply going to insist: Wherever I am, Ill want to use whatever is fastest, simplest and cheapest. The number of transmission technologies is almost endless. How important are standards? Geitner: Standards are the key. Here in Europe weve got an advantage with the GSM standard both with respect to the availability of networks and of terminals. A single company never could have achieved cost reductions the way the GSM industry as a whole has been able to do. So standards are a much faster route to mass market solutions. Thats another reason why weve built Vodafone live! on the basis of WAP, because we believe our customers like the open standard. Thanks to standards, suppliers of content can amortize their costs across a larger number of terminals. Customers benefit because they, in turn, are offered more content more rapidly than would otherwise be the case. Were still a long way from approaching the end of standardization. I Interview: Norbert Aschenbrenner
Whats the role of WLAN or WiMAX in Vodafones strategy? Geitner: Most of our investments in new networks involve UMTS. Of course WLAN
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The XHQ information portal provides meaningful indicators in realtime, allowing decisions to be made more quickly, and with a higher probability of being on target.
solution is based on XHQ and SAPs NetWeaver integration and application platform. Siemens has developed software that seamlessly integrates SAPs business management data into its plant and product-specific world. The software uses the data to generate user-customized overviews, called Management Dashboards. The dashboards are loaded with indicators such as plant utilization, availability of raw materials, additives, and product quality. Users can compare actual plant performance with business management targets at any time. This end-to-end linkup of production, sales and management is made possible by many and diverse breakthroughs in information and communications technology. Companies profit from real-time-capable solutions at all stages of the value chain from endto-end computer simulations of whole production lines and digital control and monitoring of plants, to computer-based user training, says Dr. Carl-Udo Maier, who heads
days factory halls are usually full of isolated solutions. Through the use of protocols established in the Ethernet world (TCP/UDP and IP), the automation level can be integrated into other networks too. This increases transparency, because data can then flow freely from the level of production equipment and production control to the office software used for business administration. This eliminates complex translation processes, and the costs of maintenance and employee training drop considerably. The condition of components is reported directly to a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) program that organizes and monitors follow-up actions like maintenance, upgrades or replacements. And thats just the beginning. We want to optimize and correct processes remotely. There will be a huge increase in these teleoperations that provide a range of technical support for equipment extending practically to the point of remote-controlled operation, says Prof. Engelbert Westkmper (see Pictures
Real-time-capable solutions allow digital control of plants.
Real-Time Value
Manufacturers need to react to new market conditions faster and faster. That means closing the information gap between business management, production and control systems, so that meaningful data can be obtained in realtime. The foundation for this is provided by Internet technology, real-timecapable Ethernet, intelligent sensors and end-to-end digitization of processes.
anagers often need steady nerves, experience and plenty of common sense. They must be quick to draw the right conclusions from an abundance of information regarding plant utilization, raw materials costs and energy use. Companies like Siemens want to simplify and improve this decision process. In the future, managers will have meaningful operating figures available to them in real time, without the burden of superfluous details. They will be able to react more quickly to changes in production and in the market, says Dr. Thomas Moser, head of strategy department at Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S). For the first time, this will give us a lever for increasing
productivity that includes the entire value chain. This is called the real-time enterprise model. It actually has less to do with real time than with the immediate compaction, transformation and organization of data from various sources in a professional and appropriate manner. In this context, real time means that the information is at the right place at the right time. To offer such solutions, Siemens created the Real-Time Enterprise project in the framework of the company-wide program top+ Innovation. This project brings together the strengths of units like I&S, Siemens Business Services (SBS) and Automation and Drives (A&D). The management of value-added chains will turn into the management of value creation networks across companies and industries, explains Rudi Reinhard, head of the center of competence for production at SBS. At Siemens we have all the technolo-
gies needed for this when it comes to RealTime Enterprise. The market potential is huge, as is clear from the example of the real-time information portal XHQ, a development of the California-based Siemens company IndX Software Corporation. One XHQ user, the El Segundo Refinery of ChevronTexaco, expects a return on investment of more than 300 percent over five years. Other users report that they have achieved an eight-percent reduction in operating costs, a ten-percent increase in the quality of their output, or an 8.5 percent increase in the utilization rate of their plants. With their recently introduced Real-Time Operations Intelligence, solution, Siemens and SAP are playing a groundbreaking role in bringing together the previously separate worlds of production process and business process data in the oil and gas industry. The
the Picture of the Future Automation & Control project at Siemens Corporate Technology. Internet in the Factory. Years ago, PC technology spurred a wave of innovation in production. Today, Internet technologies are making their way into the world of automation. Whether in Web servers, browsers, protocols and Internet languages (TCP/IP, XML) or transmission technologies such as Industrial Ethernet and Industrial WLAN standards are now being developed for operation and monitoring as well as for the attachment of intelligent sensors and actuators and for data exchange. One important trend is the effort to establish the Ethernet bus system which matured in the office setting in the production environment as well (see box p. 22). Thats because from the IT point of view, to-
of the Future, Fall 2002, p. 27). With the help of virtual reality, specialists create a depiction of what is actually taking place, and they can simulate their plans in real time with powerful computers. It then becomes easy to change processes and control production equipment parameters later on, even from remotely, thanks to the Internet and the Webcapability of the machines. In addition, equipping goods with RFID labels (See p. 58 and Pictures of the Future, Fall 2003, p. 16) and processing logistics data in real time are measures that create new opportunities in their own right. Being able to uniquely identify merchandise makes it possible to report the level of sales to a companys production centers at any time so they can adjust accordingly. We want a very close integration of the processes in the real world and their depiction in the digital world. To a much greater extent than today, that will
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INDUSTRY
HOME AND LEISURE
WLAN AND ETHERNET: OFFICE TECHNOLOGIES FOR INDUSTRIAL SETTINGS

Ethernet, the office standard for data transfer, takes hold in production environments too, allowing companies to achieve a uniform communications infrastructure ranging from production to office software. In the past, businesses have used two distinct technologies whose integration has required considerable readjustment: Ethernet in the office and the field bus systems used in automation with items such as sensors, actuators and PLCs. However, for Ethernet to be used in the factory, it must be made realtime-capable. In Ethernet networks, the attached stations compete on equal terms for access to the data network, so its not possible to achieve the sometimes extremely high, submillisecond clock speeds or sub-microsecond jitter accuracies (time variation in the transmission of cyclical data) required by industry. To devise a solution, Siemens and the organization of Profibus users are relying on Profinet technology, which combines the realtime advantages of the field bus with the high data throughput of Internet technology. One initial step has been taken with the development of Profinet IO, in which a channel implemented in software regulates the transmission of time-critical data with performance levels matching those of previous field bus systems. The Siemens group Automation and Drives (A&D) is also developing an isochronous realtime Ethernet. For the first time, this will allow precision-timed synchronous operation of more than 100 driving axes on one bus with a variance of less than one microsecond, and without impeding standard Ethernet functions like high data throughput or Internet access. Another innovation in the industrial setting is the use of the wireless technology WLAN, which can partially eliminate the need for expensive rewiring and allow specialists to operate the machines via mobile terminals. In February 2002, Siemens installed WLAN in a plant in Amberg, Germany, where A&D manufactures Simatic controls, among other products. In this case, the wireless technology is used to record process and maintenance data online at the machine itself (picture at left), and the incoming goods inspection takes place right at the pallet. In other words, the employee can now process data right at the spot where its needed, with complete freedom of movement. A product line that goes even further is IWLAN (Industrial WLAN), which Siemens presented at this years Hanover Trade Fair. For the first time, this gives industry worldwide a secure, robust and reliable platform for wireless data transfer, says Ewald Kuk, head of Simatic NET product marketing at A&D. The most important feature: IWLAN can reserve fixed transmission bandwidths, for example for control commands, which has so far not been possible with normal WLAN. In WLAN, high volumes of data traffic mean the devices have to wait their turn. Thats intolerable in an industrial setting, says Kuk. Imagine a driverless forklift thats supposed to halt at a certain point but doesnt get this information in time. Or a robot thats machining a workpiece, and receives an important control command too late. With IWLAN, Siemens is a year-and-ahalf ahead of the competition, Kuk says. The components operate even at -20 degrees Celsius and in wet conditions, so they are also suited for use at train stations or container transshipment centers. Encryption guarantees access protection and data security; redundant antennas ensure a stable wireless link. Inside buildings, the range is about 30 meters; outdoors it is 100 meters.
mean the automation of data entry, the integration of system components via Web services and the networking of business processes, says Dr. Joachim Schaper of SAP Research, who oversees strategic research programs in North America. SAP is striving to develop smart items in other words, intelligent merchandise. Containers would monitor their contents themselves, register changes, such as in temperature or location, and sound an alarm when necessary. Today, this data is fed into business administration software manually. But that doesnt always allow you to determine, for instance, whether merchandise was spoiled by excessive temperatures during transport or whether it was already defective at the outset. To put it differently: In the future, the business logic of the software systems will migrate forward into the merchandise, says Schaper. Tailor Made yet Inexpensive. Real-Time Enterprise is primarily concerned with innovation and integration, says Reinhard. The idea is to evaluate innovations of all kinds from RFID to real-time-capable Ethernet on the basis of their capacity to accelerate the flow of information, and also their capacity for integration into modern software systems. The potential of end-to-end digitization and transparent integration of all production, logistics and management processes is far from exhausted. The objective is the digital factory, in which products are developed and tested with customers and partners on computers under true-to-life conditions (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2002, p. 6-29). At the same time, automation in production and logistics is being fueled by advances in sensor technology, and by intelligent on-site systems that facilitate autonomous adaptation to given situations. And thanks to Real-Time Enterprise, the head office is always kept abreast of company performance and market activity. Maier is convinced that the interaction of all these developments presents us with the unique opportunity to manufacture customer-specific products tailored to individual requests and to do this at the cost level of mass-market items. I Achim Born
Online around the clock. Siemens Surpass Home Entertainment Solution offers videos via broadband Internet, interactive TV, online games and e-shopping.
Two-Way Street
Online everywhere and all the time broadband connections and new mobile communication technologies are changing the way we watch television, make phone calls and run our homes. And Siemens is developing all the technologies that are needed. In the future, TVs will have a feedback channel so viewers can participate in broadcasts, while cell phones will be able to receive TV signals and send texts and images in chat mode.
ere 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 thats exploring new business areas for Siemens Communications (Com). Its 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. Thats much cheaper, because users pay only for the storage space they actually use, Jenzowsky adds. It sounds visionary, but its 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. Its a good
way to get an impression of where the muchheralded 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 controls 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 Jenzowskys 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 (see p. 26) 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
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HOME AND LEISURE
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. Jenzowskys 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 wont be sweating in the studio chair theyll 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 arent merely a pipe dream for Reithmayer, who uses a range of unusual devices at home. I have to admit my wife isnt 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 doesnt include an allpurpose 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 ODonovan of the Gartner market research institute. However, they may be completely digital and networked for example, via the UPnP (Universal Plug & Play) standard (see p. 49). 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 Schnberger, a product manager for WindowsXP. Lutz Grtner from
TV viewers will have a direct link with broadcasters around the clock.
Siemens Com also believes such a scenario is completely realistic. Hes 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, p. 31). Grtner 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.
M Y- AY
W E B C A M A N D WATC H D O G I N O N E
What is it? Its a cell phone, but without a keypad or display. Thats right, its the My-Ay! This stylish egg-shaped object is a baby phone, alarm system, webcam and lots more in one. Whats more, it stays in touch with other cell phones via a built-in mobile radio module. Its 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. Its expected to be on the market in summer, 2005.
Services such as entertainment, security or energy management could be offered for a monthly fee. But customers wont be confident that all of the networked components are completely compatible unless international standards are put in place. Thats 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 Grtners vision is played by a residential gateway that connects the home network with the outside world, in particular with the Internet. Jenzowskys 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 Grtner, the increasing number of broadband connections and the growing popularity of the Internet is fruitful ground for the growth of customer de-
Household appliances and entertainment systems can be networked and accessed via a single device. Push-and-Talk will give cell phones a chat function.
mand 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, well 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 doesnt 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 youll 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 Whats up a subscriber service that provides tips from trend scouts on the hottest upcoming events via texts and images. Theres 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 theyre out and about.
Standards will ensure that all networked devices are compatible.

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FACTS AND FOREC ASTS
Percentage of cell phones in use in Western Europe
Video streaming (VHS quality) Very fast surfing, video streaming (close to VHS quality), software and audio downloads
Source: The Yankee Group, 2003
1.20 1.00 0.51 0.26 0.13

Megabits per second
40% 20%
4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Picture Chat for Flirting. Germanys mobile phone users will soon be enjoying a service thats 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 doesnt 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. Its 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, Its the ideal way to flirt. I Bernd Mller
Fast surfing, video streaming (below VHS quality), software and audio downloads, multi-player games MP3 audio streaming, software downloads, online computer games IP telephony, slow Internet surfing, e-mail, e-commerce, audio streaming (medium quality)
at year end
0% 2003 I UMTS 0% I GPRS 28% I GSM-only 72%
2004 1% 54% 45%
2005 4% 72% 25%
2006 8% 79% 12%
2007 16% 77% 6%
2008 28% 69% 3%
2009 40% 58% 2%
per second, as are offered by the Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable modems or satellite links. The number of broadband users worldwide has risen from 100,000 in 1996 to 98.8 million at the end of 2003, and this trend is set to continue. In a report entitled Broadband Worldwide 2004, market researchers at the New York-based company eMarketer Inc. predict that about 246 million private and commercial customers will be using broadband access by 2007. The U.S. and Japan are the largest broadband markets today, with 27.6 million and 12.1 million customers respectively (Status: August 2003). DSL is the global leader: By the end of 2004 the num-
cell phones in Europe as early as 2005 and will be used by about 72 percent of cell phone owners. By 2008, 60 percent of all cell phone users are expected to be using mobile Internet services regularly. From a technical viewpoint, the future looks rosy. But the operators have to ask themselves which services work best via cell phone, says Michelle de Lussanet, a Senior Analyst at Forrester in Amsterdam. Consumer behavior is not changing as fast as the range of possible applications. She expects that by 2008 about 28 percent of all mobile devices will correspond to the 3G standard and smooth the way for services such as video via cell phone.
WORLDWIDE GROW TH OF BROADBAND CONNECTIONS*

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2006 2007 0,1 0,6 1,6 4,2 13,1 35,3 63,0 98,8 209,6 245,5 * Includes all residential and commercial connections without WLAN, Bluetooth or UMTS (in millions)
Source: eMarketer, March 2004
26
Source: ARC Advisory Group, 2003
Non-compressed audio streaming (close to DVD quality)
1.50
60%
Source: Forrester Research, Inc., 2004
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.
Boom in Broadband Technologies

ew technologies open up new perspectives. In the future, people will be able to work at home with all the amenities they have at the office, for example, and managers will be able to monitor robots on production lines from their desks. And those are only two examples from the always-on society. These applications require broadband connections in other words, transmission capacities of more than 200 kilobits
ber of DSL users is expected to rise to 86.5 million, increasing to 156.7 million by 2007. Second place is occupied by the cable modem, which has many users in the U.S., Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands; though only in the U.S. do modem users outnumber DSL customers. In Japan there were already 1.14 million high-speed fiber-to-thehome connections in March 2004 double the number for 2003. Increasingly, complex data services can also be used on the move. Although Third Generation (3G) networks are establishing themselves more slowly than expected, technologies such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) are on the increase. Forrester Research expects that GPRS will be standard for
Companies are also seeing an increasing number of advantages in the always-on society. For example, production data can now be evaluated in real time, and that makes it possible to reduce stock inventories and track orders more effectively. Data exchange also enables applications including remote maintenance of plants and machines. Ethernet, the IT standard for offices, is gaining in importance as a transmission medium. And the Industrial Ethernet variant, which has been modified to meet the needs of industrial companies, is being increasingly used in production instead of proprietary solutions. Among other things, this makes it easier to transmit data between production sites and administrative offices.
UMTS IS GAINING GROUND
Most Ethernet versions support the TCP/IP Internet protocol, so production plants can also be accessed via the Internet. In a factory thats networked using Ethernet, nearly every worker can observe all the machines operating in a production line, explains Harry Forbes, an analyst at the ARC Advisory Group, which is based in Massachusetts. Although reality still hasnt quite caught up with this scenario, ARC predicts that by 2007 about 6.06 million Industrial Ethernet nodes will be in use, compared to only 287,000 in 2002. Siemens alone has installed about 550,000 Industrial Ethernet nodes in its automation systems, says Gnter Baumann, Marketing Services Manager in the Automation and Drives Group at Siemens.
But Ethernet still isnt adequate for timecritical tasks. One example is motion control applications, where integration of a machines different drives is controlled with software (see p. 22). Here, the drives must exchange data rapidly and at precisely defined time intervals. For this task, industrial Ethernet must display deterministic behavior. But Ethernetbased reaction times are still 20 to 50 times slower than motion control requires and theyre not deterministic, says Baumann. In the future, additional protocols like Isochronous Real-time Ethernet (IRT) will make Industrial Ethernet real-time-capable. Siemens is planning to introduce the first IRT products in late 2004. I Mary Lisbeth DAmico
HIGHER DATA TRANSMISSION RATES EXPAND APPLIC ATIONS

Required data transmission rate (downstream) TV with several channels Video streaming (DVD quality) Video streaming (close to DVD quality)
INDUSTRIAL ETHERNET IS BOOMING

Number of installations (in millions) 7.0
Transmission technologies available in cell phones 10.00 8.00 4.00 100% 80%
6.0 5.0
27
FAR EAST
Cyber Apartment Solutions

Kevin Morrow, 39, manages Samsung Electronics Digital Solution Center in Seoul, South Korea. Here, 250 engineers work on solutions for homevita, the Samsung term for the networked home.
Can South Koreans already use a cell phone to fill the bathtub while theyre on the way home? Morrow: That probably happens mostly in advertising spots. It would likely be more useful if people could control their air-conditioning or security cameras from the office or from a cell phone. Thats just what you can do with a home network, which can be accessed through any Web browser. Do you yourself live in a digital home? Morrow: No, but I have VDSL broadband access. Cyber apartments or digital homes are still pretty new, even in Korea. Theyre found mainly in expensive new high-rise buildings with up to 1,000 apartments. So far, most customers havent paid much attention to the added value a home network can offer, like comfort and greater security that may take another five years. What sort of added value does one of these cyber apartments have? Morrow: Right now the most commonly used features are the control of home equipment with touchscreen or Webpad, community portals on the Internet, and the remote monitoring of the house or of childrens play areas. In the future, WLAN will become increasingly important for distributing data, audio and video inside the apartment. Were currently developing solutions that require only the push of a button when you get home to make everything happen automatically: The light goes on; the air-conditioning starts; the blinds open; and your favorite music plays. In the kitchen, you can go to one of the culinary pages on the Internet and download a video that shows how to prepare a certain meal. And the instructions can be transmitted onward to the stove or the microwave. I Interview by Nikola Wohllaib.
Currently, Samsung Electronics is equipping apartments in Seoul with broadband connections, networked household appliances and security systems that can in some cases be controlled via a cell phone too (see interview). According to the road map of the Korean Ministry for Information and Communication, about 500,000 homes will be fully digitalized by the end of 2004. At first theyll have video-on-demand and monitoring services in which a cell phone is used to see whos at the front door, for instance. By 2007, ten million dwellings should have home networks, according to the IT-8-3-9 Strategy (eight favored services based on three broadband networks that will boost nine growth fields). The government intends to spend 175 billion euros by 2007 to achieve this goal. However, Kevin Morrow, head of the Digital Solution Center at Samsung, says, the way things are going now, there will be about 1.4 million of those homes by 2007, far fewer than the government wants, but still an impressive number. At Home with Internet Telephony. Korea is introducing Internet telephony (VoIP) each week about 3,000 users subscribe to this service at Hanaro, Koreas second largest broadband provider. Furthermore, video telephony is in the testing stage. Increasingly, fiberoptic cables are extending all the way to the living room fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and replacing copper cables. One reason is that parallel applications like downloading a movie and playing games at the same time over the network require bandwidths of 25 Mbits/s and more. At this time, Japan has a big head start when it comes to FTTH. At the Broadband World Forum, Yuji Inoue, Senior Vice President at Japans largest telecommunications company, NTT, said that over a million of the 15 million broadband users in Japan already access the high-speed network via FTTH. Fiber-to-the-home technology allows speeds of up to 100 Mbit/s and currently costs less than 50 euros per household per month. Inoue expects there to be about five million subscribers by 2005. By 2008, FTTH will have surpassed even ADSL with about 30 million users.
Broadband Mecca
In terms of broadband Internet access, South Korea and Japan are world leaders. It is nothing unusual for users in these countries to be able to download videos and games, have access to telelearning, conduct online banking by cell phone, or keep an eye on play areas remotely.
For many South Koreans, Internet cafes are just as indispensable as mobile Internet and the broadband connections they have at home.
hey do their shopping or bank transactions via cell phone and play against one another over ultra-fast broadband networks at PC Bang, as the Internet cafes are called, or at home in high-tech living rooms. Welcome to South Korea, the current mecca of broadband technology. About 75 percent of South Koreas 14 million households can surf at high speed. In Japan, it is one out of three, in the U.S. one out of four, and in Germany only one out of seven households. In this respect, South Korea is the world leader. Since 1998, the Korean government has spent 132 billion euros to expand access to broadband for its 48 million people. As part of the e-Korea Vision 2006, nearly 95 percent of companies and private households are to have super-fast Internet access by the end of 2005. At home, most South Koreans use ADSL, which provides them with speeds between
640 kilobits per second (kbit/s) and eight megabits per second (Mbit/s). At the Broadband World Forum in May 2004 in Seoul, experts estimated that a fourth of Korean broadband users already have very high data rate digital subscriber lines (VDSL) offering speeds of 13 Mbit/s. One of the main suppliers of VDSL technology for Korea Telecom, Koreas largest broadband provider, is the network outfitter Dasan. Siemens owns a nearly 50-percent stake in Dasan. That means were involved in this VDSL rollout, and were gaining valuable experience for our own network strategy and product planning, says Bernhard Neef, Senior Vice President of Siemens Com, who is based at the central office for southeast Asia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In addition to TV series, movies and entertainment, including the games that are so popular in Korea, educational content is also
being brought into the living room. Koreans spend more money on their childrens education than they do on rent and food, Neef says. Quite a few private tutors are already helping students with their studies via broadband networks. Currently, Korea Telecom is promoting a video-on-demand service to provide movies at data speeds of 0.5 to 1 Mbit/s. Initially, home computers will receive the data streams in VHS quality, later in DVD quality. And then they will send them to the TV through a wireless connection. Right now products are being developed with a wireless interface, says Neef. Given the pace of innovation in Korea, they will soon be ready to market, he adds. In the final stage, there will be a box supplying all the terminals in the home with broadband access via WLAN; the telephone will be linked up over DECT and the TV through a set-top box.
M O B I L E T E L E C O M M U N I C AT I O N S B O O M I N G I N C H I N A
China boasts spectacular economic growth, but its communications infrastructure cant yet compete with those in Japan and South Korea. In much of the country, fixed-line and cell radio networks are only now being built. Almost 80 million Chinese surf the Internet, two-thirds from home, the rest at Internet cafes. At 6.2 percent of the population, Internet penetration is thus still relatively low. However, according to the market researchers of the Gartner Group, the number of broadband connections in China rose by 7.6 million to 11 million in 2003, and the Chinese cell phone market is one of the fastest growing in the world. One out of five Chinese has a cell phone, and every month there are four to five million new customers. According to the Ministry of the Information Industry (MII), there were 272 million cell phone customers and 263 million fixed-network customers at the end of 2003. Experts estimate that there will be 320 million cell phone users by the end of 2004 and 550 million by 2009. But the government will probably not begin awarding licenses for broadband mobile radio networks before 2005. Alongside international standards, separate Chinese standards like TD-SCDMA are being developed also in collaboration with Siemens. Since 2001, Siemens has been working with Chinese and German universities in the FuTURE project (Future Technologies for Universal Radio Environment) as part of the Chinese Research Initiative 863. The goal is to achieve data speeds ten times higher than those possible with UMTS.
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D I G I TA L FA M I L I E S I N T H E L A N D O F T H E M O R N I N G C A L M
Daddy, I want you to bring me home a nice notebook from work today, says the not entirely serious SMS text message that Sang-Il Lee receives on his cell phone from his eightyear-old daughter, Hae-Yin, who already has several e-mail addresses and is now trying to set up her own Web site as well. She often sends her father short messages even during school recess. When it comes to the use of new communications technologies, Sang-Il Lees family is typical for South Korea. The 43-year-old father of two children works as the political editor at the newspaper JoongAng in Seoul, one of the large dailies. Korea ranks 12th in the world in terms of economic output, but it is the world leader in IT. More than ten million families in the country have access to broadband Internet connections, usually DSL, which means that some 30 million of the almost 48 million people who live in South Korea can surf the Web at high speed and download music files, among other things. In addition, 35 million people have cell phone services. Korea can safely be called the first always-on society. For Sang-Il, the Internet is an important tool for work, just as it is for every other journalist. He searches through online documents for his research and develops contacts through e-mail. Among other things, his PC serves as the file administrator for his valuable sources. Sang-Il frequently takes part in background discussions and attends social events, both of which can net him important tips. I was recently out at a karaoke bar and ended up sending information back to the editorial office via my laptop and cell phone, he says. Sang-Ils wife, Mi-Young Kim, also works at the paper and also loves the Internet. I like online banking, she says, because it allows me to manage the family account, as most Korean women do. She even manages the account while on the bus, using a cell phone. HaeMoon, their 14-year-old son, has his own interests when it comes to the Internet. He doesnt like to go to the movies because he finds it more comfortable to download videos from the Web via DSL and watch them on his PC. He recently had problems with his mother after he downloaded a huge number of pictures of stars onto his mobile MP3 player via an expensive service. Hae-Moon has never written a letter by hand. His favorite form of communication is instant messaging chatting with friends who happen to be online at that time. Communication in the family runs along similar lines: Both Sang-Il and Mi-Young say that e-mail, messaging and cell phone conversations give them the feeling that despite the long working day, the members of the family are somehow always together. We even talk to our parents more often now than we did as kids! says Sang-Il with a smile.
Inoue is promising faster connections for cell phone service too, starting in spring 2005. At that point, data will zip into cell phones at up to three Mbit/s. Japan launched its first mobile broadband network back in October 2001 (see Pictures of the Future, Spring 2002, p. 17). Freedom of Mobile Access FOMA, the Japanese counterpart to UMTS already had over two million subscribers by early 2004. Japan is currently also the leader in the development of fourth-generation (4G) mobile telecommunications services, which will provide even higher speeds. The Japanese network operator NTT DoCoMo is testing systems with downlink speeds of 100 Mbit/s and uplink speeds of 20 to 40 Mbit/s even in a slowly moving car, according to the magazine Nikkei Electronics Asia. 4G in Korea. Korea wants to play the leading role in Asia in the development of 4G, says Dr. Werner Mohr, who coordinates strategic research alliances for Siemens Com. The Korean EV-DO network, which was launched two years ago, provides download speeds of up to two Mbit/s and has some five million subscribers, it was reported at the Broadband World Forum. Korea may leapfrog the third generation of mobile radio services and work with the more advanced solution WIBRO wireless broadband an intermediate stage on the way to 4G, says Mohr. According to Dae-Je Chin, the South Korean Minister for Communication and Information, this new cellular network will be complete by the end of 2005. It will combine the benefits of fixed-line networks, mobile telecommunications and WLAN on the basis of the WiMAX standard (see p. 13). In the first stage, WIBRO should give users within one kilometer of a base station a data transfer rate of three Mbit/s. Though the definition of the WiMAX standard has not yet been finalized internationally, Korea does not want to wait. The government has already reserved the necessary frequency spectrum. Deviations from the international standard will simply have to be revised later, said many Korean experts at the Broadband World Forum. I Nikola Wohllaib Online games, fast text messages, sending snapshots keeping in touch is the credo of the always-on society.
So far, Simmels prophecy hasnt come true. On the contrary, more than a century after his observations, there seem to be fewer of the isolated urban neurotics he described, even though modern technology has vastly increased the flow of information and sensory impressions to which we are subjected. And this trend has been continued by the boom in cell phone and Internet use since the 1990s. According to a study commissioned by AOL, the Internet is already young Americans primary means of communication. And market research firm Gartner Group estimates that by 2007 some 75 percent of Europeans will be spending 80 percent of their leisure time in close proximity to mobile electronic communication devices that are continually online. In other words, tomorrows society will be always on accessible anywhere, anytime. Its not a trend everyone likes, because in the face of rapid progress many questions remain unanswered including questions about the social effects of being always on. Privacy Has Priority. Our concern about the influence of technology is exaggerated. Thats the reassuring conclusion of Prof. Heinz Bude, an expert on contemporary society who teaches at the University of Kassel. The future will be much less dramatic than people often claim. Paradoxically, being accessible everywhere and at all times makes privacy all the more valuable. Being inaccessible by choice will therefore be a much more sought-after alternative. According to the sociologist, this trend also offers new opportunities for example, to develop solutions that satisfy the increased need for privacy. This means that face-to-face communication will play a more exclusive role in the lives of the always-on generation. The one-onone conversation may become rarer, and thus more valuable, says Bude. And he points out that people already assign different values to different forms of communication. For example, today people write letters only on important or formal occasions; in their e-mails they deal with more everyday matters. In the future, according to Dr. Nadia Kutscher of the Competence Center for Informal Education at the University of Bielefeld, the level of banal-
Heading for the Lonely Crowd?

Always on is changing our society. The value of privacy is growing, but people are also communicating faster and more often about more trivial matters. At work were becoming more flexible than ever. And we are unconsciously developing new norms of communication like the ones that govern the distinction between work and leisure.
odern man rushes through the technologically advanced city, dominated by products of every kind, always accessible, yet somehow absent. Oppressed by the rapid transformations of his external and internal impressions, he seeks his salvation in nervous superficiality. This could be a contemporary scene, but in fact its an account of life in Berlin in the year 1900, as seen by the German philosopher Georg Simmel. In Simmels vision of the future, the urbanite becomes a dandy cynical and emotionless, but also very lonely, because the only way to master the constant flow of stimuli is by deadening his feelings.
I Sehee Hwang
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In Brief
in the long run than grudgingly adjusting sometimes to the new circumstances. To ensure people arent shortchanged in the always-on society, Kutscher advocates more incentives and support for learning about new technologies. Studies show that people with higher levels of education are more likely to use new technologies than people with lower levels of education, Kutscher says. The world is becoming a global village, but that is generally happening only at the level of the information elite. Educational institutions should try to close this gap. If they dont, she warns, a division between social groups will be the result. (To find out more about the Digital Divide, see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2002, p. 51). Modern Nomadism. Flexibility is a buzzword of tomorrow. Thats because more and more things can be done simultaneously with modern communications. According to Jckel, this trend is also affecting how we spend our leisure time. To take just one example, many people dont want to commit to spending their evening at a given event, restaurant or party, he says. Were seeing the development of a modern nomadism thats influenced by cell phone networks. Already, we often see people using short phone calls or SMS to change schedules and meeting points again and again because its so easy to reach one another. The new walkie-talkie functions of future cell phones, which make it possible to send a message to many recipients simultaneously (see p. 26) will intensify this trend. The future face of the always-on society may seem strange to us now, but theres one point on which the scientists agree: Human beings are born into their environment, but they are selective they choose the things that appeal to them and, above all, they are adaptable. In other words, Simmels urban neurotic will be no more typical of tomorrows world than the individual who has avoided technology altogether. The human beings of the future, says Bude, will gladly benefit from the opportunities offered by technology, but according to their own rules. Individuals will decide how accessible they want to be. I Florian Martini I Always on(line) means that, in the future, we will constantly be connected to the Internet and always reachable by phone, e-mail, text messaging or video messaging. However, this calls for higher bandwidths, particularly in mobile communications. Data for always on is now increasingly being sent in packets as on the Internet even in the case of voice (VoIP). Over the next few years, VoIP will also become available for home users. (p.11) I Various broadband transmission methods are being created for fixedline and mobile networks. HSDPA, for example, will expand UMTS to even higher data transfer rates, while the WiMAX standard builds on the wireless system WLAN. Siemens is working on ways to create a seamless transition between these techniques. (p.11) I According to experts, mobile communications systems and fixed-line networks will one day converge. The trend toward uniform platforms also affects computers, TV sets and other devices, for which home networks are being set up with Internet gateways as links to the outside world. (p.11, 23) I Accessibility must be ensured irrespective of the technical solution used. At the same, it must be possible to customize the settings, as this is one of the main preconditions for creating a functioning always-on society. With its LifeWorks concept, Siemens is developing solutions for office environments and for mobile use. (p.14, 23) I Industry is boosting its productivity by comprehensively networking its communications systems (which range from manufacturing process control technologies to office software) and making them usable in real-time. The Ethernet standard familiar from offices is now also being introduced into production environments in the form of Industrial Ethernet. In addition, Siemens has enhanced WLAN applications to make them suitable for the greater demands posed by industry. (p.20) I Sociologists do not think that people who are always online will risk sensory overload. Instead, we will adapt to new technology and establish new communications standards. Face-to-face contact is growing in importance. (p.31) PEOPLE: Innovations in mobile communications: Harry Strasser, Com harry.strasser@siemens.com Dr. Tilo Messer, Com tilo.messer@siemens.com Transmission technology: Dr. Jrgen Schindler, Com schindler.juergen@siemens.com Dr. Werner Mohr, Com werner.mohr@siemens.com Dr. Egon Schulz, Com egon.schulz@siemens.com Software-defined radio: Holger Landenberger, Com holger.landenberger@siemens.com HiPath OpenScape: Dr. Johann-Heinrich Schinke, Com johann-heinrich.schinke@siemens.com Mobile enterprise: Dr. Thomas Werner, Com thomas-werner@siemens.com Home entertainment: Stefan Jenzowsky, Com stefan.jenzowsky@siemens.com Walter Reithmayer, Fujitsu-Siemens walter.reithmayer@fujitsu-siemens.com Security: Dr. Stephan Lechner, CT IC 3 stephan.lechner@siemens.com Realtime in industry: Dr. Thomas Moser, I&S thomasmoser@siemens.com Rudi Reinhard, SBS rudi.reinhard@siemens.com Ewald Kuk, A&D ewald.kuk@siemens.com Strategy Field Automation&Control: Dr. Carl-Udo Maier, CT SM ICA carl-udo.maier@siemens.com Siemens Southeast Asia: Bernhard Neef bernhard.neef@siemens.com Thomas Geitner, Vodafone Group thomas.geitner@vodafone.com Heinz Bude, University of Kassel heinz_bude@his-online.de LINKS: Siemens Mobile: www.siemens-mobile.com LifeWorks concept: www.siemens.com/lifeworks Standards and standardization: www.3gpp.org www.ieee.org LITERATURE: Smythe, Peter, Mobile and Wireless Communications: Key Technologies and Future Applications, 2004
ity in our communication may increase even further. The new technologies encourage social contact, but their users then communicate faster and about more trivial subjects, she says. Thats a trend all of us have already observed for example, when young people communicate via cell phone and SMS. Etiquette for the Networked World. The transformation of how we communicate is already becoming visible as we unconsciously develop and internalize a large number of informal norms. For example, cell phone users usually switch off their phones at the movies, says Dr. Robert Ganer of the Berlin Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment. People cope with technological progress by developing culturally acceptable arrangements. In the future, the need for norms of this kind will increase considerably.
To feel comfortable in the networked future, people will have to create a host of new conventions, according to Michael Jckel, a professor of sociology at the University of Trier. In a world of permanent accessibility, we feel a growing need for a clear division between work and leisure, Jckel says, the division thats being blurred by the use of new technologies. In a paradoxical way, our work life may also become more stressful in the future: We are becoming less and less able to really enjoy being undisturbed. Multitasking is becoming a standard activity, explains the sociologist. Today, if an hour goes by and we havent received any e-mails, were likely to wonder if theres something wrong with our computer. For the individual, modern communications bring more opportunities and more freedom but they also pose a challenge,
Returning to the private sphere a response to a networked future
which is especially true for people who refuse to keep up with the rapid pace of development. Were caught up in a world where nothing works any more without technology, says Jckel. Trying to operate outside these structures may be more exhausting
Why Inaccessibility Is Attractive

Heinz Bude (50) is Professor of Sociology at the University of Kassel. His research focuses on the macrosociological analysis of modern societies. Bude is also the director of The Society of the Federal Republic of Germany research unit at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research.
What will tomorrows always on society look like? Bude: Electronic communication will become part of everyday life after all, an always-on society has no prejudices against technology. But people are again starting to value the personal side of life, what we call the private sphere. In the future, this could give rise to a contradictory situation where people live relatively withdrawn in their small worlds, yet theyll have a great need to communicate and be part of networks. Theyll accept offers to join in a network only when this makes sense to them, though. How is the constantly increasing flood of information affecting us? Bude: We have to distinguish between information and knowledge. More and more people are concluding that the tremendous increase of available information doesnt mean were also gaining more knowledge. Consequently, systems that not only deliver information but also evaluate it may become much more important. The key concept here is relevance. People want to be able to sort out the things that are important to them from those that are unimportant. of the 1990s. Today we tend to think of the movers as nervous individuals. In the future, people will retreat into the personal worlds where they live while enjoying the advantages of communications systems that reach far beyond their own individual spheres.
People in the always-on society are generally accessible, even during their leisure time. How is this affecting us? Bude: Were already seeing a tendency to separate our workplace from our home. People will again enjoy being entirely inaccessible during leisure time or on vacation, so they can decide for themselves when theyll be reached. Were going to start seeing ourselves as stayers people with a relatively quiet lifestyle as opposed to the movers
What will happen to the people who reject the always-on lifestyle? Bude: For many people, a paradoxical effect may arise. The spread of accessibility means that inaccessibility will be connected with an enhanced status. In other words, the more inaccessible you become, the more important you are. This development can already be seen today. For example, I dont believe youll ever be able to reach former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt via your cell phone and for many people, that makes him seem very interesting. I Interview: Florian Martini
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Good Connections
Siemens and the Feitoza foundation in Manaus, Brazil, are creating applications for cell phones that merge reality and the virtual world in real time.
Cuddly Combat is a new virtual reality game available on Siemens SX1 cell phones. It was created by developers in Munich in close cooperation with the Feitoza foundation 9,000 kilometers away in Manaus, in the Brazilian rain forest.
t may soon be the big hit among cell phone games: cartoon panda bears and similar creatures that crawl around in living rooms or on the street but only virtually on a cell phone display. Dr. Alexandra Musto, head of a Multimedia Applications team at Siemens Com, describes the game which has initially been called Cuddly Combat as follows: The 3D figures are set into the background in such a way that it appears as if they were walking around on the real table, for example. Players can zoom in on their mascots, turn them around and view them from above or below. The real backgrounds are recorded by the cell phone camera. Two players can play the game using a Bluetooth connection. This combination of real and artificial worlds, which is known as augmented reality, is difficult to achieve even on a powerful PC. Implementing it in a cell phone, however, which has a relatively limited computing capacity by comparison, represented a major challenge. Nevertheless, the Feitoza foundation and Siemens managed to pull it off by working closely together. Specialists at Siemens designed the games concept and a catalog of image processing algorithms required for augmented reality applications. In order to merge the real world with artificial elements, the software has to learn to recognize the movements the telephone makes. The Multimedia Applications group has been working for years in this area. Among other things, it developed the algorithms for move-
ment estimation that form the basis of the game known as Mozzies (mosquito hunt), which comes with the Siemens SX1 cell phone. This work also resulted in several important patents for such applications. The Feitoza foundation created and optimized procedures for compressing data as well as algorithms that ensure the game runs smoothly. The interesting aspect of this cooperative effort was that the Siemens experts did their work in Munich, while Feitoza made its contribution from Manaus, Brazil. When asked why Siemens chose a company in Manaus as a partner, Bernhard Geisberger, director of PC Software at Siemens Com and head of R&D in Manaus, talks about the huge economic potential that exists in Latin American countries. Only those who invest directly here can expect to participate in the regions growth, he says. All of this started with the establishment of a Global Support Center for the Java and Symbian community in 2002. Because that went so well, we decided to set up many other PC software partnerships, and then opened our R&D Center in Manaus in November 2003. We chose Manaus because there are a lot of highly motivated developers here and because the region offers financial benefits. The designers of the new augmented reality game wanted it to be so real that players would not notice any difference between their real environment and its virtual supplement. To do this, the development teams had to combine methods from linear algebra,
animation, rendering technologies and artificial intelligence and then depict them on the target platform the Symbian operating system. Renato Lopez, director of Feitoza, says his organization not only had its team members take courses in fuzzy logic, neural networks and computer mathematics, but also had them conduct research into movement and collision detection and pattern recognition. All work has now been completed and the game is scheduled to become available soon in the SX1 cell phone and as a download version. Some 160 of Feitoza's 200 employees work in R&D, most of them in projects involving Siemens. The foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting social development in the region through research projects. It supports 12 computer programming schools in the region and also develops devices for physically handicapped people. One of these devices is a special mouse. Here users control the cursor through eye movements and blink when they want to click on an object. The eye movements are detected by sensors attached to the users temples. One aim of the cooperative activities between Siemens Com and Feitoza is to develop a globally valid platform for a cell phone manager. Such a system can synchronize contacts, e-mails, text messages and similar applications between a PC and a cell phone. The partners are also looking at software such as a processing program for images recorded with the cell phone camera.
The six-hour time difference between Germany and Brazil hasnt been a problem; instead, it actually promotes efficiency. It lengthens working hours, says Geisberger. While developing the software for the SX1 cell phone, the team in Munich sent its most recent version of the mobile phone manager to Feitoza in the evening. When the developers in Munich arrived at work the next morning the latest latest version from Manaus was already on their computers. Thanks to our partnership with Siemens, we have improved our knowledge
in software development and also learned to work in global, multicultural teams, says Lopez. Feitoza also gained experience and expertise in new areas of software development for the mobile communications sector and has become one of the leading software development companies in the rapidly changing cell phone market in Brazil. According to Geisberger, development activities in Manaus focus on user interfaces for cell phones and PC software. Siemens has provided additional funding to further expand Java development activities in Manaus.
Six hours time difference is no handicap in fact, both partners gain in efficiency.
It also searched for and found new partner companies, such as the Genius Institute, Fucapi and DBA. Genius, a non-profit research center in Manaus, specializes in voice recognition software and digital TV. Fucapi, which is also non-profit, analyzes hardware. DBA, a large, Rio de Janeiro-based software company, has some 1,500 employees and a branch office in Manaus. At the moment, innovative developments in the area of user interface design for next generation cell phones are being pursued in cooperation with a company called Quality. In addition, all partners are involved in setting up special education programs in cooperation with the University of Amazonas. It is thus clear that Manaus is gradually developing into a core location for research cooperation between Siemens and Brazilian institutions and companies. I Barbara Stumpp
Working hours in Manaus Working hours in Munich
8:00 a.m. in Munich
2:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
12:00 midnight
As developers in Munich are having lunch, their colleagues in Manaus are starting the days work. A few hours are available for joint conferences, then the Brazilians continue where Munich leaves off. The result: a workday with 16 productive hours.
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Creating Tomorrows Codes
SCENARIO
2015
Software is being embedded in products ranging from cell phones to cars and washing machines -- and giving them increasingly sophisticated capabilities. Researchers are striving to make software cheaper, better, and faster to produce. Page 39
Software for the Digital Aura
Products equipped with a digital aura will communicate independently with other devices in their vicinity, cooperate with one another, and bring people with the same interests together. Page 49
Developing Software in the Global Village
Software development is becoming international. Experts explain how they managed two of Siemens biggest, most geographically dispersed projects. Page 51
Efficiency Revolution
Whether in the car or the home, the use of common standards holds the key to cheaper and better software. Page 53
Simplifying Software
Software management expert Michael Cusumano says it will be a long time before computers and software are easy to use. Page 55
The Center for Living Memory is a futuristic cross between a museum and vetted data bases. Prof. Carnadine, Director of the Center (right), and his Chief Programmer, use digital auras to open a dialogue with Queen Nefertari of Egypt. Using their headsets and navigation devices, they can see a highly realistic, real-time simulation of the queen. Whats more, they can talk with Nefertari, hear her voice and even touch her.
2015 Living Memory

Armed with haptic gloves, 3D headsets and their own personal navigation devices, visitors to the Center for Living Memory will be able to interact with exhibits in ways never before dreamed. Software that already exists could make it a reality.
ctober 2015. This place youve got to see it to believe it. Its big enough to get lost in without navigation. And it covers everything literally because its organized like an encyclopedia, except that its one you can walk through, talk to, touch, download and more. They call it the Center for Living Memory, and
there are wings that cover The Universe, Life on Earth, Man and Science, and of course Prof. Carnadines pet, History and Culture. Carnadine is the boss, and I think hes a little edgy these days because the Center is due to open soon. My crews been doing all the programming. In fact, even before the auto-
mated bulldozers broke ground, we had simulated the main exhibits. Standardized software tools, open systems and an online library of modules helped development and testing to move even faster than our project optimization plan had predicted. And much of the software such as the programs that make the
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2015
TRENDS
walk-through, interactive environments possible actually wrote itself based on demonstrations recorded by industrial robots using 3D-x vision. But, as I say, History and Culture is Carnadines baby, and as soon as his scheduling program surmised that we were getting close to completing our work, he wanted to experience that section. Agreeing to make believe we were just visitors, we picked up haptic gloves and a couple of standard head mounted display (HMD) units from a lobby dispenser, gave each other a thumbs up as all systems chirped confirmation of being networked with our personal communicators and the Centers database, and followed a bright yellow augmented reality carpet displayed in the HMDs to Carnadines favorite section 19th Dynasty Ancient Egypt. As we entered the most magnificent of all the burial chambers, I was delighted to see through my HMD that it now appeared to be populated with period artifacts ranging from ointment bowls to sculptures of Horus and Anubis and beautifully painted hieroglyphs on the walls. But besides a likely reproduction of the tomb and mummy of Queen Nefertari Ramses IIs principal wife circa 1290 BC I knew that there were actually very few physical objects in the chamber. "You can touch these objects, pick them up and look inside them using the haps and your HMD. Your movements, the position of your head everything is, as you can see, seamlessly networked, I explained. "I see, said Carnadine, gingerly picking up a priceless virtual vase and peering inside it. "Remarkable! Even the viscera appear to be intact! How far can you take this "First let me show you something even more exciting, I interjected, indicating that we should focus our communicators on the mummy. An image of the sarcophagus appeared in their displays with the question: Open Dialogue? The communicators signaled that they were now in contact with each other
and could share mutually interesting information. Both of us said "Yes into the HMDs microphones. And an instant later, the mummy, now in the form of a lovely young woman, stood before us. "Wow! exclaimed Carnadine. "And I suppose it I mean, she is interactive? "She is indeed, I answered. "What were looking at is a real-time simulated embodiment of all digitally available information about her. Its simply a question of translating the semantic information in vetted databases into corresponding visual, audio and haptic elements, and projecting those elements into the HMDs so that it overlaps the physical environment with extreme spatial accuracy. "You mean I could touch her? inquired Carnadine. "Absolutely, the haps will let you feel her clothing, or you could even perform a virtual examination whatever. Its very realistic. Youll note, I went on, "that the menus on our communicators now suggest a number of possible interactions, including multimedia downloads. Well even be able to hold a conference call with her from other locations. Its as if she had given us her private number. "Can I address her normally? Carnadine asked. "Of course, I said, noting that he had not taken his eyes off of her since she had appeared. "Nefertari? Nofretiri? Which is your proper name? he asked her. "I am Nefertari, beloved of the goddess Mut, Great Kings Wife, Hereditary Princess of the Two Lands, Most Beautiful of Them, she responded in a delicate and enticing voice through the HMDs speakers. "Professor, are you all right? I asked, somewhat concerned by a look of apparent disorientation that had spread across his face. "Oh, I guess so, he said, reluctantly removing the HMD. "Its just that she looked and sounded exactly like an old flame someone I knew a long, long time ago, he said. "It seems The Center for Living Memory will be a very appropriate name for this place. I Arthur F. Pease
operating system a kind of traffic cop that intermediates between user commands and the distribution of physical resources, such as a devices memory and power programs can perform a virtually limitless variety of different functions. In fact, to an ever-increasing extent, the functionality of our products is being defined by the software we develop, says Reinhold Achatz, who heads the Software & Engineering division at Siemens Corporate Technology, as well as the companys Software Initiative, which is part of its Global Competitiveness Program. Indeed, with some 30,000 people involved in this crucial area about as many as Microsoft and over three billion euros per year invested in software research and development, Siemens businesses are driven by software. Embedded Software. Whats driving the explosive shift away from hardware and toward software as the engine of innovation? Probably the most fundamental factor is the nose-diving cost of computing power. In 1976, a Cray computer capable of 100 million floating point operations per second cost the equivalent of about 13 million euros. Today, you can find the same computing power under the hood of an average car, and the price tag will be a modest 13 euros. In 1994, one megabit (one million bits) of memory cost the equivalent of about 3.26 dollars. By 2003 it had dropped to approximately two cents. This trend means that devices ranging from cell phones to automotive infotainment systems and set-top boxes can have enough computing capacity to accommodate an operating system and a spectrum of application software (see p. 48). Indeed, these so-called embedded systems now account for a major part of the $185 billion world software market. Some embedded systems use controllers that can be as advanced as a PC. That makes it possible to process more and more signals and manage growing levels of complexity, which in turn means new services ranging from networking to diagnostics for users, says Dr. Lothar Borrmann, head of the
Although software consists of bare lines of code, entire factories can be controlled by mathematical formulae (left), an intelligently designed software architecture, and powerful computers. Background: an automated transport system used in the automotive industry.
Creating
With over three billion euros a year invested in software R&D, Siemens is not only exploring the evolution of this crucial field its driving it. Experts explain why software is becoming pervasive, networked, self-optimizing and responsive to our needs.
Tomorrows Codes
D
eep down, theres a program behind everything. Somewhere in your brain there is a program that tells you how to lift your eyelids. And buried in every cell of every plant and creature on earth is a program that tells it how to manufacture the proteins and enzymes that keep it alive and allow it to reproduce. The brilliant patterns on a butterflys wings are the outward expression of a program as are the dots on the page youre reading. In one universe, a few lines of code express the texture of a fruit flys abdomen, in another they say welcome when a cell phone is switched on. Even decades after the introduction of computers, laymen are still marveling that the physical world can be altered by merely writing or editing code the underlying patterns of ones and zeros that are combined to produce programs. And when married to an
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Sightseeing with a cell phone. Information about a citys sights can be read from electronic Post-It notes.
SOFT WARE TRENDS AND TOOL S

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP): Program and data form a single unit (an object) that communicates with the outside world via interfaces. The interfaces define the behavior of the objects toward one another. The events within the object remain private. Objects are defined in a general way, so that they can be used in varying contexts. A car is a good analogy the same parts can be used in different models, all of which are functional automobiles. Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP): Provides the means by which specific sections of programs (aspect code) can be reused many times. For example, security functions for account inquiries are also active during online funds transfers. Model-Driven Development (MDD): Based on graphical modeling languages that represent real tasks and map the processes in the system thats to be developed. Development tools then create outline code that is tailored to the specific application by programming. Programming Languages: There are languages close to machine level (Assembler), higher-level languages (ADA, Cobol, Fortran, Pascal, PL/1, C) and object-oriented languages such as C++, Java, Delphi or Smalltalk. Application-specific, script, modeling and page description languages are also important. Manufacturers offer their own collections of tools and methods (frameworks). Andreas Beuthner
Software Architecture department at Siemens Corporate Technology (CT). Software is entering the smallest items, even parts of motors, adds Dr. Ulrich Lwen, head of CTs Systems Engineering department, and that makes the overview of a system extremely complex but also more exact. Nowhere is this trend more evident than in the automotive industry, where software delivers enhanced comfort, convenience and security without adding weight. Premium cars today have up to 70 electronic control units that use software to govern everything from motor management to braking, says Hans-Georg Frischkorn, head of system architecture and integration at BMW. In the near
future (see p. 53) these embedded systems will be increasingly networked. For instance, says Borrmann, The navigation system will know that a hill is coming up around the next bend and will prepare the engine and brakes accordingly. As more and more embedded software systems take over increasingly safety-critical functions, the need for software quality and associated testing is growing. In the power distribution area, for example, CT's Software Development Techniques department has developed software that can simulate whether the time it takes to detect, analyze and transfer information on a dangerous short circuit to the next highest node in a
D I G I TA L G R A F F I T I : A M E D I U M W I T H A M E S S AG E
Researchers at Siemens Corporate Technology in Munich have developed a unique software platform and prototype cell phone that let users post messages on buildings, doors and if theyre working on road crews even on potholes. Unlike an SMS, these messages cause the target persons phone to ring only when and where it makes sense to do so. Known as Digital Graffiti, the technology will make it possible for maintenance personnel to digitally mark the locations of potholes on runways, for instance, by simply positioning a phone above them and clicking. Using a built-in gyroscope, GPS transmitter and magnetic sensor, such a phone can send a geographically postmarked message to a server with a spatial accuracy of up to 30 centimeters. Later, when the person to be contacted, in this case a repairman, enters a radius that can be a mile or more in diameter from the pothole, the server transmits the message to his phone. When the phones camera is panned across the tarmac, arrows will appear on the images in the phones display, showing exactly where the potholes can be found. According to project development director Dieter Kolb, the technology could also be used for posting and reading personalized messages at Info Points in airports, or as a navigational and information guide for tourists or museum visitors. Eventually, users will be able to simply ask their cell phone where the Renoir paintings are, and the phone will display a path to them. By pointing the phone at an individual painting, the user will be able to access a fountain of information about it, says Kolb.
network of protection devices is sufficient to stem the problem. This avoids a potential cascade of events leading to power outages, explains department head Klaus Beetz. Software embedded in circuit breakers for power-distribution systems and countless other safety-critical areas is not only increasingly being designed to share information on a networked basis, thus reducing realtime risks. It is also playing an increasingly valuable role in terms of archiving data, diagnosing errors and helping to improve system efficiency. Thats important, says Beetz, because more and more things are happening simultaneously. He points out, for instance, that the latest medical magnetic resonance systems have as many as 60 separate programs in operation simultaneously. From Ants to Robots. With a veritable explosion in the number of systems interacting with one another on a real-time basis or very close to it optimization of the routes taken by signals and moving objects has become a booming area of software research. The age-old question of What's the shortest route between a number of locations in a transport network? now has enormous economic relevance, explains Dr. Johannes Nierwetberg, who heads CT's Software Optimization department. A physicist, Nierwetberg points out that the answer could be digital pheromones a concept based on the
trace chemicals left by ants to find the shortest paths to a food supply. Interestingly, the concept can apply to industrial pick-and-place machines. Here, tiny software programs have been developed that mimic the pheromonebased decision-making of ants and can work together to collectively optimize the path of the 12-nozzle revolver head on a machine to the components to be picked and placed on printed circuit boards. The question is: Which components should be placed in which sequence to maximize throughput, and when?, says Nierwetberg. A few percentage points of improvement can make a significant productivity difference, because under optimal circumstances the machine can place as many as 60,000 components per hour. The technology could offer solutions for applications as varied as robot movements in a warehouse to choosing the best place to order a pizza. Toward Software That Writes Itself. Considering the immense and steadily growing demand for software (see p. 45), its not surprising that researchers are exploring methodologies that will accelerate software development itself. In addition to a variety of highly promising standardization (see p. 53) and process improvement scenarios (see p. 46), one of
their software. These points allow future modules to be plugged into a program. Faster and more accurate assembly is one thing. But what about automating the process of writing software itself? According to software architect Borrmann, modularization could be the first step in that direction. Research thats currently being conducted in cooperation with Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, for instance, indicates that in principle, a model interpreter basically a software tool can identify the modules that are needed for a
Tomorrows software will be pervasive , networked, self-optimizing and highly responsive to our needs.
the quickest and best ways to accelerate software development is modularization. Once they have been optimized and outfitted with a standardized interface, modules can be snapped together to form programs almost as easily as squeezing Lego blocks together and with just as little room for error. Working along these lines, researchers are now using aspect-oriented programming, a promising new concept that makes it possible for developers to leave so-called join points in program, and locate and interconnect them to build a functional system, says Borrmann. Naturally, if we could get this to work, it would mean a significant reduction in the amount of time needed to produce software systems, he explains. With this in mind, researchers in Borrmanns department in Munich, at Vanderbilt University and at Siemens giant PSE software subsidiary in Vienna, Austria, are working on
so-called model-driven software (see p. 42). The idea here is to sharply reduce the time needed for software development by simply drawing a formal model of a program. A special program then translates the model into code. We are clearly moving in the direction of faster, more efficient development, and that means model-driven development, says Siegfried Zopf, an expert in software development methodology and quality management at PSE. Meanwhile, in cooperation with Tecnomatix, an Israel-based company that specializes in simulations of industrial processes, Siemens researchers have developed a technology that generates code directly from automotive part descriptions and production simulations. Admittedly, this is a narrow environment. But it is my expectation that this solution will widen to embrace more industry segments, reports Software & Engineering head Achatz. Taken together, the trends that are shaping the development and application of the most invisible technology on earth are likely to have the profoundest implications for the way we live. The software that will drive our world in coming years will be pervasive, networked, self-optimizing and responsive to our needs, says Achatz. As in the natural universe, it will become a truism that, deep down, there will be a program behind everything. I Arthur F. Pease
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PROGRAMMING
t was a long road from the abacus of ancient times to the first programmable calculating machines, which were built in the 1930s and 40s in Germany, the U.S. and Great Britain. As a discipline in its own right, computer science has only been around for a few decades. Initially an academic tool, software has rapidly evolved to become an important part of the economy. As a result, demand for improved software development productivity is steadily increasing. All of this may have a downside, however. According to Dr. Lothar Borrmann, head of the Software Architecture department at Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) in Munich, Our methods and tools are getting better and better, but the demands on software architects and project management are growing by leaps and bounds as well. Its no longer possible for any one person to program todays complex software systems.
Siemens programmer Kai Tdter assembles the software that drives a new avatar. Javabased modular techniques and a program that simulates the functions of a real phone accelerate the development process.
commands and functions are prefabricated and encapsulated in building blocks that have been pre-tested for quality. These blocks contain clearly defined interfaces that are used to link them with other components, and they have instructions governing their interaction with other program elements. The trend is toward the development of reusable code, summarizes Borrmann colleague Christa Schwanninger. What this means is that, even when developing unusual applications, software engineers are increasingly using program libraries that contain large numbers of prefabricated templates and prototypes. An alternative is to design objects using graphic modeling languages what experts call Model Driven Development (MDD). In MDD, we describe the real world we want to automate using symbols and then model the corresponding procedures in a data-processing system, explains Zopf. The conversion
customer satisfaction at lower costs, says Schwanninger. The new architectures make possible a high degree of modification and extension, and they dont adhere to a rigid development model as before. As a result of better project management with shorter release cycles and planning thats based on defined objectives, working program parts are available to the user at a very early stage in the process. That means users are able to pass on requests to the appropriate teams, even as the development process moves forward, and immediately receive modified versions. Software Machines. Schmidt expects that model-based programming languages that automatically generate the appropriate machine code will soon be part of the standard repertoire of many development departments. A German-Spanish company known as CARE Technologies already offers a ma-
Taming Complex Systems

New methods have taken the place of the machine-level programming of earlier years, which has been pushed to the back burner. Today, it is not even possible to create the desktop of a modern personal computer with simple programming techniques. And theres enough intelligence in any laptop on the market to make the mainframe computers of the founding years look like bumbling museum pieces. Program code is found in every circuit in everything from cars to mobile phones to power plants. At Siemens alone, software engineers produce several billion lines of code each year. Initially, the lines of a program were laboriously written out by hand. Today, prefabricated software components and design
Software has become the heart of every complex system. The result: exploding demand for faster, more accurate and economical programming technologies. The goal: adaptable software architectures made of optimally matched, reusable components.
patterns (templates) provide the basic structural framework. There are already programming environments that generate powerful operations with just a few instructions, says Siegfried Zopf of Program and Systems Engineering (PSE) in Vienna, Austria. A Siemensowned software and electronics company with branches in several countries and more than 5,000 employees, PSE works almost exclusively for the Siemens Groups. A glance at the variegated world of development environments makes it clear that writing software entails a daunting number of choices. There are over 200 programming languages. Some professionals swear by Perl, Basic, Eiffel or Smalltalk, while others work with Delphi, C/C++, Java or Ada. Even the ve-
terans among the programming languages, like Cobol and Assembler, are still in service, with no prospect of being retired any time soon. At Siemens, there is no prescribed programming language in use throughout the company. Usually, though, Siemens opts for solutions based on established techniques. It makes no sense to program with unusual languages for two years and then be left at the end of the day with an isolated solution, explains Borrmann. As a rule, Siemens experts work with mainstream languages like C/C++ and Java or platforms like J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) or Microsofts .Net. But every approach has its strengths and weaknesses; each is suitable for different purposes, says Zopf.
In the early days, programmers tended to work in assembler languages, which describe each instruction in detail. Soon afterward, procedural languages became popular. In these languages, a program is broken up into smaller subtasks called procedures that are later linked together into an overall system. This approach is geared to making source code reusable and to achieving a high degree of clarity in regard to overall program structure. Researchers and developers have learned very quickly, says programming expert Douglas C. Schmidt of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. The level of abstraction of programming routines has been increased from year to year, increasing the degree to which they can be automated. Encapsulated and Reusable. Improvements in existing languages and techniques (see p. 41) as well as fundamental changes in the way developers approach and think about software have gone a long way toward expanding what software architects can do. Object-oriented development caused a sensation 20 years ago; but today it is firmly established. Its most important hallmark: Rules,
Users will be able to request modifications while development is still under way.
into working program code is done in part automatically by the development tools. The model-based approach reduces the amount of work required for individual pieces of software, particularly the amount of programming. Even complicated functions are portrayed by manageable symbols in a diagram. A structure is created, and is then increasingly adapted to the requirements of the particular application in subsequent phases of the development process. The underlying model is composed of encapsulated, reusable system components that can be linked like Lego blocks to form various applications (system families). Experts anticipate that model driven development has a bright future. Already, generative and aspect-oriented development tools are emerging, and these new approaches promise even better, more reliable and more secure software. We expect these agile software processes to produce more chine that writes software fully automatically and faster than any human programmer. The secret: prefabricated data flowcharts that define the processes involved. The user describes task with graphic symbols and links them to the diagrams. A software generator then provides working source code assembled from existing building blocks. In spite of such advances, code at the push of a button and self-organizing software arent likely to be common for a while. Still missing is an adequate technical and scientific basis for versatile software components. CAREs software generator, for instance, can only manage rudimentary tasks. Large software systems with parts that have to meet high reliability and security standards will continue to be planned by teams of specialists although at a highly abstract level. It still takes the knowledge and cooperation of many experts to get a system up and running, says Borrmann. I Andreas Beuthner
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SECURITY
Faultless
Future?
Office computers regularly receive software updates. Industrial processes, however, must function properly from the word go. Siemens has taken on this challenge and is now researching methods to develop secure and reliable software.
been respected. For safety-relevant applications, a formal verification of the program sequences logic is conducted. The problem with this is that testing takes up a large share of any software project. Tests and unscheduled debugging can consume up to 80 percent of a major projects time budget,
in terms of loops and calls, they have their own language to open valves or run motors up to speed, explains Nechypurenko. The actual programming is undertaken by software agents. This reduces the number of errors, since less code has to be written by hand, says Rainer Hochecker from IBM. Using
ded software. The analytical methods commonly used are sometimes unable to answer important questions, he explains. With fault tree analysis, for instance, it is impossible to decide whether data is being processed at sufficient speed. Fault trees link cause and effect, for example when system compo-
nents fail, but they dont take time into account. Liggesmeyers research group develops tools for problems like these. This new approach involves greater effort at the beginning of a project, because a great deal of energy goes into producing clean descriptions, he explains. Later on, though, you dont
have to go back and iron out errors. Furthermore, a model that has been carefully developed and tested can be reused much more easily. One stipulation, however, is that the models compatibility with new components unlike the case of Ariane 5 has been properly resolved. I Bernd Schne
Falling Prices and Exploding Complexity
T
Achatz explains. Experts are therefore examining how to accelerate this process. In the past, expensive capital goods such as aircraft and power plants would always feature redundancy on critical control systems, with the result that codes had to be developed for two or three independent hardware platforms. This meant, however, that several development teams were required, and there still was no guarantee that errors wouldnt be carried through from the design stage to the program itself. Engineers would much prefer the kind of exact implementation offered by programming in specific model languages. A Dictionary for Every Problem. Model Driven Development (MDD) may help to solve this problem by bringing technology and software closer together (see p. 42). A company-wide platform coordinates the project (www.omg.org). Regardless of whether it was a car radio or a railroad switching system, programmers in the past had to get by with one and the same programming language. MDD provides a kind of dictionary for each and every technical problem, explains Andrey Nechypurenko from Siemens CT. In other words, a model language is developed for each task. The symbols in the flow diagram are task-specific. Engineers dont talk MDD, we completed a 40-month project in 21 months, and the number of errors fell by a factor of 17. Worldwide, only a few major software projects have as yet been completed with MDD, because the decision in favor of a new process always means a long-term commitment. Our initial experience with real projects has been very encouraging, says Martin Rothfelder from CT. The technology will be ready for use in one to two years. Using similar semiautomatic tools, security specialists also analyze the code for potential weaknesses. And theyre not only looking for the classic bug, which can crash the computer; theyre also hunting for design faults, which present a hidden risk and may well have been introduced during the design stage. For example, banking software from Siemens must be capable of administering dozens of different encrypted communications channels without giving a potential eavesdropper a chance to decode the confidential content. One of the scientists with whom Siemens works most closely in the field of security and reliability technologies is Prof. Peter Liggesmeyer, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Liggesmeyer is primarily involved in the security of embed-
n 1996, when the first Ariane 5 rocket exploded only 37 seconds after lifting off from the mangrove swamps of French Guiana, software was at fault. The problem investigators found was that engineers had adopted a module from Ariane 4 without testing it. The purpose of the software was to convert the rockets speed from a long floating point number into a shorter data format. This was no problem for Ariane 4, because it was impossible for the number to exceed the upper limit of the abbreviated format. But with the more powerful Ariane 5, this occurred within half a minute, and the computer went down. The resulting loss wiped out more than half a billion euros. Ariane 5s unfortunate fate illustrates the extent to which software has become safetycritical and the dramatic need for flawless quality. In the old days, you would do what was known as a walk-through, accompanied by an experienced colleague, explains Reinhold Achatz, who heads the Software & Engineering division at Siemens Corporate Technology (CT). Given the complexity of todays systems, we have to find alternatives, otherwise software wouldnt be ready until years after the hardware. With this in mind, software engineers determine whether the rules of the language used that is, the softwares syntax have
he world software market is growing steadily. U.S. market researchers at IDC report that worldwide spending on packaged software alone was $185 billion in 2003 and is expected to reach some $260 billion by 2008. The overall software market is, of course, much larger, because it includes software that companies write themselves. Siemens spends over three billion euros on software development annually. In contrast to the market for PC-based software, where growth is slowing, analysts expect explosive growth in embedded software software used where most people dont see it, as part of anything from a cell phone to an industrial control system. The main factor driving this trend is rapidly falling memory prices. In the past decade, for example, the dollar price per megabit of DRAM (dynamic random access memory) fell from $3.50 in 1995 to about 2 cents in 2004, reports California-based semiconductor research house iSuppli, which predicts DRAM prices will fall to 0.4 cent per megabit by 2008. Todays automobiles tell the story. Embedded functions are migrating from hardware to software as microprocessors take over functions from electromechanical devices. In 2000, car manufacturers and suppliers spent about 25 billion euros on development and production of software designed for automobiles, according to Mercer Management Consulting. Mercer predicts spending will quadruple by 2010. By then, 35 percent of the value of the average car will come from electronics and software (with 13 percent being software). Some day soon, car owners will go to their local dealers for software upgrades,
AS MEMORY CHIPS BECOME CHEAPER...
Cents per megabit Dollars per megabit $5.00 $4.00 $3.00 $2.00 $1.00 $0.50
19 91 19 93 19 95 19 97 19 99 20 01
says Jan Dannenberg, who heads Mercers automotive analysis group. For example, they could download a program that supports safer braking on snow and ice. Of course, embedded software is in more than just cars. Daya Nadamuni, principal analyst with Gartner Dataquest, says the greatest potential for embedded software is where there is a human interface. Examples include cell phones, information points, patient monitoring systems and industrial control systems. Massachusetts-based research firm VDC also predicts that the automotive, consumer electronics and military and aerospace industries will lead the way in developing new embedded software applications. A typical embedded application has grown from 100,000 to one million lines of code over the past two years, according to Wind River, a U.S.-based maker of embedded software operating systems. This complexity will grow as devices are increasingly networked. According to Watts Humphrey of Carnegie Mellon Universitys Software Engineering Institute, the size and complexity of systems and applications grows exponentially, increasing by a factor of ten every five years. In order to master this complexity, more and more software components are being encapsulated in standardized modules. Reinhold Achatz, head of the Software & Engineering division at Siemens Corporate Technology, sums up the advantages: Once the content of such a module is shown to be error-free, its size is no longer a factor. Only its interface counts. As long as the interface is simple enough, we can handle it. I Mary Lisbeth dAmico
...MORE
SOFT WARE IS HITTING THE ROAD

E316 bil 3% p.a.
Source: Mercer Management Consulting (2003)
2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0

Source: iSuppli Corporation (2004)
The value of the software and electronics in automobiles is set to grow by around eight percent a year to 270 billion euros E270 bil by 2010 on average, 35 percent of total vehicle value. 8% p.a. 62% E125 bil Hardware 100 bil Software 25 bil Basic software 5 bil 2% 8% Operating system 20 bil 28%
0.5
Hardware 170 bil
60%
Hardware 190 bil
20 03 20 04 20 05 20 06 20 07 20 08
80%
Applications software 75 bil
40%
Software 126 bil
20%
2000
2010
2015
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QUALIT Y
Specification of objectives, secondary requirements and constraints

Prototype 3-n
Development and evaluation of proposed solutions, recognition and elimination of risks
Pombergers spiral model of software development. Prototypes are repeatedly improved and expanded in feedback loops.
Model Process
The processes involved in software development can hide a multitude of inefficiencies. Analyzing these processes with the help of objective, standardized models can sharply reduce development costs and significantly improve quality.
Prototype 2
Evaluation Evaluation
Prototype 1
Evaluation
Bid document Selection
Risk analysis
Risk analysis
Risk analysis
Milestone plan
System design
Architecture design
Refined design
Development plan
Validation of system concept Validation and verification of the design Training Acceptance test
Component test Integration & integration test
Data takeover, integration and test plan
Software should never look like a multitude of interconnected blocks a nightmare for developers.
Planning of next activities
Data takeover Installation
Development and validation of the next-level product
erman comedy star Dieter Nuhr is having a hard time. With women. With his mother. But most of all with computers. Just the other day, he says, he experienced an especially interesting computer crash. Unexpected fault, was the message on the display. Its reassuring to know, sighs Nuhr, that all the other faults met expectations. The audience loves it. Its nice to know that youre not the only one having problems. Everyone knows about the tribulations common in office software, and sometimes a sense of humor makes them seem more bearable. It would be a lot less funny, however, if the software running cars, trains, factories, medical equipment and power plants experienced similar faults to those all of us are familiar with when on our PCs. As software assumes ever more functions that used to be performed by hardware, fears of such failures are increasing. In cell phones, for instance, software accounts for 70 percent of the devices value. Lines of code have quintupled between the launches of Siemens S25 and S65 cell phones. And that adds up to more code than controlled NASAs rockets of the early 1960s. Software is becoming ever more complex, concedes
Dr. Frances Paulisch who directs the Software Initiative, a program established at Siemens in 1996. But complexity doesnt necessarily tell you anything about error rates. Indeed, eliminating errors from program code is not the principal purpose of the Inititive. Instead, the Initiative is designed to support the 30,000 software developers at Siemens by establishing optimized processes. Scrutinizing Software Quality. With this in mind, the Software & Engineering/Processes department at Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) an internationally renowned assessment center for software processes uses a catalog of 250 standardized questions to interview key project development people. The questions are designed to sort out the strengths and weaknesses of an organizations software development processes. Questions cover topics such as the competencies project manager must have, and the value of quality assurance measures. Based on the responses, a maturity profile is formulated with a maturity level ranging from 1 to 5. The international Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is used as a yardstick. In the CMMI, a maturity level of 1 is as-
signed to disorganized processes, while a 5 is awarded to software whose development is continually improved, based on specified metrics. By 2005, the Software Initiative aims to achieve a maturity level of 3 for R&D projects at Siemens, which corresponds to international targets. In several groups, this goal has already been reached or even surpassed. Following evaluation, project participants are provided with feedback and, if necessary, with training. Such training includes review techniques in which a software engineer must present programming results to team members. While there may be some grumbling at the beginning, participants invariably come to appreciate their colleagues advice. Its 20 percent technology and 80 percent psychology, confides department head Ludger Meyer. His 36 employees conduct worldwide assessments for all software units throughout Siemens. A high CMMI level, however, is no guarantee that software will be flawless. Still, theres a measurable correlation between CMMI levels on the one hand and software quality and costs on the other. When the processes are OK, its easier to estimate the costs and the time required, notes Paulisch.
To reach level 4 or higher, which is advisable in safety-critical applications, one must increase the use of metrics. These are measuring methods that define the quality of the program code a parameter of error density. Another level 4 requirement is the modularity and reusability capability of the software, which reduces both cost and complexity. Modules Assure Quality. One Group that has embraced software modularity is Siemens Medical Solutions. Instead of developing new software for each product, developers at Med now rely on the syngo software platform for CT, MRI and other medical imaging systems. This platform strategy reduces the chances of errors. Engineers at Med rely on a proven development methodology that moves from defining specifications, to design, implementation and testing in successive but overlapping stages designed to minimize development time.
Still more advanced, though not yet widely used, are incremental methods, in which the entire development process is subdivided into a succession of mini-waterfalls with predefined interfaces. Gustav Pomberger, Professor of Software Engineering at the University of Linz, Austria, is exploring such processes in collaboration with Siemens. Pomberger is an advocate of prototyping. In this strategy, developers create testable prototypes of their software at an early stage. The prototypes are designed to give the client a foretaste of a programs ultimate suitability for an application. If changes are needed the prototype is modified and perfected in feedback loops. Pomberger has refined the concept of prototyping for certain decision processes in a spiral process model (see diagram above). In a pattern resembling a snail shell, software engineers work in successive loops from the center (awarding of the project) outward through prototypes, evaluations, concepts and tests.
Source: Pomberger, University of Linz
Implementation
Yet another approach to software development can be found at Regensburg, Germany-based automotive supplier Siemens VDO. There, Stefan Hohrein, who heads VDOs System and Software Initiative, is committed to close coordination of software development with systems engineering, hardware and mechanical development. This approach can serve as a model throughout Siemens, since most of the companys software is created for embedded systems, in which software is very closely linked with hardware, as is the case in cell phones and automotive infotainment systems. In automobiles, hardware is increasingly being replaced by software, because it is more flexible. According to a study by the Mercer Group, software will account for 13 percent of the value of a typical car by 2010, compared to four percent in 2000. Systems and software development at Siemens VDO follow well-defined processes, but testing is determined by customer requirements. When a program is complete, individual program sections are first tested separately. The next phase is an integration test, which ensures that individual functions interact smoothly. The final hurdle is a system test on the complete device under realistic environmental conditions. To keep complexity to a minimum, automakers are developing a type of operating system with uniform interfaces that allows proven program modules to be docked and reused (see p. 53). The intent is to reduce the number of control devices in premium cars from the present 70 to about 20. Programs that Test Programs. Automated tests during an early phase of development are gaining in importance. Basic syntax errors in code are detected upfront by compilers, which translate a program into machine language. New test methods are designed to ensure smooth interaction between all program sections. To meet this objective, the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Engineering in Berlin and its sister institute for Experimental Software Engineering in Kaiserslautern, have developed Quasar, a software tool that tests
Code inspector an analytical tool sniffs out bugs in source code and warns of errors.
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PERVASIVE COMPUTING
functions in automobiles before components are produced. Quasars first test object was a car door with integrated pushbuttons for seat adjustments. To begin with, Quasar was used to represent the manufacturers DaimlerChrysler requirements in lucid diagrams. For example, seat adjustments had to be limited to very low driving speeds, which required a link with the speedometer. As the next step, several hundred combinations of functions were then simulated and tested for consistency. Only then was the seat adjustment software engineered. Quasar also comes in handy in later stages. It simulates sensors and automatically activates all microcontroller functions. Safety-critical functions such as the electronic steering systems of the future cant even be developed without such test tools. Manufacturers will need to prove that steer-by-wire is just as reliable as mechanical steering, says Prof. Holger Schlingloff, Quasar project manager. Code Inspector. Across the Atlantic, at Siemens Corporate Research in Princeton, New Jersey software engineers are developing code inspector, an analytical tool that sniffs out bugs in the source code of the most important programming languages, including C (20% share at Siemens), C++ (30%) and Java (12%). This sniffer has already proven its value in several sectors and saved time and money by providing early fault indications. Code inspector also provides specific key figures that customers request. The German Federal Railroad Administration, for example, uses a catalog of quality criteria for software written in C++. Code inspector enabled Siemens Transportation Systems to generate the documentation at half the expected cost. The next logical development would be to endow code inspector with the ability to automatically correct errors in code. Thats already feasible for some quality criteria, asserts Jean Hartmann, who helped create code inspector in Princeton. But as a former software developer I wouldnt appreciate having a machine messing around with my code. I Bernd Mller
As computing becomes pervasive, objects such as bulletin boards will be able to exhange information with mobile devices such as PDAs and phones .
Developing a Digital Aura

Researchers have long dreamt of pervasive computing, which enables everyday objects to recognize our needs and react to them in an intelligent manner. The requisite hardware is already available. Whats needed now is new software and global standards.
them, as it were, with a digital cloak. Whenever two such auras come into contact, information flows. In other words, coded preference profiles are exchanged and compared. For example, if your profile authorizes this, an electronic movie poster might transmit the trailer of the latest box office hit to your PDA; or your cell phone might inform you that the woman sitting at the next table in the cafe wants to sell her car. The technology is already available. The Linz researchers have fitted various objects with so-called RFID tags small chips that store relevant data. Communication takes place via the Bluetooth wireless radio standard. Initial demonstrations already exist in the fields of healthcare, the home, and traffic management. The major challenges now are to write universally applicable digital auras for a huge number of people and things, to ensure that these auras can change over time, to transfer and compare them wirelessly, and, finally, to use washable microchips that can be integrated into clothing, explains Ferscha. For the last three years, his institute has been working closely on the digital aura project with Dr. Lothar Borrmann and others at Siemens Corporate Technologys Software Architecture department, a part of the Siemens Software & Engineering division. No Keyboard, No Mouse. Pervasive Computing (PvC) also known as Ubiquitous Computing (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2002, p. 44) will usher in a new era. Instead of do-it-all computers, we will see the advent of simple, task-specific, miniaturized and intuitively operable processors that will be invisibly integrated in everyday objects. Similarly, traditional input devices such as keyboards and mice will not be required. Instead, the processors will be controlled by electronic, optical, acoustic or chemical sensors, and they will output via actuators such motors or other control units. In order to reach that point, however, researchers need to develop new software that is capable of the following: Self-configuration, that is, automatic adaptation to changing environments
The shirt tells the washing machine the temperature at which it has to be washed.
Self-optimization, including continual monitoring and analysis of its own performance and the use of available resources according to specific processes Self-organization and the implementation of decisions across the system as a whole Self-protection, meaning identification and control of unauthorized access and virus activity Self-repair, for example, discovering and resolving problems Self-teaching, that is, recognition of behavioral patterns and their incorporation in internal management mechanisms Of particular importance here is sensitivity to context. In other words, the system must not only be capable of recognizing objects and persons, but it must also be able to prepare for future situations. Although science and industry are still at the start of this project, two things are already evident: Classic programs that process only one predetermined task are outdated; by contrast, the PvC environment requires global platforms and software that integrate individual systems such as mobile devices, sensor networks and applications in vehicles or intelligent homes. When building a house, its not so important whether you use brick, stone or wood. Similarly, the important thing here is not a specific programming language but rather the right software architecture, explains Ferscha. For this reason, his team has developed a new architecture that consists of three levels. The top level is where sensor data such as temperature, humidity, and pulse frequency are received from the immediate environment. The middle level is where data for the specific application are processed and converted into a form that can be understood by the various embedded systems. The preferred language is XML (Extensible Markup Language) a universal and extensible data-description language that is independent of any specific platform or operating system. In fact, this is why the Linz team has
T H E F U L LY N E T W O R K E D H O M E I S J U S T A C L I C K AWAY
A hot candidate for networking household hardware is the Universal Plug & Play standard (see p. 53). This covers hardware with network interfaces that support IP communications for example, Ethernet, wireless (Bluetooth, WLAN) and FireWire. The first generation of products featuring Internet gateways, WLAN access points and digital media adapters with UPnP is already available. Further applications have been exhibited by Fokus, the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems, at the eHome trade fair in September 2004 in Berlin. A team led by Thomas Luckenbach has developed a PC media server that enables a computer, TV, video recorder and other household appliances to recognize each another automatically. Users can therefore combine hardware from different manufacturers within a home network and access data from various sources. For example, the set-top box in the living room can get photos from the PC in the study, which in turn accesses videos from the set-top box. Meanwhile, MP3 music files are transferred back and forth between the kids bedrooms. And since home networks can communicate with one another, relatives in another country can receive vacation snaps. Access to other home networks enables remote diagnosis and maintenance assuming you have an appropriate key. The industry is also sold on UpnP. It seems clear that companies such as Philips, Sony, Microsoft, Samsung, HP, Intel and Siemens will build on this platform, says Markus Wischy from the Siemens CT Competence Center for Software & Engineering.
igns that show the way to the nearest cinema; cars that automatically locate the next parking space; shirts that tell the washing machine what temperature they should be washed in the future, according to Prof. Alois Ferscha, objects and people will be enveloped in their very own digital auras. This might sound esoteric, but Ferscha, who is the Director of the Institute of Pervasive Computing at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria has some very concrete ideas of what it might entail. We create an artificial aura for people and objects by fitting
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Auras in the office. Cell phones, laptops and PDAs automatically communicate with one another and exchange data in line with user profiles.
I N T E R N AT I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T
used it to code the personal profile contained in a digital aura. Such a profile features not only a personal description including name and address but also changeable data such as favorite music and, above all, personal preferences and intended courses of action. In turn, it is crucial that these are evaluated according to context, since a persons favorite music may differ between morning and evening. Similarly, readiness to engage in small talk is probably higher when relaxing in a bar than at work in the office. MOPS Lay the Ground Rules. Finally, certain rules control how the mini-processors and networks should behave. This is the lowest level of the architecture, says Ferscha. By helping to control motors, displays and even complete networks, such rules also known as policies enable the system to operate autonomously. These rules are required to control complexity. They center on a components subject, target object, event, condition and action. You can store them in a database or decentrally, says Christoph Niedermeier of CTs Software & Engineering Architecture department. MOPS (Mobility cOmmunication & Policy-based Systems) is the name of the project
The Soarian hospital information system: Developers in both the U.S. and in India work on the project.
PHONE CONTROL
Equipped with a Bluetooth extension, a cell phone can interact with a vehicles navigation system, whereby the phones display is shown on the systems screen. Using this wireless onboard communication system from Siemens, the latest traffic news, together with relevant road maps can be fed directly into a cars navigation system from a cell phone. In addition, Siemens offers a hands-free automotive communications system that allows the users cell phone to be placed anywhere in the vehicle. All of the phones relevant functions are automatically transferred via Bluetooth to an easy-to-use accessory device.
that Niedermeier is running in cooperation with scientists from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. The projects objective is to develop management policies for fourth generation mobile radio networks. An additional MOPS feature will be that software problems will be treated remotely and updates downloaded from the network. By mid2005 Niedermeiers team expects to produce a demonstration that simulates the policybased control of software downloads to a large number of terminals. PvC Researchers have their work cut out for them, since such behavioral rules will have to be defined for every conceivable situation. Security is a major challenge, says Ferscha. How, for example, can we establish if data has been transferred from A to B, and if it has been transferred completely? How do we know that a person is who he or she claims to be? How can errors be identified and resolved during, for example, data transfer? How can users be sure that they are safe from eavesdroppers? How can they protect their privacy? And how can they deactivate their digital auras? In the light of such questions, it is evident that PvC will be implemented only in certain spheres (see boxes) for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, common standards must be adopted. To date, however, industry has failed to agree on appropriate wireless protocols or language and software architectures for this area. The subject is
simply too complex, and companies are still orientating themselves. Many approaches are being tried out at present, says Dr. Michael Berger from the Intelligent Autonomous Systems department at CTs Information & Communications Group. The department develops PvC solutions for Siemens Com and Siemens VDO. Why Standards Are Needed. The need for standards is especially evident in the networking area. Although an infrastructure has existed for quite some time here, uncertainty still remains as to which wireless standards will prevail (see p. 11). According to the authors of a study at TA-Swiss, the Center for Technology Assessment in Bern, Switzerland, Many devices will probably support the IPv6 Internet protocol. For network applications, however, additional protocols for dispersed architectures will be required. While there are numerous systems for this purpose, these are still proprietary and not interoperable. The development of manufacturer-independent standards is overdue and hinders the breakthrough of appropriate systems. Nevertheless, Alois Ferscha is confident that PvC will become a reality. The development of network capability was the first step. The next step will be to create ubiquitous networked computer systems that can recognize situations and peoples intentions, and support them in the best possible way, he says. I Evdoxia Tsakiridou
Two software projects one to streamline processes in hospitals, the other to transform cell phones into multimedia platforms illustrate the complexities of global software development.
Software in the Global Village

could soon transform every communication terminal into a multimedia platform. The largest software development project ever conducted by Siemens Medical Solutions, Soarian captures and tracks a patients clinical and financial data from hospital admission to release while making it available throughout the enterprise to all authorized personnel. The very first Web-based enterprise health care information system available anywhere, Soarian has a potential market in the range of four to five billion dollars, says Dr. Siegfried Bocionek, Chief Operating Officer, Siemens Health Services, and Group Vice President of the Soarian Enterprise business unit. Soarian is now being tested at some 20 healthcare centers in the U.S. and Germany. Mobile Media Center. IMS, a project involving years of work by as many as 250 software developers, is now being tested by major communication service providers around the world and is slated for commercial introduction in 2005 when the first IMS/SIP-enabled cell phones hit the market. (SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol, is a de facto standard that defines how Internet communications are initiated and terminated.) Basically a service control infrastructure for all forms of communication, IMS will establish Internet technology in the wired and wireless network environment says Dr. Edward Scheiterer, head of IMS business line management at Siemens Communication (Com). He adds that IMS will also introduce the concept of a session broker to mix and manipulate all types of media. Adds Johannes Schinko, Vice President, Core Networks, at Program and System Engineering (PSE), a Siemens software house based in Vienna, Austria, IMS will make mobile communication as multifaceted as natural communication. IMS and Soarian are outstanding examples of how software mega projects have come to be organized and managed. Dividing a project like IMS is always a challenge, says PSEs Schinko. Of course, it would be easier to have everyone at one location
ext year, your teenager may be able to call all his buddies and talk to them at once by pressing a single button on a cell phone. In a few months, a hospital near you may cut the time it takes to generate a diagnostic report from 48 hours to 15 minutes. Nurses may soon have as much as 50 percent more time for their patients. What these technologies have in common is that they are the progeny of two vast software development projects that have been structured to harvest the know-how of specialized groups in a worldwide organization. Soarian, a comprehensive healthcare information system for hospitals that has already entered service, is a software tour-de-force built on some 3,500 man-years of research and development in the United States, Sweden, India, and Germany. IMS, on the other hand, which stands for IP (Internet Protocol) Based Multimedia Subsystem, is a visionary software system developed in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenija, Croatia, India, France, Finland, Britain, Belgium and Greece that
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Home care / telemedicine

and cheaper to have everyone in India or China. But at the end of the day, the division of work depends on system architecture and the level of experience that different sites bring to the table. Those are the determining factors. Schinko points out, for instance, that a key part of IMS something called the Media Gateway Control Function was conceptualized jointly by two Munich-based Siemens Groups, ICM and ICN. But, he explains, the know-how for this component was primarily available at a Siemens site in Greece, and it was therefore reasonable to develop much of the software there. Another Siemens location, Romsey, England-based Roke Manor Research, was tapped for its specialized knowledge in addressing and compressing messages for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Only one part of the giant project development of functionalities specific to Symbian, an operating system for cell phones was turned over to an outside company. That work was performed by Digia of Finland, says Schinko. They had specialized knowledge in that area. But, he emphasizes, for strategic reasons, key technologies are never given to outside companies for development. Unlike IMS, which benefited from many existing communication standards and protocols, thus simplifying development of its software applications, most of Soarian was developed from scratch. Manpower requirements ranged from approximately 900 Siemens developers in the U.S. to 350 people in India and 50 in Sweden. We had experience in Bangalore with developing the syngo diagnostic imaging platform, says Bocionek, who headed that project as well. And in some specialized areas where Siemens Medical Solutions did not have experience at the time, we tapped (what was then known as) Siemens Nixdorf in Sweden. Technology and Psychology. With most of its people in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and Bangalore, India, Soarian development struggled with basic technical problems. We were often confronted with breakdowns in line carawake. Naturally, coordinating so many people in different cultures was also a challenge. People need to take the time to understand their counterparts in another culture, says Bocionek. That means that team leaders need to develop strong personal relationships and be good at imparting complex ideas to their people. He cautions that size itself can become an obstacle. Its crucial that the individual R&D groups dont become too large. I would avoid having more than 150 people at one location because anything more than that requires an added layer of management, which slows things down. For the IMS projects Scheiterer, architecture, processes and project management are the cornerstones of successful software development projects. However, he adds,
Home server Telephones / communications
Audio / video / PC networks
Switches / sockets / controllers
White goods
In Siemens vision of tomorrows e-home, all types of household appliances and systems will be able to communicate with one another and the user thanks to a common language and standardized interfaces.
The division of work depends on system architecture and experience at each site.
rying capacity when we transmitted code overnight from India to the U.S., recalls Bocionek. And management reviews were hampered by time zone differences. One group would be worn out after a days work, while the other group would not yet be fully good communication and clear responsibilities for all participants are a precondition for all of these. At the end of the day, a shared vision and common goals are the key. But the flip side of that is that without good architecture, even the best teams would fail. So what is good architecture? In the context of an international development project, says Schinko, it is architecture that, when possible, separates functional blocks, allowing them to be developed independently of one another. That helps to avoid misunderstandings, and sets the stage for good motivation. Adds Scheiterer, Good architecture minimizes overlap while improving end-to-end functionality and quality. However, no project, no matter who the architect is, is flawless. The step from logical structure to technical solution can be a big one, says Bocionek, pointing out that overlap has a way of creeping in. There are parts of almost any project that are not self-contained and need to be used in other places. It is the nature of the beast. After all, good architecture should describe the real world but that is never perfect. I Arthur F. Pease
Efficiency Revolution
I
magine running a production line without standardized parts or a railroad with different gauges of track, or cooking with recipes that mixed up teaspoons and milliliters. For traditional manufacturing industries, such problems are ancient history with one very major exception: software. The global software industry may be a relative upstart, but its youthfulness is giving way to a growing level of maturity and dependability a process driven largely by the industrys common interest in a range of standards. Standards make software cheaper, says Reinhold Achatz, head of Siemens Corporate Technologys Software & Engineering division and Vice President of the OPC Foundation, a non-profit international standards organization that promotes open software standards in the automation industry. Im not talking about ten or 20 percent. Im talking about a factor ten to 100 in savings over the long run, not to mention improvements in development speed, competitiveness, quality and efficiency.
From cars to communications, standards are the key to radically cutting the cost of software development and ushering in a new world of efficiency in which consumers benefit from a widening spectrum of new, affordable functions and services.
Helsinki
Romsey
Lannion
Salzgitter Berlin Herentals Brno Munich Kranj
Vienna Zagreb
He explains that a combination of increasingly standardized development tools, growing libraries of software components, standardized application interfaces and much more are making it easier to produce increasingly complex software packages of higher quality at greater speeds. Just look at the cost of software development ten or 20 years ago. We have certainly cut costs by a factor of between ten and 100 otherwise it would be impossible to implement a new cell phone generation with the speed we have today, says Achatz. Cars: Accelerated Innovation. Since software is becoming one of the dominant cost factors in all areas of industry, the cost of its development can change the economics of entire industries while offering consumers higher quality, more convenience and more services at less cost. Thats becoming increasingly true for the automotive sector. According to Hans-Georg Frischkorn, head of system archi-
Athens
Bangalore
The IMS multimedia platform for cell phones was developed by software engineers at 13 locations in 11 countries in Europe and Asia.
tecture and integration at BMW, Around 35 to 40 percent of the added value of our cars is determined by electronics and software. (See graphic on p. 45) He explains that the most important factors affecting automotive software development costs are standardization, open systems architecture and reusability of software application system components. With a view to cutting costs in these interrelated areas, the key players in the automotive and electronics industries are developing AUTOSAR (Automotive Open System Architecture) a standardized software platform architecture that will make it easy to add and reuse software components. Typically, when new hardware, such as a microcontroller, is added to a model group, existing software has to be updated to accommodate it. That one software modification can cost millions of euros, explains Dr. Michael Golm, a member of Siemens part of the AUTOSAR partnership. The new standard could obviate that.
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In addition, AUTOSAR, which is expected to be implemented in 2008, will make it possible for automotive manufacturers to cut costs by mixing and matching software from different suppliers. And the new open system environment will open the door to accelerated introduction of innovations, better diagnostics and lower maintenance costs. At Home: Device Ecosystems. About the same time AUTOSAR hits the market, a similarly comprehensive new technology called Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) could begin to radically change our homes (see p. 49). If youve ever plugged a memory stick into the back of a PC and watched its icon automatically appear on the screen, you can imagine how UPnP technology works except that that will happen on a networked basis, says Markus A. Wischy, a software architect who represents Siemens on the UPnP Forums Steering Committee. The UPnP Forum consists of over 680 corporate members. Install electric blinds, a security system or a networked stereo system based on UPnP technology and these systems will automatically be recognized by your favorite interface device a TV, phone or tablet PC. All youll need is home automation software in a settop box or other Internet Gateway Device.
ized architecture and device access protocol, it will allow appliances to communicate with one another. That can have significant implications for energy use. With some countries switching to variable electricity rates, a heating system could, for instance, wait for a washing machine to complete its cycle before switching on in order to avoid triggering a higher rate. But software stadnardization goes well beyond the home and automotive environments. In fact, it goes right to the heart of how software is produced. Major efforts are underway to harmonize the tools programs that govern processes such as error detection, diagnostics, editing and testing that researchers use to develop and maintain software. Harmonization in this area is helping to accelerate development, improve accuracy and share the burden of licensing costs, says Rainer Ersch, a Siemens software engineer with special responsibility for company-wide software tool harmonization, as well as tool coordination with IBM Rational. His words are echoed by Oliver Fendt, a software architect in charge of Siemens Linux Corporate Competence Center. Fendt says that New features such as networking and built-in security are being developed so quickly that adding them to proprietary oper-
Michael Cusumano (50) is the Sloan Management Review Distinguished Professor at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A worldrenowned expert on software management, he is the author of books such as Microsoft Secrets, Competing on Internet Time and The Business of Software.
Looking for an Automatic Transmission

Standardization will turn cell phones into universal remote control units.
Your TV will automatically recognize any UPnP device. And devices will recognize each other.
This will automatically establish a seamless network, allowing the gateway device to read standardized identification signals from every UPnP device in the home. The signals will be transmitted wirelessly or over the homes electric lines so-called powerline communication meaning that no extra wiring or programming will be necessary. Switch on your TV or access your home remotely, and youll have an overview of the status of every electronic device. But the new technology will usher in much more than just an advanced remote control scenario. Thanks to UPnPs standardating systems costs too much and is far too slow. But with the Linux kernel, which is available under the open source General Purpose License (GPL) and offers a full range of state-of-the-art features, we can save millions in licensing for embedded software and can develop valuable synergies by sharing newly developed code that runs on a common embedded operating system platform. The so-called open source discussion is also in full swing at Siemens giant PSE software subsidiary in Vienna, Austria. Major companies see established operating systems as being too slow to react to security
threats, says Thomas Eitzenberger, head of a center of competence for mobile applications at PSE. He points out that as applications become increasingly networked and thus subject to attack more and more customers are requesting Linux-based solutions. Spurred by the explosive increase in networked applications and the related need to allow applications from different companies to talk to each other, software developers are increasingly turning to Java as a standard programming language and platform. Like a skilled diplomat, Java can smooth over the difference between parties. If you write an application for Windows, it can only run on Windows, explains Marquart C. Franz, who has played an important role in guiding development of the standard, as the Siemens representative on the Java Executive Committee. But, he adds, if you write an application for Java, it can run on a Windows system, a Linux system or just about any other platform. The user will not see a difference. But for developers, the choice is simple. Obviously, for a company like Siemens, with some 30,000 software developers, broad-based implementation of Java could translate into enormous improvements in productivity. Add in a hefty dash of Linux, several heaping spoonfuls of AUTOSAR and UPnP, prepare with a gleaming set of standardized tools, and the company not to mention the world economy could have a recipe for an efficiency revolution. I Arthur F. Pease
Are users overwhelmed by the increasing number of PC functions? Cusumano: Well, we're talking about computers, not toasters. If you want to download a video or log into a LAN, you simply need more functions. But its true that when graphical user interfaces were introduced ten years ago user-friendliness had a higher priority than it does today. Developers should take note. What should software firms be doing? Cusumano: Software developers are special users with lots of technical expertise. Companies need to set up usability labs where teams that include ordinary people try to imagine what goes on in normal users heads. In the North American market, the automatic transmission made cars accessible to the masses. We need something like that in the software industry. Devices like cell phones and MP3 players contain more and more software. Dont their developers need new concepts? Cusumano: Most of these devices have no keyboard and small memories, so they have to function autonomously. But we dont really need new concepts for this embedded software. Take speech recognition. Some cell phones recognize spoken language. But speech recognition programs were ultimately developed for PCs. When do you think well have really intelligent computers? Cusumano: I think we'll need a century to develop a computer that is even half as intelligent as the human brain. None of the intelligent software I've seen so far has impressed me. You still need a
tremendous amount of memory and computing power to recognize even simple patterns, and neural networks also need large databases. A century is perhaps too long an estimate, but on the other hand, some of my colleagues believe well never create a computer that imitates the human brain.
What about autonomous programs that write themselves? Cusumano: The only thing thats really impressed me recently is a self-diagnosis program that finds out why a computer has crashed. There are also intelligent agents based on autonomous software but nothing really revolutionary. Do we need revolutions? Cusumano: We recently had one the Internet. And some people still call wireless technology or peer-to-peer computing revolutionary. Swap shops could also trigger a small revolution. In your book The Business of Software, you wrote: The driving force behind software development is not so much technology as business. Whats your view of the evolution of the Microsoft monopoly? Cusumano: Dont forget that this monopoly has made PCs cheaper and accessible to millions. But a monopoly is usually only the second-best solution. Nonetheless, we're dependent on Microsoft because of the many applications it offers. You've said that software is regarded as a science in Europe, a production process in Japan and a business in the U.S.
Cusumano: In the U.S. we have an enormous market driving developments. But software development is a global business today and will continue to be one. You only have to design software as modules and synchronize the development worldwide. IBM developed an operating system in eight different locations all over the world as early as the 1960s. Back then, you had to transport copies of tapes by plane. Today, the Internet is making exchange much easier.
One of the main reasons for the malfunction of the electronic toll collection system in Germany was the involvement of so many different software companies. Combining the modules simply became too complicated. Cusumano: That could have been due to synchronization or architectural problems. Of course, a system developed at different locations is never as good as one developed by a single team. Development is always a trade-off between costs and manpower, or quality and speed. I Interview conducted by Jeanne Rubner.
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In Brief
Today, software inventions are every bit as important as innovations in hardware. Yet there are major differences between U.S. and European law when it comes to software patents.
They simply set down in writing what has already been legal practice for the past 20 years. Patented Business Models? On the other hand, patent experts at Siemens do not consider it necessary and useful for Europe to adopt the farther-reaching patentability of software from the U.S. At the height of the Internet boom in the late 1990s, U.S. courts declared that new Web-based business models and processes were eligible for patent protections independent of their relationship to a technology. This, however, presents the threat that inventions requiring little intellectual input can enjoy patent protection. Siemens rejects the idea of such trivial patents, believing a certain measure of inventiveness to be necessary. The systematic optimization of our patent portfolio makes for higher-quality patents, says Bttner. In this way, we do our best to improve usefulness for customers, while strengthening our lead in trend-setting technologies. But often, says Bttner, software developers arent aware of the value of their inventions and their need for protection. We still find it difficult to describe the functionality represented by a piece of software in such a way as to clearly define its patentability, adds Achatz. This is why the patent department meets regularly with representatives of Siemens Groups, to review the eligibility of individual inventions for patenting. Using business strategy as a guide, it is determined which patents should be submitted by individual Groups in the course of the following year. To avoid trivial patents, each invention is assessed for its potential value, strategic importance, added value for the customer and attractiveness to competitors. Patent applications are only submitted for highly ranked inventions. Despite the legal differences in various countries, Siemens intends to increase the overall number and quality of software patents worldwide. Why? Because patents not only protect its technological advantage, but also serve as a barometer of innovation resulting from the capital invested in R&D. They are thus extremely valuable, both strategically and financially. I Gnter Heismann I Over 30,000 software developers work for Siemens. Annual R&D software expenditures total more than three billion euros. Software usually invisibly embedded is a part of a wide range of products, from cell phones to industrial control systems. This trend is set to continue as a result of the decreasing cost of computing power and memory. The complexity of software grows with the performance and new functions it can deliver, such as networking, realtime capability, error diagnoses and security. (p. 39, 44, 45) I New programming methods accelerate software development. The trend is toward highly adaptable software architectures with optimally matched, reusable components. It is already possible to automate some programming tasks. (p. 41, 42) I Software development is simultaneously becoming more international which means that the distribution of tasks in global teams is overwhelmingly determined by system architecture and respective levels of know-how. (p.51) I In order to improve the quality of software, researchers are working at Siemens in the Software Initiative and at an internationally recognized assessment center on optimizing development and test processes. For automatic tests, Siemens has developed the Code Inspector. (p. 46) I Standardization makes software more cost-efficient, easier to develop and more user-friendly, e.g. with a new platform architecture for future vehicles or at home with the Universal Plug and Play standard. This simplifies installation and data exchange between devices. Thanks to opensource software like Linux, companies can develop software platforms and save on licensing fees. (p. 53) I Pervasive computing will lead to everyday intelligent devices capable of recognizing our needs and reacting to specific situations. Most of the necessary hardware is available today but the corresponding autonomous software and universal standards are still needed. (p.49) PEOPLE: Software & Engineering at Corporate Technology: Reinhold Achatz, CT SE reinhold.achatz@siemens.com Software development technologies: Klaus Beetz, CT SE 1 klaus.beetz@siemens.com Siegfried Zopf, PSE siegfried.zopf@siemens.com Software architecture: Dr. Lothar Borrmann, CT SE 2 lothar.borrmann@siemens.com Software processes: Ludger Meyer, CT SE 3 ludger.meyer@siemens.com Software engineering: Dr. Ulrich Lwen, CT SE 5 ulrich.loewen@siemens.com Software Initiative: Dr. Frances Paulisch, CT SWI frances.paulisch@siemens.com Discrete optimization: Dr. Johannes Nierwetberg, CT SE 6 johannes.nierwetberg@siemens.com Digital graffiti: Dieter Kolb, CT SE 1 kolb.dieter@siemens.com Software standards (UPnP): Markus A. Wischy, CT SE 2 markus.wischy@siemens.com Pervasive computing: Dr. Michael Berger, CT IC 6 m.berger@siemens.com Patent protection for software: Dr. Kai Brandt, CT IP A&D kai.brandt@siemens.com International development projects: Dr. Siegfried Bocionek, SMS, USA siegfried.bocionek@siemens.com Dr. Edward Scheiterer, PSE, Austria edward.scheiterer@siemens.com Prof. Alois Ferscha, Institute for Pervasive Computing, University of Linz, ferscha@soft.uni-linz.ac.at Prof. Dr. Gustav Pomberger gustav.pomberger@jku.at LINKS: Siemens Software & Engineering Department: w4.siemens.de/ct/en/ technologies/se/index.html Program and System Engineering (PSE): www.pse.siemens.at How Software Works: computer.how stuffworks.com/software-channel.htm LITERATURE: Cusumano, Michael A., The Business of Software, Free Press, 2004
Protecting Innovations
T
he new Siemens Somatom Sensation 64 computer tomograph is a tough act to follow. It is not only the industrys fastest CT; it also has the highest resolution (see p. 68). Here, a key role is played by the Somatoms software, which pieces together a myriad of values in seconds to create an image of internal body structures. The same holds true in many other areas. Whether were talking about navigation systems or cell phones almost all recent cutting-edge inventions would have been impossible without innovative software. A key to market success thus involves protecting technologically meaningful software with patents in the same way that hardware innovations are safeguarded. Patenting is becoming more important to our innovation strategy, says Dr. Winfried Bttner, Head of the Corporate Intellectual Property department. Siemens posts 75 percent of its sales from products that are less than five years old. Thats why our patents must also be renewed every five to six years. The most significant value creation today is in software. Some 60 percent of the around five billion euros spent annually on R&D at Siemens, along with most of the roughly 7,000 inventions registered for patents by Siemens each year, are associated with software. Whats more, the dividing line between software and hardware is becoming less distinct for instance, in automotive electronic suspension systems. Certain characteristics that used to require hardware, such as stability and rigidity, can now be achieved through software regulation, says Reinhold Achatz, Head of the Software & Engineering division at Siemens Corporate Technology. Copyright or Patent Protection? Although software is generally covered by copyright law, these protections are easily circumvented. Often, all it takes is for a programmer to make slight modifications to code. Simply put, copyrights protect only the outward charcteristics of the software in other words, the code. Considerably more effective are patents, which can be used to safeguard the general idea and the functionality behind a computer program. In Europe, however, strict conditions must be met in order to make software eligible for a patent. In particular, the software must display the characteristics of a technological invention according to the prevailing legal definition (see box). Computer programs commonly used by the general public frequently do not satisfy this criterion, whether theyre word processing programs or systems used for Internet trading forums. This legal pattern, which has been developed by courts over the past decades, is now to be permanently established by the Competitiveness Council of the European Union (EU) in a directive on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions. However, the European Parliament made changes in the fall of 2003 that would have had the effect of completely negating patent protections. Had the changes stood, nothing relating to computers or even to a programmable chip would have been left patentable in Europe. Now, however, the EU Council has adopted a version of the directive that addresses the interests of all parties involved. We support the new rules, says Bttner.
W H E N I S S O F T WA R E A T E C H N O L O G I C A L I N V E N T I O N ?
Software can only be patented in Europe if it is deemed a technological invention. Defining what this means is sometimes difficult. Three examples illustrate when a software product satisfies the required contribution to state-of-the-art technology: 1. The software solves a technical problem. In this case, the developers are required to work with concepts that clearly require expert knowledge. Example: a computer-supported process to monitor the correct functioning of a microchip. 2. The software produces a technical effect. This would be the case when an x-ray machine is controlled by a computer in order to achieve better imaging. 3. The software measures, analyzes or influences physical quantities. Example: a speech-recognition program that associates acoustical measurements with a series of sounds. The new algorithm requires very little memory. As an abstract formula, the algorithm alone is not patentable. Its use for the processing of the acoustical data, however, can be deemed a technical process for the analysis of a physical quantity in accordance with patent law.
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olfgang Mildner places a plastic yogurt container on his desk and points to the barcode. Were going to replace these with plastic chips, he says. Mildner is the Managing Director of PolyIC, a start-up located in Erlangen, Germany. Barcodes are on all products today, but the only significant data they contain is price. To identify products individually (for example, by expiration date or other information) whats needed are so-called intelligent labels that use RFID (radio frequency identification) technology. These radio chips, which are affixed to products, are opening up new possibilities in delivery, inventory management and labeling, especially because they can be read from a distance. In theory, this means a company could identify all the products it has in stock at the push of a button and determine their exact location. Another conceivable application for this technology is the automatic check-out line, where customers would simply move their shopping carts past a radio scanner that automatically registers everything in the wagon. Major retailers such as WalMart, Tesco and Metro are currently testing RFID systems that use conventional silicon chips, which cost one euro or more each. Thats so expensive that theyre only suitable for use with expensive merchandise, Mildner says. Even with great effort, a silicon-based RFID chip will never cost less than five to ten cents per unit, even over the long term. Silicon does offer advantages, though. The chips feature very high performance and are also fast. In this respect, were not even competing with silicon by using plastic, says Mildner. A study by the German market research firm Soreon forecasts that total market volume for RFID systems in Europe alone will increase from 400 million euros this year to 2.5 billion euros in 2008. This market will be open for plastic chips too because were sharply cutting costs, says Mildner. Over the long term, well get them down to one cent per unit or even less. To do this, the startup company is relying on revolutionary production technology. The idea is to print circuits made of organic polymers onto foils like a newspaper is printed on paper. For this,
different printing techniques to create very stable circuits that conduct logical operations, says Clemens. No other research group has done this using printing techniques. One polymer chip, for example, ran continuously for more than ten months. The chips also function after two days stored at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius and at 100 percent humidity, and theyll work in a heat chamber until temperatures exceed the 120 degrees Celsius mark. PolyIC also holds the world record for the highest frequency for a polymer circuit: One of the companys plastic ring oscillators achieved 200,000 cycles per second. Thats more than enough for processing data in an RFID chip. But its not
The first product that PolyIC plans to launch on the market in two years will be a simple RFID polymer chip with a few hundred transistors, for use in applications such as forgery-proof labeling. The next step will be a 32-bit chip that will usher in the first applications for such units in the logistics sector, says Mildner. This chip type will enable companies to establish internal standards for their inventory management systems. Then, in five years, it might be possible to introduce the electronic product code containing several thousand transistors onto the market. The storage capacity of these chips will range from 64 to 128 bits, which means they have the potential to replace barcodes, which usually
stores only 44 bits of data. Were working on printing chips directly onto packaging, the way barcodes are printed today, says Mildner. Inexpensive chips could also serve as logic circuits for electronic advertisements, to be placed in areas never considered before. Mildner is referring to displays that could be mounted on packaging to show different types of product information, or small digital display units for blood, urine, and pregnancy test kits. But even 128 bits sounds modest when you consider the gigabit storage capacities of silicon. So will we ever see computer chips made of plastic? From todays perspective, that seems a bit utopian, says Mildner. But then again, never say never I Norbert Aschenbrenner
Its a long road from polymer starting material to finished foil chip (far right). Developers at PolyIC test possibilities for future mass production of plastic chips on a printing machine in a lab in Erlangen (left).
The Chip Printers

Start-up company PolyIC has an ambitious goal. It plans to replace todays ubiquitous barcodes on merchandise with electronic chips made of plastic.
PolyIC is taking advantage of the expertise of Leonhard Kurz GmbH & Co. KG. Together with Siemens Automation & Drives, Kurz, a leading manufacturer of stamping foils, established PolyIC in November 2003. Basically, we have to invent a plasticbased silicon semiconductor technology, says Mildner. But this is doable, as Dr. Wolfgang Clemens, head of Applications, demonstrated with several successes. Even back when he was a project manager at Siemens Corporate Technology, for example, Clemens and his team had already built key microelectronics components transistors and rectifiers from polymers (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2002, p. 20). Today, PolyIC has about a dozen developers and is much further along with the technology. Weve used
so easy to achieve the standard carrier frequency for radio communication around 13 megahertz using organic components. Developers must solve several problems before polymer chips can be printed on foils like newspaper is printed on paper (see box). And silicon-chip designs cant just be applied to polymer chips; silicon has entirely different material properties that are the basis for optimizing production processes. Thats why we develop special simulation models to create new circuit layouts compatible with printing procedures, says Walter Fix, head of Chip Design. But compared with silicon technology, we can implement new chip generations more rapidly. In fact, it only takes a few days to set up the layout on the computer, produce the masks and then make the chip.
B I L L I O N S O F P O LY M E R C H I P S P E R Y E A R
The plastic chips contain at least four layers placed on a foil substrate made of a special type of polyester. The electrodes in the prototypes are made of gold, and plans call for them to later consist of conductive polymers. Above them is a semiconductive layer, typically made from poly-3 alkylthiophene, followed by an insulating polymer layer and a counter-electrode. The chip is only a few square centimeters in area and has a thickness of one micrometer, while the electrodes and the semiconductor layer only account for a few hundred nanometers of the total. The distance between the two conductors is less than 50 micrometers about the thickness of a human hair. Located at the edge of the chips are antennas that transmit and receive radio signals and convey the energy required to operate the unit. The signals are sent at frequencies of either 125 kilohertz or 13.56 megahertz. The prototypes are coated by means a spin-coating-procedure, where a fluid is distributed in a very even manner over the supporting structure by means of rotation. In the lab printing process, the researchers use stamps to print the conductors. They then coat the foil with the semiconductor and insulator using a type of squeegee technology thats common in the textile-printing industry. PolyIC has its own testing facility for continuous printing, and the foil experts at Kurz have even larger printing presses. If all goes well, PolyIC will soon be printing several billion polymer chips per year.
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SENSOR TECHNOLOGY
HIGHLIGHTS
MEMS: Masters of Diversity
Micro-electro-mechanical sensors will be concealed in tires and even painted on the walls of building. Pages 65, 70
Tough Sensors
Sensors located in the fiery heart of a gas turbine will monitor the rotating blades at 1,500 degrees Celsius. Page 67
Autonomous Workers
Tiny sensors in wall paint ensure optimal conditions in the wine cellar.
Sensors are now being developed that autonomously link together to form networks, exchange data and monitor buildings. Page 72
Labs the Size of a Credit Card
New biosensors will quickly help identify dangerous illnesses in rapid and easily performed tests. Page 74
Electronic Eagle Eyes
Sensing the Best Wine

Argentina, 2015. Maria-Laura, a sensor expert from Buenos Aires, takes a little vacation at a remote vineyard. Yet even in this quiet area, she still finds herself surrounded by sensors.
Optical sensors will identify errors at the nanometer level and make possible virtual 3D flights through industrial components. Page 77
Digital Bloodhounds
Sensors in automobile tires monitor pressure, profile and road grip.
Gas sensors will sniff out fires, could serve as millimeter-sized alcohol testers in cell phones, and warn of gas leaks. Page 81
In the future, sensors will be just about everywhere as engineer Maria-Laura and technology buff-winegrower Pedro discover while tasting one of Pedros fine wines at his vineyard in the Argentinean countryside. As they drink and walk, a huge number of the most diverse types of sensors are busy at work hidden between the vines, concealed within tires, integrated in a cell phone and even mixed in with the wall paint in the wine cellar.
2015
Mini-sensors in a cell phone measure alcohol and NOx levels in the users breath. A vineyard sensor network monitors temperature, soil nutrient content and humidity.
aria-Laura takes a deep breath. Its been a long time since shes breathed air this clear and clean. Thats not surprising, since the young engineer comes from Buenos Aires, a metropolitan area with a population of many millions. Maria-Laura has come here to the wine-growing region in Mendoza province, at the foot of the Andes, in order to get away from the big city hustle and bustle for a couple of days. For the past half hour, shes been happily walking through the vineyard where shes staying. She hasnt run into anybody yet only a
couple of harvester robots interrupt the tranquility with their monotonous rattling. Suddenly somebody yells Hola! from somewhere behind the grapevines. A tanned man appears, carrying a high-tech PDA on his belt. A pair of old garden shears is hanging around his neck. Im Pedro, he says. This is my vineyard, he continues with a trace of pride and a grin. If you want, I can show you the secret of my excellent wines. Si, claro, says Maria-Laura, who appreciates a fine glass of wine. The two walk into the vineyard and climb up the hill. Suddenly Pedros PDA
begins playing the Beatles Yellow Submarine. Hmm, these vines here are too dry, he says, after taking a quick look at his PDA. There must be a leak in the irrigation system. How do you know that? Maria-Laura asks in surprise, touching a grape as if this might give her the answer. Look, over there, see? Pedro points to a yellow device about the size of a matchbox that is stuck into the ground next to the vines. Thats a sensor. Its part of an extensive radio network that runs through my vineyard. These little bloodhounds organize
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themselves. They measure temperature and water and nutrient levels in the soil, and then they send the data to my PDA. He pets the sensor as if it were a puppy. Thanks to this tiny little helper I always have an overview of the condition of my vines. I also hardly need any fertilizer, and I know exactly when to harvest the grapes. Pedro pushes a button on his PDA. Now Im sending the data to my assistant, Jos. Hell then know exactly where the irrigation system is leaking, and hell be able to repair it immediately. Of course, thats assuming hes turned on his cell phone for a change. The two continue walking and soon arrive at a dusty road. My cars over there, Pedro says. He goes to the car and takes out two glasses and a bottle of red wine. This is a truly fine Malbec try it, he says, and hands her a glass expectantly. Maria-Laura takes a sip and then cant help blurting out: Hey, did you know there are around 150 sensors in your car? Pedro takes a gulp of wine and looks up in surprise. That many? But why? What for? The young engineer smiles. Well, for one thing, they make sure that your car sticks to the strict emission limits required by law. The sensors for that are only a few millimeters long and are installed in the glow plugs right in the middle of the engine at temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius. They optimize the combustion process, which is how they help reduce fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. Pedros mouth begins to form a big O, into which he pours another gulp of wine. Or take your tires, Maria-Laura continues. Theyve also got tiny sensors whose probes can identify defects in the tire and measure profiles, road grip and air pressure. Maria-Laura smacks her lips appreciatively. Your wine is fantastic, but I would think thats due more to experience than to technology, she says. Yes and no, says Pedro, obviously flattered. You see that building at the end of the road? Thats my wine cellar. When you look at it from the outside, it just seems like a traditional old building, but actually its got a lot of concealed hightech equipment in it. And what kind of
equipment might that be? Maria-Laura asks. My cellar is filled with tiny radio sensors measuring only a few millimeters, Pedro replies. I had them sent over from the United States. These things are so small that I was able to mix them in with the paint for the walls. They measure humidity and temperature and in that way ensure the best conditions for the wine to mature in. Ill bet youve never heard of anything like that, Pedro concludes with a look of satisfaction, and then gives himself a reward in the form of another gulp of wine. Maria-Laura is not impressed, however. Without batting an eye, she says: Thats fascinating, but actually Ive got something here fresh out of our lab in Buenos Aires that I dont believe youve ever seen before. She grabs her cell phone and holds it under Pedros nose, which by now has turned somewhat red. This phone contains several integrated chemo-sensors, she says. You simply speak into the phone and the sensors determine within seconds the nitrogen-oxide content in your breath. And whats so good about that? asks Pedro I suffer from asthma, Maria-Laura replies. Around two days before an attack comes, the concentration of nitrogen oxide in my breath begins to increase. I can use the sensor cell phone to check the values quickly and then take my medication long before an attack even occurs. But it can do even more, she says with a smile. Then she pushes a button and hands the phone to Pedro: Say something, she says. Pedro gives her a look of surprise, but then takes the phone and says: In vino veritas. Maria-Laura glances at the display and laughs. Youre right, amigo, she says. Take a look for yourself. Madre de dios! Pedro gasps as he sees that the color display is now showing the alcohol content of his breath. Your wines not only good, its also effective, Maria-Laura laughs. Pedro looks at her a little guiltily. Would you like to go get something to eat? he asks somewhat shyly. I can drive you back in my car. Muchas gracias, Maria-Laura replies charmingly and then takes the keys out of his hand. But Im driving. I Florian Martini
Siemens researcher Dr. Maximilian Fleischer presents a new gas sensor that measures the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. CO2 , which is used in todays air-conditioning systems, is an odorless gas that can cause unconsciousness and even death when present in excessive concentrations.
TRENDS
SENSOR TECHNOLOGY
the most adverse conditions. Today, sensors are an integral part of our everyday life. A modern car, for example, is equipped with around 100 of these tiny components. Of increasing importance here are so-called MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems), sensors which combine microelectronics with micromechanics and other technologies to form new systems. Sensors also play an important role in manufacturing, quality assurance, environmental technology and healthcare. Today, the companies gathered in the German trade association for sensor technology market 100 different types of sensor systems, and the industry is booming. In fact, the world market for civilian sensor systems is forecast to grow to a volume of around $50 billion a year by 2008 (see p. 80). Operating at around 1,500 Degrees Celsius. Siemens has also placed a high priority on sensor technology as a field that cuts across many areas at Corporate Technology (CT). Indeed, Siemens has pioneered the development of sensor systems, and today the tiny devices are entering areas into which no human could ever venture. For example: A new type of sensor is now being used to analyze gas concentrations in combustion chambers and dusty factory chimneys at temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Celsius (see p. 81). Sensors inside industrial gas turbines monitor the huge turbine blades as they rotate at 3,600 r.p.m. (see p. 67). Sensors inspect the overhead lines of rail vehicles and are able to detect tiny traces of
Sensors can detect a vast range of microscopic particles and identify odorless gases. Destined to become smaller and smarter, they will one day even be able to recognize one another and form networks.
Superhuman Senses
A
s any child who has ever touched the burner on a stove knows only too well, our fingers are pretty poor temperature sensors. High speeds, too, can pose problems for our senses. Above a certain velocity, the human eye is incapable of recognizing even the closest of friends in a train rushing by. Not to mention our sense of smell. We cant even detect the odor of many of the gases that are dangerous to us. By contrast, highly developed artificial sense organs are able to feel, see and smell as much as 1,000 times more precisely than any human. Whats more, they can do so in wear and tear in the wires at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour and in complete darkness (see p. 78). X-ray sensors scan tiny computer chips for defects and enable a virtual 3D flight through the layers of the component, even detecting flaws on the nanometer scale (see p. 79).
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Continual Tire Monitoring

alistic, explains the Professor of Microsystems Technology. Anything much smaller is certainly technically feasible but still illusory from a financial aspect. Ultimately, he emphasizes, to be successful, technology must be affordable. A sensor component that is extremely small but still costs over ten euros is just too expensive. A further trend is to integrate a number of sensors in one system, which can then measure a number of variables at the same time. Such applications could have a big future in the field of healthcare. Our vision is to combine a number of chips in one package, which will be able to provide rapid and early diagnosis of a whole range of diseases, says Prof. Bernhard Boser, a Director at the
grate pressure and temperature sensors, along with evaluation electronics and a memory, in a very small space. The memory, which also marks a new advance, records pressure and temperature data, tire operating life and changes to tire pressure over time. In addition, it communicates with the onboard electronics, providing the systems responsible for vehicle stability (ABS, ESP, ASR) with up-to-date information on tire condition. The complete sensor system is mounted on a rubber ring, which runs around the whole tire and also incorporates the antenna. The ring, which is not heavy enough to affect the running properties of the tire, is joined inseparably to one of the side walls. As a result, the electronics no longer have to be mounted to the wheel rim in addition to the tire and then transferred to another wheel whenever a tire is changed. Similarly, the new system automat-
ically communicates all the details of the type of tire, thereby obviating the need to reset the onboard electronic systems following a tire change. A transmitter-receiver unit mounted in each wheel arch receives data from the sensor, provides it with control pulses and feeds it with energy. As both data and energy transmission take place inductively via coils in the chip and the wheel arch, a battery is no longer required. Whats more, the sensor registers the tire pressure or a flat as soon as the driver turns the ignition key, and not, as in the past, only after the vehicle has traveled a certain distance. Dieter Wagner, Project Manager at Siemens VDO, says that this is only the first step toward the truly intelligent tire. Before long, sensors will be able to detect defects in tires. Theyll be able to measure tread depth, slip on wet roads and the forces inside the tire. I Bernhard Gerl
Destined to become smaller, more versatile and more accurate, tomorrows sensors will be able to take on even more complex tasks. The drive toward smaller and cheaper components is one of the major trends in sensor development, as manufacturers move toward miniaturization in order to simplify production and reduce costs. At the same time, smaller dimensions generate new applications in the sensor market. Potential examples here include a healthcare diagnostics system the size of a check card (see p. 74) and minuscule sensors which, when mixed with paint and applied to interior walls, will monitor the climate in buildings (see p. 70). Closer to market launch is an astonishing development from the Fraunhofer Institute
for Silicon Technology in Itzehoe, Germany. A disposable sensor in the form of a pill enables athletes to determine lactic acid levels, thus helping them to determine their current fitness. The athlete puts the pill in his or her mouth and then starts the training program, explains Institute Director Prof. Anton Heuberger. During the training session, the sensor continuously measures lactic acid levels and transmits the data via Bluetooth to a reader unit. This saves on blood tests and provides continual monitoring. The pill sensor is due to come on the market in 2006. Electronic Doctor. According to Heuberger, however, there are limits to miniaturization: Sensors of a few millimeters in length are re-
A new sensor measures tire pressure and temperature. Although minuscule, it could make a big contribution to road safety.
efective tires are a common cause of serious road accidents. A frequent problem is insuffi-
cient tire pressure. In extreme cases, the resulting deformation to the tire makes it heat up so much that it melts and bursts. Regular or, ideally, continuous monitoring of tire pressure is the only way to avoid this. Indeed, millions of vehicles are already equipped with pressure sensors designed to warn drivers that tires are dangerously short of air. In the U.S., there are even moves to make such sensors compulsory from 2006 onward. The battery-powered sensors are mounted on the valve, inside the wheel rim. Once the vehicle has traveled
Sensitive Textiles
Technology from ElekSen makes it possible to manufacture flexible sensors and switches that can be integrated into everyday objects such as cell phones, toys and car seats.
a certain distance, they start to register tire pressure and temperature, and transmit this data to a central receiver unit. Unfortunately, such sensors are complicated to install. Moreover, if the brakes significantly heat up, this can cause the wheel rims to become hot, thereby falsifying the temperature reading. Together with Goodyear, Siemens VDO has now unveiled a new generation of tire-pressure sensors that really deserves to be called a diagnostic system. The electronics, which are the size of a fingernail, are mounted on a sturdy, heat-resistant ceramic base and consist essentially of so-called bare dies in other words semiconductors without the standard black plastic packaging only a few square millimeters in size. Using this type of construction, Siemens engineers were able to inte-
ccording to Ray Sangster, CEO of Britains ElekSen, digging around in your bag to find that ringing cell phone or to skip a track on your MP3
tive fibers touch each other. The result is a stronger electrical current. This technology could be used, for example, to produce smart toys. A doll with a built-in foldable sensor could burp when patted on the back, cry if it is hugged too strongly or laugh when it is tickled. However, the foldable sensors can not only detect pressure, but also humidity. As they are washable and very robust, they would be ideally suited for the healthcare sector, where they could, for example, determine if an incontinent patient needed new bed linen or if a patient has left his or her bed. Car seats that adapt themselves to accommodate different drivers backs are another possible application. One of the main strengths of ElekSens textile sensors is their versatility. But this versatility also presents a challenge. The wide range of potential uses is forcing us to focus on certain areas, says Dr. Uwe Albrecht, Head of Corporate Funding at Siemens Venture Capital GmbH, an important investor in ElekSen. A further development individual sensor fibers that can be woven into textiles may well also contribute to market success. Sangster is hoping for big opportunities, especially since development of the sensors has already taken four years. ElekSen is now working together with 82 different companies, says Sangster. To raise that figure, well have to make people aware of potential new applications. Examples of such applications include flexible keypads for mobile phones and automotive controls that are integrated into car seats. In fact, the only limit to their application is imagination. I Stefanie Hense
player might soon be a thing or the past. One of the most promising applications for our technology is clothing that can be used to operate electronic devices, says Sangster, pointing out that ElekSen has developed textile sensors that can be integrated into all types of soft materials and could enable users to operate cell phones, PDAs and MP3 players by simply touching their sleeves. These sensors possess a sandwich structure in which the external layers consist of conductive nylon sheets that are glued together with an adhesive. A layer located between the external layers contains individual conductive fibers, which are incorporated into an insulating material. The system works as follows: A low measuring-circuit voltage is applied to the layers by the device (for example, an MP3 player) or by a battery. If the sensor is touched, the pressure establishes a connection between the conductive layers, making it possible to measure where the sensor is being touched. The strength with which the sensor is pressed can also be determined. As the pressure increases, more conduc-
Researchers have developed a sensor that constantly monitors tire pressures and temperature. The sensor and its associated electronics are so compact that they can be built into tires. Sensor data is transmitted to receivers in the wheel arches.
Sensor & Actuator Center at the University of California in Berkeley. This could radically change the face of healthcare. The Swiss scientist and his team have already developed a biosensor that is capable of accurately identifying one condition dengue fever, a serious viral disease found in the tropics, which strikes 100 million people every year. The test for dengue fever merely involves putting a drop of blood on a sensor chip one square millimeter in size and inserting the latter into
a laptop a simple, flexible procedure that could conceivably, at some later date, be used by anyone. In the long term, Boser explains, people who suspect they have the flu, for instance, should be able to buy a test, just like a pregnancy testing kit, and then go to a physician if it proves positive. Dr. Walter Gumbrecht from Siemens CT has developed a similar biosensor. Quicklab, a mini-laboratory in check card format, examines a persons drop of blood within the
space of an hour for traces of pathogens. Using quicklab, physicians would be able to diagnose an infection on the spot and therefore prescribe the right medication much more rapidly than today (see p. 74). However, while high-tech sensors are often much more powerful than the human senses, our eyes, ears, noses and hands do have one advantage over technology: They are connected with a brain and can thus benefit from a unique source of know-how. For
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Defying the Inferno

Staudt, does when it reads complex color patterns (see p. 79 and picture below). The sensor is designed for use in environments such as filling plants, where it can monitor colored labels on bottles every 30 milliseconds and sound the alarm in the event of an error. A further trend is the attempt to make sensors work independently in a similar fash-
tem is then used to move the rotor into an optimal position. Were talking here about rotors of between two and three meters in diameter, says Olaf Knig, Manager of the Berlin Test Center, and a radial gap of only a few millimeters. The sensor must therefore be able to determine the position of the huge rotor to a 10th of a millimeter and do so at extremely high temperatures. Online diagnosis via camera. The extreme temperatures within a turbine are one of the greatest impediments to the use of complex measurement technology. In a project led by Dr. Hans-Gerd Brummel, development engineers at Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation in Orlando, Florida, have equipped their sensor unit a high-
and damaging downtimes. By contrast, the new system opens up a whole new dimension of online diagnosis. Previously, temperature and pressure measurements were the only means of drawing imprecise conclusions as to events inside the turbine, since the speed of the blade tips (approximately 1,400 kilometers per hour) plus the extreme temperature and high pressure prevented any direct access. Thanks to a package of high-tech components such as the infrared camera, which was originally developed for military aircraft, it is now possible to record infrared images of the turbine blades operating at full load. With exposure times of less than a millionth of a second in combination with tailor-made optics and a complex control
example, some sensors have problems distinguishing certain things. For a long time, natural gas sensors would react not only to carbon monoxide but also to the vapor of any naphtha cleaning agent in the air, explains Dr. Udo Weimar, a specialist for biosensors and chemosensors at the University of Tbingen. We therefore need to come up with sensors that are highly selective in other
words, sensors that react to only one substance. (see p. 84) Sensor Networks. Moreover, as Michael Staudt from Siemens Automation and Drives explains, the intelligent sensors of the future will be able not only to transmit signals but also to interpret events. In fact, this is exactly what CS10, an optical sensor developed by
Siemens engineers have developed sensors that can monitor events inside a gas turbine during normal operation at speeds of 3,600 r.p.m. and temperatures as high as 1,500 degrees Celsius. As a result, damage can be recognized in good time or in some cases completely prevented.
Cutting Fuel Consumption, Emissions and Noise

A piezo sensor developed by Siemens VDO can be integrated into a glow plug to directly monitor combustion in diesel engine cylinders. The sensor could be ready by 2006.
or most people, the word turbine proba-
bly brings to mind images of jet engines. Yet
the propulsion unit of a jumbo jet is tiny in comparison to the turbines used to generate electricity in a power plant. In a gas turbine, for example, the rotor alone can weigh anything up to 75 tons as much as a diesel locomotive. Mounted onto the rotor is an arrangement of rims with increas-
he more precisely the combustion processes in an engine can be monitored, the better the engine can be managed by adjustment of the amounts of fuel injected and the ignition
Histogram produced by an optical sensor which is capable of interpreting highly complex color patterns in milliseconds.
ingly smaller blades that suck in and compress air before forcing it into the combustion chamber, where the energy of the fuel is converted into heat. As it expands in the downstream turbine, the hot exhaust gas drives the rotor, which is also
points. This in turn can reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, as well as lowering noise levels, according to Grard Troy and Dr. Bernd Last, who are responsible for Business Development and Pre-Development Activities at Siemens VDO in Toulouse, France. Current monitoring methods use measurements from the engines periphery, such as coolant temperature, amount of manifold air, or engine r.p.m. It would be more effective, however, to measure pressure changes directly in cylinder, since they are closely related to the thermodynamics of the combustion process. This kind of information is important because it will help us meet new emission limits for diesel engines such as Euro V that will go into effect in the next few years, says Troy. But its also useful for gasoline direct injection. The best way to measure combustion pressure is to use a sensor installed directly on or in the combustion chamber. However, the space available for such a sensor is very limited in modern engines, with their multi-valve technology. It is often necessary to bore additional holes for the sensors. With this in mind, Siemens VDO in Toulouse developed a sensor that can be directly installed in a diesel engine glow plug. What were doing is using a combustion chamber access point thats already there, which means its very easy to equip existing engines with the sensor, Last explains. The glow plug facilitates cold starts in diesel engines, where air is sucked in and compressed so strongly in the combustion chamber that it heats up to 900 degrees Celsius. The diesel fuel that is then injected immediately ignites when it makes contact with the hot air. Because its integrated into the glow plug, the sensor membrane is not directly exposed to the heat and pressure that develop in the combustion chamber. The sensor therefore lasts longer and its measurements are more precise. The innovative sensor element is made of a heat-resistant ceramic and functions using the piezoelectric effect. Under pressure, the ceramic material changes its atomic structure within a few milliseconds, displacing electric charges in the material itself. The sensor thus emits electric signals that the control electronics use to monitor pressure changes in the cylinder. Mass production of the glow plug sensor is scheduled to begin in 2006, says Troy. We have already established a partnership with Federal Mogul to jointly develop and market glow plug sensors. I Sylvia Trage
ion to highly complex biological systems such as the human brain or immune system. The aim is that sensors should become autonomous and self-organizing, and that they should be able to independently determine their precise location, communicate with one another via radio, and establish and maintain a network without any outside support (see Pictures of the Future, Spring 2003, p. 48). Dr. Rudolf Sollacher from Siemens CT is working on just such a project. For example, his sensor network would be able to guide a fire crew to the source of the blaze inside a building and also provide information on the ambient temperature (see p. 72). Self-organizing sensor networks are already technically feasible, says Sollacher. He identifies further applications in agriculture or in areas at risk from forest fires or avalanches, where sensor networks could provide early warning of an impending catastrophe. Here, sensors located throughout the risk area would independently gather all the data required. But thats still some way off, admits Sollacher. I Florian Martini
connected up to the generator used to produce electricity. Powered by a stream of exhaust gas heated to a temperature of up to 1,500 degrees Celsius, the turbine blades rotate at a speed of around 3,600 r.p.m. Only high-tensile alloys which are cooled and covered with a protective ceramic coating are able to handle such stresses. Powerplant turbines are therefore expensive acquisitions. In fact, a single turbine blade costs as much as a family car. For the power plant manager, monitoring of these parts is enormously important and difficult. On the one hand, the gap between the blades and housing must be as small as possible in order to achieve a high energy yield; on the other, any contact must be avoided as this reduces efficiency and damages the blades. Siemens Power Generation (PG) in Berlin has now developed a sensor system that measures the so-called radial gap the distance between the blade tips and the turbine wall. A sensor mounted directly in the turbine housing determines the distance to the rotating turbine blades on the basis of changes in electrical capacitance between itself and the blade tips speeding past. A hydraulic sysspeed infrared camera plus a flange-mounted optical probe with a refined cooling system. This is because the camera is directly exposed to the immense heat of the turbine blades, the heat-protective coating of which can reach temperatures of 1,200 degrees Celsius. The aim is to continuously monitor the condition of the blades during turbine operation, as the ceramic coating has a tendency to flake with use, which naturally shortens their service life. In order to preempt blade failure and the enormous damage potential that this entails, power-plant operators generally replace blades after a certain number of operating hours a procedure associated with high costs and image-analysis system, it is now possible to produce sharp images of each of the 72 most intensely stressed blades of a 200-megawatt gas turbine under full load, says Brummel. As a result, we can clearly identify any damage to the heat-protective coating. In other words, the actual condition of the blades can be monitored, thereby obviating the need for a merely prophylactic and possibly unnecessary replacement. Thanks to this monitoring of the gas turbine, operating lifetimes can be lengthened, which, in turn, cuts costs significantly. Preparations are now being made to install the sensor system in a commercially operated plant in the U.S.
A sensor system inspects gas turbines. Using an optical probe, an infrared camera records images of red-hot turbine blades.
I Tim Schrder
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CERAMIC DETECTORS
In Siemens latest computed tomography system, the X-ray tube and detector rotate around the patient three times every second, creating images with a previously unheard-of resolution of 0.4 millimeters (below). This innovation was made possible by the ceramic material used in the detector (the upper row of images depict the manufacturing process; the ceramic components are shown on the far right).
posite the X-ray tube in a ring measuring 1.5 meters in diameter. This ring, which is known as the gantry, rotates quickly around the patient. By doing so, it creates individual images that are combined to create a 3D picture. In the detector, the ceramic converts
tions (Med) in Forchheim, Germany, and Siemens Corporate Technology in Munich. In addition, the material works extremely quickly, taking only a fraction of a second to react to changes in radiation intensity. This is particularly important in cases where the X-ray beam first penetrates soft tissue and then bone. Since soft tissue allows more radiation to pass through than bone does, this transition is visible in the CT image as a light-dark contrast. The sharpness of the image is dependent on the material used for the detector, because each substance has some afterglow, which means it emits fluorescent light longer than desired. For sharp contrast be-
systems since 1996, it achieves its full potential only at the extremely fast rotation times found in the Somatom Sensation 64, where the gantry circles the patient in 0.33 seconds. Secret Recipe. The afterglow of our special ceramic decays about 400 times faster than is the case with yttrium-gadolinium oxide, which has been used for some time by other manufacturers, says Frank Berger, head of Ceramic Manufacturing at Med. Thats why we dubbed the material UFC or UltraFastCeramic. In addition to the rare earth element gadolinium, this ceramic contains sulfur, oxygen and other additives. Our manufactur-
Fast Ceramic in X-Ray Light

The capabilities of the new Somatom Sensation 64 CT system are largely dependent on the units detector, which contains a high-speed ceramic that efficiently transforms X-rays into light quanta without delay. This makes it possible to create extremely sharp images of the beating heart as well as fast scans of any part of the body.
omputed tomography (CT) has become an indispensable tool for visualizing anatomic structures in the human body. CT generates three-dimensional images of internal organs in seconds, giving physicians precise information regarding disease conditions. A few years ago, Siemens introduced the first CT scanner capable of generating images of the beating heart (see Pictures of the Future, Spring 2003, p. 61). This feat will be even easier to achieve with the launch of the new Somatom Sensation 64 this year, as the device is even faster than its predecessor and its images have a higher resolution. As a consequence, it will be able to visualize even tiny deposits in heart vessels. Alongside sophisticated electronics, one of the main reasons for the new devices high image quality is an inconspicuous ceramic. This component forms part of the detector, which is located op-
X-rays into light signals, which are then transformed into electrical pulses by photodiodes. The more effectively the detector transforms the X-rays, the smaller the dosage required for an examination. Detector materials therefore need to be very good at absorbing X-ray quanta. This requirement is met by the ceramic developed by Siemens Medical Solu-
tween tissue and bone, the afterglow must be minimized. Just as the radiation reaching the detector is reduced abruptly at the transition from soft tissue to bone, the afterglow of the detector material should also cease immediately. In other words, the shorter the afterglow, the sharper the image. Although the new ceramic has been used in Siemens CT
ing process results in a substance with extremely pure, precise crystalline structures one of the preconditions for high luminous efficiency, says Berger. The end product is a hard, yellow substance that weighs about as much as gold and is just about as valuable. The recipe for producing the ceramic remains a secret. Its the same with Coca-Cola, says
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES
Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) could monitor and even control buildings.
Dr. Thomas von der Haar, Head of CT Detector Development. The ingredients are known, but aside from the manufacturer, nobody knows the full recipe. Since the new material has a significant effect on CT system characteristics, it creates considerable competitive advantages for Siemens one of the reasons for the in-house UFC development. A Heart in Nine Seconds. Furthermore, UFC has additional advantages: It can be easily cut with tools from the silicon industry into roughly one-millimeter-thick, stamp-sized plates approximately the size of a detector element. In the Somatom Sensation 64, 42 detector elements are arranged next to each other over a distance of approximately one meter. This is wide enough to image a patient from shoulder to shoulder. Each detector element is divided into a precise pattern of millimeterwide rows and columns of tiny pixels. Until a few years ago, CT scanners were equipped with only one detector line, which meant that only a single slice could be acquired per revolution of the gantry. These devices were followed by multi-slice systems, which feature several detector lines located next to each other. During one rotation, several adjoining slices are acquired. As a result, a wider body region can be imaged within the same time period. Each of the detector elements in the Somatom Sensation 64 has 40 pixel rows as well as 16 pixel columns set at right angles. Since the focus of the Xray tube shifts in a fraction of a second, 64 slices can be measured during each rotation. As a result, the system has about 43,000 pixels altogether, which means it can achieve an unparalleled resolution of 0.4 millimeter. Thanks to this development, physicians can study many structures in detail that were previously impossible to see. When the gantry rotates, electronics process 2.5 billion signals every second. Due to the fast rotation, examinations can now be performed more quickly; in fact, the new CT can depict the heart in just nine seconds. The ultra-fast ceramic can handle this challenge with relative ease, says Berger. Theres still a long way to go before we reach the limits of its potential. I Tim Schrder
Buildings that Think and Act

In the future, tiny sensors could be used to control systems in buildings. They will measure temperatures, light levels, communicate with one another, and decide what has to be done intelligently.
Ahmed, Senior Principal Engineer with the Building Automation unit (BAU) of Siemens Building Technologies (SBT) in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. His department studies the practicality of such ideas. At the core of these systems is MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) technology tiny silicon building blocks which can ideally serve as sensors, processors and actuators all in one, and also have radio modules for communication with other devices. As a result, these systems can not only measure environmental conditions and process signals; they can even take action on their own. The first MEMS sensors already exist, carrying out tasks such as measuring the pressure in car tires and transmitting this information via radio to the vehicle (see p. 65). Ahmed is convinced that MEMS sensors wireless communication is their greatest advantage. Todays systems measure the conditions inside a building using sensors and devices mounted on the walls, he says. All of these devices have two things in common: They need wires to supply them with electricity and wires to transmit signals to a central control unit. But that drives up costs because installation and any fault-finding required are immensely time-consuming. MEMS sensors, on the other hand, do not require wiring and can transmit their signals via radio. Besides reporting climate data, they
can also be used to transmit information from fire alarms or even images taken by tiny MEMS cameras. They are also less susceptible to faults. The result is cost-effective, intelligent building automation. Such tiny sensors could form the backbone of next generation of building systems, says Ahmed. However, alongside easily installable sensors, a new breed of even more powerful computers will be required to process and convert the volume of data from the large number of sensors. Thanks to the wide range of its activities, and the work of Corporate Technology (CT) in microsystems, for instance Siemens has fulfilled all of the requirements for offering the best solutions, says Ahmed. Monolithic MEMS. One of the goals MEMS researchers are currently pursuing is to create a so-called monolithic MEMS chip that is made from a single piece of silicon instead of using the established practice of transplanting different components onto a silicon substrate. Such systems would have a great advantage they could be produced relatively inexpensively by using standard semiconductor methods. Researchers hope that these silicon components will function just as reliably as conventional microprocessors. Using exposure and etching techniques, for example, it would be possible to etch tiny arms capable of detecting airflows in the monolithic MEMS, which also contain a microprocessor. The microprocessor would register the vibration signals as a change in voltage. Such a chip could sense and process environmental stimuli, take on control functions and pass on the information. Here, according to Ahmed, the biggest challenge faced by MEMS engineers is the packaging of the various technical components. The difficulty lies also in protecting the electronics against damage while ensuring that the sensors remain in contact with their surroundings. Because standard miniature housings do not yet exist, Siemens Building Technologies is actively tracking professional organizations such as Memsnet (www.memsnet.org), a forum that brings developers and users together. The forums aim is to develop solutions that would make further miniatur-
ization and new applications possible. Experts at Memsnet expect that the first monolithic MEMS will reach maturity in about five years. In five to ten years the sensors could be ready for use on walls. However, no one can predict the practical value of this development. But no monolithic silicon MEMS chip is available today that provides all the functionality SBT is looking for. Nevertheless, the alternative to a single MEMS chip that can do it all is no less exciting. It consists of a microsystem platform that integrates a MEMS chip, a wireless module, a microprocessor and an efficient power management system. The advantage of the microsystem is that it can also be produced by using standard semiconductor methods that are matured, stable,
underlying aim is actually quite serious, reports Ahmed. Scientists conducting experiments with mice want to make sure the animals reactions really are caused by a certain medication or treatment, and are not due to changes in temperature or muggy air. The MEMS measure airborne carbon dioxide and ammonia levels. High levels indicate a risk of suffocation and the need for changing the straw. These MEMS consist of a silicon substrate with integrated components such as gas sensors or heating elements that measure airflows. Weak electric currents flow through these elements to heat them. When air flows past, it cools them. The researchers plan to further miniaturize the unit and increase its user friendliness before its market launch.
Sensors just one centimeter square monitor very small homes mouse cages.
and extremely cost-effective. SBT is currently using one-centimeter-square, multiple-component MEMS from Siemens Corporate Technology in a cooperative project with the University of Florida. The sensors will be used to monitor relatively small houses mouse cages rather than buildings. Testing of the prototypes will begin in the universitys labs at the end of the year. Although this application may raise a few eyebrows at first, the They expect to be able to significantly reduce the price of their MEMS unit through suitable packaging and adding wireless data communications. Following a preliminary market assessment, SBT estimates that in the U.S. alone there are about 45 million cages. The success of the project could thus give the company a head start in the development of further building management systems in microchip format. I Tim Schrder
oon, people will no longer have to worry about getting cold feet when inside a building. Just like living organisms, buildings will be equipped with innumerable sensory cells capable of detecting a draft on the floor or determining if workers fingers are getting numb from the cold. Thousands of these tiny sensors will be distributed throughout buildings. Hidden in the carpets or in the paint on the walls, these speck-sized sensors will measure temperatures, airflow or the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, and subsequently transmit their data to a control system. In the even more distant future, these high-tech specks, using micro and nanotechnologies, will even be able to take action for example, by opening tiny warm-air valves in tabletops or by using miniature photovoltaic cells to harness solar energy for a building. What might sound like science fiction is already an everyday reality for Dr. Osman
Di am et Dr er o fa op ha of ir w at er
How small are MEMS?
m: Millionth of a meter nm: Billionth of a meter
1 1 nm
1 m
1 mm
1m
Thin films
Thickness of a solar cell Integrated circuit
Optical lithography
Chemistry, nanotechPrecision mechanics.... traditional mechanics nology, molecular biology
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Source: Osman Ahmed, SBT
MEMS
Silicon wafer
Pe rs on
At om
Vi ru s Ce ll
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SENSOR TECHNOLOGY
SENSOR NETWORKS
E X A M P L E S O F S E N S O R N E T WO R K P R O J E C T S WO R L DW I D E
The Free University of Berlin has developed a miniature Internet in which data
Sensors can guide firefighters to a blaze. A fireman is linked to a sensor network, thereby receiving data on temperature and gas distribution.
from individual sensors is collected and sent out over a sensor network. Dubbed Scatterweb, the sensor network was made public at this years Hanover Fair. Any Web browser can be used to provide access to Scatterweb. The network is very flexible and freely programmable
Calling up data on the immediate environment
even when in operation. A variety of sensor nodes were developed. An embedded sensor board (ESB) is pictured above. ESBs are small devices whose surfaces measure 4 x 5 centimeters and contain numerous sensors for
Information on the location of the fire and how to get there
parameters such as brightness, noise levels, vibrations and motion. A microphone, speaker and infrared transmitter/receiver are also integrated into the units. An ESB at rest only requires eight microamperes of power, while an active one consumes between eight and 12
Alarm sent to headquarters
Siemens researcher Dr. Rudolf Sollacher (right) holds a node that can register up to eight measurement parameters. Such sensors can also autonomously find the shortest route through the radio network (display, left).
Fire
Sensor nodes
milliamperes. When used with a conventional AAA battery, an ESB will last between five and 17 years, assuming it sends 25 bytes of data every 20 seconds. (www.scatterweb.net) The EU projects Eyes and Bison: The Eyes project (2002 2005) focuses on energy efficiency. Bison (2003 2005) deals with biologically modeled sensor networks. Here, the focus is on robustness, self-organization and self-repair. Great Duck Island: On this island off the coast of Maine, the College of the Atlantic (COA), Intel and the University of California at Berkeley are using a sensor network to observe a rare
Smart Grains of Sand

The miniaturization of electronic components and communication devices has enabled sensor networks to organize themselves using radio signals. Applications of such networks include the control of industrial plants, building technology and medicine. The first prototypes are already in operation.
magine a network that links itself together autonomously, reacts to its environment and transfers information at lightning speed. What sounds like something out of a science fiction novel actually exists. Specifically, it is a self-organizing sensor network, consisting of sensor components called nodes that can independently determine their location, communicate wirelessly and create a network without any outside support. To accomplish this, each node is equipped with modules for location positioning, communication, dataprocessing and power supply units. The first such sensor networks are still relatively simple. They measure parameters such as gas concentration, acoustic signals, temperature, brightness, humidity and acceleration. Using these measurements, it is possible to detect forest fires, the damage caused by an earthquake or the amount of dangerous chemicals present at a production facility (see Pictures of the Future, Spring 2003, p. 48).
Five years ago, scientists at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in the U.S. began the Smart Dust project. The objective was to enable thousands of miniature sensor units to observe enemy troop movements without being detected. Acoustic, magnetic and seismographic sensors would enable the units to register troop and vehicle movements. The sensors would then filter the raw data and only forward relevant information. With this in mind, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have developed sensor nodes measuring just a few cubic millimeters (see box p. 73). These nodes have to communicate via targeted laser beams because the components for radio communications are still too large and use too much energy for such an application. In contrast, in the Scatterweb project the sensor nodes, although larger, can already communicate wirelessly and configure themselves independently for the most part. Our
Scatterweb can be used for a range of applications, as the nodes can register light, vibrations, temperature, air pressure, motion and other parameters, says Jochen Schiller, Professor of Technical Computer Science at the Free University of Berlin. Todays sensor networks display great differences in terms of their ability to network themselves autonomously, integrate into systems such as the Internet or Ethernet and achieve the necessary level of flexibility should reprogramming be required. Scatterweb sensors have different ranges depending on the data they are transmitting: Neighboring nodes can be recognized via radio up to a distance of four kilometers; movements can be registered up to ten meters away. Marine biologists at the University of Ume in northern Sweden are using Scatterweb technology to monitor the Baltic Sea. The sensor nodes, which are installed in buoys, measure temperatures at different
depths. A so-called multi-hop technique is used to conserve the energy needed for transmission. Here, the signals are routed from buoy to buoy until they reach land. Whereas the Scatterweb project is primarily designed to provide a development platform, Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) is focusing on self-organization solutions that enable sensor nodes to set up communication networks on their own. Using special local positioning radar technology, each sensor would measure the distance to its neighbors and thus determine its own position. The sensors also need to be able to find out for themselves where they can send their data. They must also organize data processing operations autonomously and be able to interpolate so as to forecast data in the future. Its already possible for them to make a spatial forecast, says Dr. Rudolf Sollacher, head of Neural Data Processing at CT and an expert on self-organizing sensor networks. For example, a sensor node in a building can also estimate a temperature profile for those areas where no sensors are located. Fireman in a Sensor Network. Siemens researchers plan to present largely self-organizing sensor networks in November 2004. In this particular scenario (see illustration above) a fireman with a display inside his helmet and a portable PC enters a burning house. The PC
type of storm swallow. The sensors measure temperature, humidity and air pressure in the nests and surroundings. A sensor base station driven by batteries that last up to a year is connected to the Internet. The second network generation, containing 105 nodes, was installed in summer 2003, then again 60 hatching nest sensors and 25 weather sensors were added. Sensor networks at UC Berkeley: Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley are striving to pack digital circuits, laser-based wireless communications and MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) into one tiny system. Plans call for a complete sensor node consisting of a microcontroller, storage unit, sensor, radio transceiver and power supply to be integrated into a volume of one or two cubic millimeters (mm3). Whereas the old Flashy Dust Mote model was 138 mm3, the new type of Golem Dust Mote is 11 mm3 and five millimeters long.
is equipped with an integrated sensor node with an Internet interface. Numerous sensors located in the building transmit data via radio over distances of 30 to 100 meters. The sensor network displays the temperature in his immediate area and guides him to the fire step by step. The display on the helmet could later be replaced by 3D headsets that display information about smoke concentration or the presence of toxic gases, for example. Today, sensors are already registering data on temperature, motion, brightness and noise in buildings. Siemens Building Technologies recently launched the worlds first security system with bi-directional radio communication on the market. In addition to smoke detectors, it consists of devices that recognize when glass has been broken, motion detectors, door contacts and a module
for controlling lights, shades and other equipment. The SiRoute radio units can also independently find a way to get their data to the central control office via other components in the event of a radio disturbance, sabotage or if distances are too great. Because inactive elements are automatically put into an energysaving rest mode, the batteries last up to four years. The entire system is operated by a remote control unit the size of a credit card. Plans call for similar sensor networks to autonomously register tension and cracks in the materials of buildings and tunnels, and report this information to maintenance teams. Sensor networks might also be able to facilitate the monitoring of patients. Intel and the Alzheimers Association plan to develop a wireless sensor network that observes the behavior of Alzheimer patients and sounds an
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BIOSENSORS
alarm should anything unusual happen. The network will be able to register the patients location and remind him or her to take their medicine. Sensors distributed throughout hospital rooms and on the body could also be used to monitor pulse and temperature. No one knows whether sensor networks will also be placed inside human bodies in the foreseeable future. Sensors that can be swallowed do in fact exist today. These are used to measure temperature or provide color images of the digestive tract. The biggest technical problem here, according to Sollacher, is not miniaturization but involves communication between the sensors, since they need an autarkic energy supply, especially if the sensor network is to remain in the body for a long time. Sollacher can imagine using passive elements that obtain the energy they need from outside sources or from the body itself. If self-organizing sensor networks are to be employed on a massive scale, the costs of the nodes, their energy requirements and size will have to be reduced. A Scatterweb node today costs around 50 euros, for example. What we need are sensors the size of a matchbox that cost 20 euros, says Schiller. Such a reduction in price presupposes production in large lots, he says. Mass production would cut costs even more. As far as power is concerned, the sensors of the future will have to use ambient energy, since a battery change will be impossible. Solar cells are one option, says Schiller, but the nodes could also exploit temperature differences or vibrations. The main thing is that only those sensor nodes that have enough energy transmit data for example, only those that are exposed to sunshine at a given moment. Communication should be minimized as much as possible, and computers built-in intelligence has to be increased, since both measures decrease the energy requirement, says Sollacher, who is convinced that the biggest gains in energy efficiency can be achieved with the data processing unit. Experts are also expecting smaller nodes to appear. Nevertheless, grains of sand that emit radio signals, as envisioned by the Smart Dust concept, will remain science fiction at least for the time being. I Sylvia Trage
DNA tests could soon be conducted on handheld devices based on Siemens quicklab. A prototype with its channels and reaction chambers is shown in the large image. The small picture at right illustrates a vision of a future quick test.
ISIT, Siemens and Infineon were nominated for the German Future Prize 2004. One Card. At the heart of quicklab, which was developed by Siemens, is a miniature laboratory the size of a credit card that automatically extracts DNA or proteins from a drop of blood or other bodily fluid and emits the diagnostic information as an electrical signal. In the last six months, weve pressed forward with the development of the DNA analysis in particular, says Gumbrecht. As
economically efficient, says Birkle. The nonreusable cards will cost only a fraction of a laboratory test. And for the same reason, researchers are relying on existing technologies wherever possible. For instance, they are using the gold contacts of a conventional chip card as electrodes, because gold is the ideal base for the receptors synthetically produced biomolecules that pick out specific DNA sequences or proteins from a sample. The binding of enzymes and the decomposition of a
T H E C AT C H E R I N T H E C H I P
Drop of blood
C T
S S B STR E P P
Red
C C G T A G C
Ox
The Pocket Laboratory

Molecular diagnostics is becoming increasingly important in the identification of illnesses. The latest biosensors and a new technology platform known as quicklab are expected to make many medical tests faster, simpler and less expensive.
unny nose, a cough, a worn-out feeling and fever: Is it dangerous influenza or just a cold? Often only a laboratory test can provide the answer but once the sample is transported to the lab, it takes an average of two days for a doctor to get the results. That delays treatment, which can have a serious impact in the case of viral infections. Our quicklab system performs a test in just under an hour, says Dr. Walter Gumbrecht, an expert in the Power & Sensor Systems department at Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) in Erlangen, Germany. And well be able to make it even faster than that. The new quicklab molecular diagnostic system will allow family doctors to do rapid
tests in their own offices. Its suitable for both genetic material (DNA) and proteins a feature that makes it ideal for a broad range of applications. It can be used to track down pathogens that cause infectious diseases and to detect allergies, hereditary diseases and incompatibilities when medicine is prescribed or transplants are performed. In the future, there will be quick tests for every medical requirement. The foundation for quicklab was laid in the years 2000 to 2003 by the German Federal Ministry of Researchs SiBAnaT project (Silicon Chip System for Biochemical Analysis Technology). SiBAnaT involved the cooperation of Siemens, the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology (ISIT), Infineon Technologies AG, november AG and Eppendorf Instrumente GmbH. The high value of the above mentioned innovations was also recognized by the jury for the German Presidents Award in the field of technology and innovation: For the Lab on a Chip Electric Biochip Technology,
part of this effort, his working group designed a microfluidic system composed of channels, chambers and pumps. Capillary forces draw a microliter of an injected drop of blood into a channel. Water is pumped in to dissolve chemicals present there, which break down the cells in minutes. Water is pumped in again to rinse the constituents through a chamber in which the DNA is extracted and held. There, the tiny initial quantity of DNA is reproduced on a large level and marked with biotin molecules. Afterward, the DNA reaches a chamber that contains the biosensor. Weve combined existing technologies into an innovative platform, says Dr. Siegfried Birkle, head of the Power & Sensor Transducer Systems unit. For example, the researchers succeeded in placing dry forms of all of the enzymes and reagents on the inner walls of the reaction spaces. The quicklab cards must have a shelf life of at least six months at room temperature to ensure that the general practitioner can always keep them in stock. The system is designed to be
If the DNA sequence tested for is contained in the sample, it binds with the receptor on the gold electrode. The DNA marked with biotin (B) acts as a docking point for the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (Str/E), which releases a molecule (P) from the substrate (S). P releases two electrons at the positive electrode. After that, it migrates to the negative electrode, receives two electrons again and shuttles back to the positive electrode. Because of Ps migration, an electric current flows between the electrodes this is the actual proof that a matching DNA sequence was found. Otherwise, there is no pairing of the DNA with the receptor; no substrate molecule P and no electrons are released, and therefore no current is measured.
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BIOSENSORS
OPTICAL SENSORS
SENSOR TECHNOLOGY
WEIGHING DNA
V I B R AT I O N S R E V E A L I L L N E S S E S
A micropipette (left) deposits a nano-liter of a biomolecular solution on a test sensor array. A sputter system for the piezo layer of the sensor (right).
Researchers are working on a sensor that is compatible with the quicklab system and is likewise capable of electric read-outs the micro-balance sensor, which is being developed by Dr. Reinhard Gabl of the Materials & Microsystems department at Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) in Munich. In contrast to the electro-chemical sensor, here the conversion into an electrical signal does not take place via a linked enzymatic reaction. That means the molecule being detected doesnt have to be specially marked either, which makes the sensor even more economical. The receptor rests on a vibrating base, which is the actual sensor element. When a DNA or protein sample binds to the sensor, the frequency of this oscillator changes. In a sense, we use this to register the change in weight due to the bound molecule, says Gabl. The sensor is constructed of several layers (graphic below). The fundamental oscillation is produced in a piezo-ceramic with the help of an alternating current. The surface is coated with a very thin layer of gold, because for gold there is an established coupling chemistry, says Dr. Hans-Dieter Feucht of the Erlangen, Germany CT labs. Feucht ensures that the receptors bind onto the surface of the sensor with pinpoint precision. That requires a few tricks, because the molecules are in a solution. To make sure they dont disperse at the sensor, Feucht had plastic rings ten micrometers high mounted on its surface. Into these rings, a pipetting robot injects a few billionths of a liter of the receptor solution aided by cameras with automatic image processing. Thanks to its high operating frequency, the micro-balance system is more sensitive than conventional piezo oscillators. The sensor therefore functions with very small measuring areas, which makes it cheaper. In three years, at the earliest, it will enter product development, Gabl estimates. Before then, he still has to develop a transverse oscillator. Currently, the sensor simply oscillates up and down, which results in a significant dampening of the signal when measurements are made in liquids. The future transverse oscillator, on the other hand, shakes like a pudding, says Gabl. That reduces the dampening.
Target molecule
substrate ultimately give rise to an electric current that the researchers can record with a read-out device (see box p. 75). The system is so sensitive that even the smallest deviations in genes can be detected. In a DNA test, the DNA sample and the receptors fit together like a lock and key. When we slowly raise the temperature, the precisely matching molecules remain bound longer than those which differ in some constituent, says Gumbrecht. In the past, analysis of individual mutations of this kind, which play a key role in many illnesses, was possible only with expensive laboratory equipment. Expensive Lenses Not Needed. In large part, it is the electric detection which is responsible for the compact and inexpensive design. This makes it possible for the researchers to forgo the light sources, lenses and filters of a conventional optical detection system, in which the biomolecules are marked with fluorescent dyes. In about a year well have a prototype, says Gumbrecht. In the meantime, he wants to make the system more user-friendly, simplify the process of acquiring the sample and make further progress with miniaturization. In the long run, there may be no need for the card reader at all, because it could be replaced by a highly integrated microchip with an electronic evaluation unit, sensors for various questions and organic LEDs that display the result directly on the card. Gumbrechts vision is as follows: Just as diabetics now measure their indicators at home, patients could one day use rapid tests to check the course of treatment for their illnesses. Pressing ones thumb on a fine pin on the card would be enough to start an analysis of the drop of blood. Dr. Mohammad Naraghi, who oversees business development at Siemens Medical Solutions, is already looking into the first potential applications. He has great confidence in the system. A drop goes in and information comes out, says Naraghi. So far no one has successfully implemented such a comprehensive integrated approach but thats the vision were all pursuing. I Michael Lang
and nano structures. Dr. Gnter Doemens, head of the Sensor Solutions Center at Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) in Munich, describes one of the key trends here: The development of optical sensors is currently moving from the second into the third dimension in other words, toward threedimensional vision, because recognition processes are more robust in 3D. Measuring Height on a Nanometer Scale. Dr. Anton Schick, head of Development at Siemens Logistics and Assembly Systems in Munich, and his team developed and launched the SISCAN sensors for 3D analyses a few years ago. On SISCANs screen, Schick can view large-scale, relief images of micrometer-size components or tiny laser welds. SISCAN precisely measures surfaces (for example wafers) in nanometers and examines them for flaws. The system works by the confocal microscope principle: Laser light is beamed vertically onto the object to be measured, and a detector captures the reflected light. To measure height and depth profiles to within 100 nanometers, the focused laser beam oscillates 4,000 times per second back and forth in the direction of the beam. The detector receives the strongest signal precisely when the beam focus hits the surface. The associated height value is calculated in real time. Schick also splits the laser beam in his sensor into 64 parallel beams that measure more than half a million pixels (height values) per second. To get a 3D surface image from this, the measured object is simultaneously shifted horizontally at a speed of 80 millimeters per second. Researchers are aiming to reduce the size of the sensor head, which weighs four kilos, so it can easily be guided by a robot arm. The beam from the semiconductor laser also isnt the ideal light source: Its cross-section is generally both elliptical and astigmatic, which creates unwanted signal spread. A glass fiber-optical device would be the ideal solution. Schicks team recently developed such a sensor. With a scanning rate of 8,000 pixels per second, its considered the worlds fastest singlechannel, fiber-optical measurement sensor.
Siemens 3D SISCAN scanner system examines silicon chip surfaces for production errors with a high-relief resolution of approximately one hundred nanometers.
Electronic Eagle Eyes

The human eye is hard to beat. To equal its power, about 125 million photo sensors would have to be concentrated in a few square millimeters, and thats without considering image processing. Although todays sensors still cant match that, when it comes to some things like resolution and speed they are already superior to the human eye.
he human eye is getting some competition from sensors: Automotive industry engineers are developing optical assistance systems that can recognize road signs and other traffic. And the systems may be able to guide drivers automatically through traffic in the future. Intelligent cameras monitor highways and tunnels and control access to various locations through biometric procedures (see Pictures of the Future, Spring 2002, p. 33, and Spring 2003, p. 44). Modern medicine would be unthinkable without imaging technology (see p. 68), while optical measuring technology also helps monitor pollutant emissions. And high-tech eyes in industrial production and quality assurance scan micro
Electrodes receptor Piezo layer Acoustic reflector
Silicon base
Principle of the micro-balance sensor. An electrical voltage causes the resonator the piezo layer to oscillate. When a target molecule binds with a receptor according to the lock-and-key principle, it changes the frequency of resonance because of its weight. This change is then translated into an electrical signal and processed further.
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OPTICAL SENSORS
Another scanner that Siemens developed for detecting defects at nanometer scales (the smallest particles on what should be an ultra-precise surface, for example) also works with a laser beam. Its as if you were moving along a mirrored surface the size of a soccer field at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour looking for a grain of dust, says Dieter Spriegel, Project Manager at CTs Sensor Solutions Center. The laser beam simply scans the object line by line. The beam is focused on just a few micrometers, and if it hits a defect, it gets scattered. A special set of optics guides the scattered light to the systems highly sensitive detectors. The developers can currently spot particles measuring approximately 80 nanometers using the system. But thats not small enough for us, says Spriegel. In a project sponsored by the German Ministry of Education and Research, he and his team are therefore looking to spot particles of 60 nanometers in an initial phase and then those measuring 30 nanometers beginning in 2007. Such detection power would be suitable for ensuring defect-free
lithography masks in microchip production. But it will require the laser beam to be more sharply focused. The problem here is that the smaller the scanning beam, the faster the signal recognition and processing systems have to be for the application to be economically feasible: Three detectors have to register 8,000 scan lines of 3,000 pixels each per second and then process them at a speed of approximately one gigabit per second. To examine an area of approximately 15 x 15 centimeters with the desired sensitivity of 60 nanometers, the system would need to process 2,400 gigabits, which would take nearly 30 minutes with three high-performance computers just about acceptable for semiconductor production. A sensitivity of 30 nanometers would increase the data volume fourfold, presenting a Herculean challenge for developers. Laser Flash for 3D Cameras. Dr. Peter Mengel, Project Manager at CTs Sensor Solutions Center, and his team are developing a CMOS sensor that can register three-dimensional
Examples of sensors that see in 3D. Left: A CT image of a hearing-aid component only a few millimeters long. Center: The shape of a vehicle occupant as seen by an extremely fast CMOS sensor. Right: A laser scanner as it scans a surfaces nanometer-scale defects.
Sensor head (camera) Robot Illumination
Ejector
Good part
Faulty part Trigger Evaluation unit
Conveyor belt
Controller
Profibus
A sensor recognizes the shape of up to 20 parts per second. Faulty items are removed, while the correct ones are picked up by a robot.
objects by using laser flashes. Plans call for the unit to be used to register 3D profiles of persons in entryways, for automatic baggage check-in at airports and to recognize unusual positions of vehicle drivers and passengers, to ensure airbags inflate properly (see Pictures of the Future, Fall 2003, p. 80). The units sensor sends laser pulses (each less than 30 nanoseconds) to the object to be measured, and a semiconductor array, typically containing some 1,000 pixels, analyzes the reflected light impulses. A high-speed electronic shutter ensures the light intensity a pixel is exposed to is dependent on the distance to the associated point on the object. The software uses this data to calculate and process the 3D image. A reference measurement, taken by leaving the shutter open somewhat longer, compensates for possible differences in object surface brightness. Researchers are also using laser light to inspect overhead power lines for rail systems. The faster the trains travel, the sooner the overhead lines and their supports wear out. If the damage isnt detected in time, the overhead traction line can tear, blocking the route and causing substantial delays. To detect such wear and tear, developers in a joint project by CT and Siemens Transportation Systems have installed diode line cameras with infrared lasers onto the roof of a measuring rail vehicle that travels at up to 80 kilometers per hour, even at night. These diode lasers illuminate the overhead traction line and its suspension in any light conditions. They record 22,000 image lines per second, which when laid together result in an infinitely long picture. At a resolution of 0.2 to two millimeters, the image processing system recognizes in real time how severely the line has been worn by the pantograph. The re-
searchers goal is to be able to conduct the tests at higher speeds, which would let them check more routes in a given period of time. To do this, though, they will have to increase the cameras shutter speed and improve the image processing system. Were developing a sensor system that will allow the measuring train to travel at up to 120 kilometers per hour, says Dr. Richard Schneider from CT. The human eye is getting some competition from the CS10 sensor, says developer Michael Staudt from the New Sensor Technologies unit at Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D) in Amberg, Germany. By observing color distribution, the CS10 sensor
The camera chip and image processor, which are still separate, should someday be installed together on one chip. Such a design should also make it possible to cut the recognition time from 30 to ten milliseconds. Ernst Lthes team from the A&D Factory Automation Sensors development department is facing similar challenges. Their hightech eye can read data matrix codes, a sort of pixel image printed on production parts that provide graphically encrypted information on product type or serial number, much like a bar code. The sensor currently consists of three components: the sensor head, the illumination unit and the controller. In the next
For example, the codes are lased, stamped or printed, and the surfaces can be smooth, rough, dirty or reflective. But our sensor can handle it, says Lthe with pride. 3D Flight through a Hearing Aid. Imaging sensors can do even more, like looking directly into a component something the human eye will never be able to do. Jrgen Stephan, who is responsible for X-ray Technology at CTs Sensor Solutions Center, uses a computer tomograph to peek into computer chips, inner-ear hearing aids and cell phones. The image-processing system then merges up to 2,000 individual X-ray images into a single 3D picture. Stephan can even fly through the component on his screen in a manner similar to a virtual endoscopy in the medical sector. This allows him to detect hidden cracks or other material flaws at the micrometer scale, without damaging the component. To do this, he uses microfocus and nanofocus Xray tubes with focal points measuring around 600 nanometers much smaller than those of the X-ray tubes used for medical applications and capable of much higher resolution. The largest flat detector measures 24 x 24 centimeters and achieves a resolution of one-thousandth of a millimeter. Todays microsystem technology is taking us to the limits of all components, Stephan says. He explains that he could move the detector to the left and right to achieve a virtual detection width of 6,000 pixels, which would yield a three-fold improvement in resolution. However, this would also result in a data volume of 100 gigabytes. With that amount of data, Stephan points out, no standard commercial computer today could create a 3D image that you could virtually travel through. But perhaps in the future I Rolf Sterbak
Optical sensors are developing from the second into the third dimension.
recognizes within 30 milliseconds if packages are lying properly on a production line or if bottle labels are correctly affixed. In a bottling plant, a conveyor belt moves bottles past a color sensor in a matter of milliseconds. In this short time, four white-light LEDs flash on the passing labels. A camera chip, similar to the CMOS chip in a photo cell phone, records the images. The image processing system in the sensor is only interested in the number of color pixels and how they are distributed (see p. 66). The software compares this color pattern with a stored sample and emits a warning signal if there is a deviation in the color values. This color sensor makes Siemens the leader in this field, says Staudt. And to ensure this remains the case, I want to build as small and compact a sensor as possible in the future. step, we want to reduce the size of the sensor and pack the components into a single device, says Lthe. The team has already accomplished much in terms of sensor performance. Until recently, the data matrix sensor could perform five evaluations per second, but now its capable of reading the codes of 20 parts in just one second. Such high scanning speed is very useful in applications such as letter-sorting. The technology behind it involves an LED lamp that illuminates the object to be examined whether a letter or a gray cast-iron housing. The image is then recorded by a CCD camera and analyzed by a digital signal processor. The real expertise here is contained in the image-processing algorithm, which must first find the code in the picture before it can evaluate it, under extremely difficult conditions in some cases.
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Toward Intelligent and Networked Sensors
Testing a prototype methane gas sensor. Smaller and less expensive than anything available today, such electronic bloodhounds will examine gas pipes for leaks.
GAS SENSORS
SENSOR TECHNOLOGY
he market for sensors will grow steadily in the coming years, according to a study conducted by INTECHNO Consulting in Basel, Switzerland. In 2008, a total of approximately $50 billion will be spent worldwide on sensors for the civilian sector, meaning primarily for use in industry and in products for private households. Thats nearly $18 billion more than was spent in 1998. Western Europe, Japan and the U.S. will remain the major markets for such sensors, accounting for some 83 percent of market volume in 2008. The driving forces behind this growth are sensors with built-in intelligence and sensors with integrated network interfaces. The former include micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), which have the sensor, mechanical parts and electronics all on one chip.
The automotive sector is one of several branches of industry that will be employing more and more sensors in their products in the coming years. For the next three or four years, high growth rates are also forecast in the processing industry and the consumer electronics and building technology sectors. A study by the Freedonia Group market research company reaches similar conclusions about developments in the U.S. According to that study, the U.S. will remain the worlds leading market for sensors in the next ten years. Freedonia estimates that market volume in the U.S. will nearly double between 2003 and 2013, from approximately $9.5 billion to $18.3 billion. The automotive industry is a big growth sector in the U.S. as well and will expand its share of the sensor market in the next ten years from 26 percent
G L O BA L M A R K E T FO R S E N S O R S ...
Regional distribution of the global sensor market in 1998 (left) and 2008 (right) Rest of Asia/Pacific 8.8% Rest of World 3.0% Rest of America 6.1% U.S. 31.0% Rest of Asia/Pacific 9.8% Rest of World 2.9% Rest of America 6.5% U.S. 29.0%
Source: INTECHNO Consulting (1999), Freedonia (2003)
Japan 19.4%
Japan 19.5%
Germany 10.9%
Rest of Western Europe 20.8%
Germany 11.3%
Rest of Western Europe 21.0%
... A N D
14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
T H E I N D U S T R I E S T H AT A R E U S I N G T H E M
Billions of dollars
Source: INTECHNO Consulting, 1999
1998 2008
Plant and Processing Vehicles production industry technology
Aircraft Building Consumer Other and ships technology and office industries electronics
to 28 percent. The second-most important sector for sensors industrial applications will primarily require sensors for measuring process parameters, such as distance or position recognition. It will also require lightsensitive CMOS sensors that can be used for image recognition. All sensors, including those used in industry, are becoming increasingly small and intelligent. Sensors without a communication interface will practically disappear from the market by 2010, to be replaced by systems with integrated electronics and connections to communication networks such as field bus and Ethernet. Profibus and field busenabled sensors are already posting growth rates of 30 percent per year, for example. At the same time, sensors are becoming smaller and smaller, as demonstrated by the Coriolis flow sensor. Devices with a rated diameter of 40 millimeters are currently state of the art; in 2010, that figure will have been reduced to just 0.1 millimeters. The automotive industry is definitely the trendsetter in the consumer goods sector. Today, there are already up to 100 sensors in every vehicle. These support the vehicle electronics by providing information on speed, acceleration, engine speed and other data and the number of such sensors is clearly on the increase. Chip manufacturer Infineon expects the share of electronic systems in vehicles to increase from the current 20 percent to 30 40 percent over the next ten to 15 years. Frost & Sullivan, a consulting firm, predicts that the market for vehicle sensors will grow from $1.56 billion in 2002 to $2.55 billion in 2009 in Europe alone. According to the Zentralverband Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie e.V. (Electrical and Electronics Industry Association ZVEI), this will also generate a significant market growth for micro-mechanical sensors, which are used primarily in the automotive sector in applications such as airbag inflation. Sales of such systems increased by 12 percent last year. I Kerstin Purucker
The latest gas sensors are making our lives safer, industrial plants more efficient, and driving less risky. Reliable, fast and small, they range from methane sensors that can spot defects in gas pipes to an alcohol tester in a cell phone.
Digital Bloodhounds
too expensive and complicated to operate or, if theyre simple and cheap, they dont yield reliable results, says U.S. scientist Allan Chen from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. This will soon change if Dr. Maximilian Fleischer from Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) in Munich achieves his goals. Here, in the laboratory of the Power and Sensor Systems Center at CT, a new generation of gas sensors is being developed. Fleischer, who heads the project, has electronic bloodhounds for the most diverse applications: Hes got miniature sensors that fit into a cell phone, sensors that require hardly any electricity and powerful optical sensors for industrial applications. Demand for small and inexpensive gas sensors is huge. Methane sensors could trigger an alarm when gas seeps into a house due to defective pipes, for example, while oxygen sensors could be used to optimize combustion in heating units, engines and power plants. Sensors that detect carbon dioxide (CO2) could be used in air-conditioned buildings or vehicle interiors. Joggers could use ozone sensors to determine whether they should postpone their run. Finally, certain illnesses can be detected on the basis of trace gases on a persons breath. However, detecting what are invisible and often odorless and volatile gas molecules is not easy. Although sophisticated methods of analysis, such as gaschromatography or mass spectrometry, can reliably identify even complicated molecules, such procedures are less suitable for rapid, mobile utilization, which requires small electronic components that immediately emit a signal as soon as the presence of a specific gas is detected. All currently known sensors for gases are based on changes in physical parameters that can be measured when molecules of a particular gas that are present in
riving and alcohol dont mix. But relying on electronic blood-alcohol test devices to determine whether you can get behind the wheel is not the solution. Not one of these devices measures actual bloodalcohol level precisely, according to a test conducted by the German automobile association ADAC early in 2004. There are also very few methods today for measuring concentrations of other gases quickly and efficiently. The devices are either
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GAS SENSORS
the air have bonded to a surface or reacted with other substances (see table). Fleischer believes that three types of sensors hold particular promise: those that function with metal oxides, field-effect transistors and lasers. Hot Coating with Molecule Filters. Siemens researchers have succeeded in improving the type of sensor used for measuring blood-alcohol content. At the core of these so-called metal oxide semiconductor sensors is a tiny chip heated up to several 100 degrees Celsius, which also contains a thin layer of a semiconducting metal oxide. When a specific gas is present, the electric conductivity of the semiconducter is altered. There have been
two problems with such sensors up until now: The first is that the metal oxide reacts to several different gases for example, methane sensors also sound an alarm when alcohol is present. Such natural-gas warning units thus often set off false alarms when ethanol vapor (for instance, from cleaning agents) is present. The second problem became apparent when the ADAC tests of blood-alcohol measuring devices revealed that the devices only supplied stable results after a warm-up phase of an hour or more. Siemens researchers have overcome both problems, however. Their sensors work with different materials and at higher temperatures than older models, which means
E L I M I N AT I N G FA L S E A L A R M S
Where theres smoke is there also fire? Not always: Detecting a fire automatically is no easy feat. Many fire detectors can be set off by steam from the shower or kitchen, or by cigarette smoke. But not the Sinteso from Siemens Building Technologies (SBT). Some of our customers think our fire detector doesnt really work right, says Enzo Peduzzi, head of Systems & Solutions at the Fire Safety unit in Mnnedorf, near Zurich. Customers were used to three or four false alarms per week, so they were surprised when Sinteso never went off. The detecting abilities of the Sinteso fire alarm, which will be gradually launched in Europe in 2004, are even better than those of the predecessor model. At the core of the system is a sophisticated measuring chamber containing two optical sensors and two temperature sensors. The combination of the two optical sensors makes it possible to reliably differentiate between harmless particles, such as water droplets, and dangerous smoke. But the truly amazing part of the fire detector is its signal processing system. The unit more or less knows in what type of surroundings it is located and what types of signals to expect when something is burning. Whats more, the detector automatically increases its own sensitivity when it receives the first indications that a fire might have started, says Peduzzi. Sinteso is so foolproof that Siemens has pledged in many European countries to assume the costs if the fire department is forced to go into action due to a false alarm. The scientists in Mnnedorf are currently examining whether fires can be detected more rapidly with the help of additional gas sensors, since gases like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides are released even before temperatures rise and smoke begins to form. FET sensors from Siemens are most suitable for fire detection systems, as they require very little electrical power. Were now conducting tests to see if they can be combined with our fire detectors, says Peduzzi.
they react much more quickly. Fleischers team has also developed filters that keep unwanted gases away from the sensor surface. For example, their hydrogen sensor is sealed with a glass-like coating of silicon dioxide, through which only tiny hydrogen molecules can penetrate. The researchers also wrapped a porous layer around a methane sensor probe that breaks down any ethanol molecules present. A particular advantage of the metal oxide sensors is that theyre easy to miniaturize, says Fleischer. Because the sensor surface is only about as large as a grain of sand, it doesnt emit much heat, despite the high operating temperatures. This means that metal oxide sensors can be installed in portable devices such as cell phones and then used to measure alcohol on a persons breath or ozone in the air. The high temperatures even offer advantages in other applications, such as exhaust gas measurement for heating units or car engines. Cool Sensing. Fleischer is especially proud of his second group of sensors. Unlike the metal oxide sensors, these bloodhounds do not need to be heated up, which means they require less power to run. These devices are known by the name of field-effect transistor or FET gas sensors. Like the metal oxide sensors, they consist of a small plate with a chemically active layer whose surface adsorbs gases. This generates a voltage that is measured by the electric component the FET. Whats great about these sensors, says Fleischer, is that they work at room temeprature. That extends the range of applicable stable materials, thereby increasing the chances of finding the right material for each gas. The researchers use metals, salts, polymers, and even dyes for the sensitive coating. These sensors have a tremendous future, but development is still in its infancy, says Fleischer. However, Siemens researchers have used this technology to develop the first solidstate carbon-dioxide sensor. There are a lot of applications for this type of sensor, says Fleischers colleague Dr. Elfriede Simon. According to planned guidelines, new cars in the EU will have to use CO2 as a coolant beginning in 2012. However, a leak in a vehi-
Siemens researcher Fleischer with sensors from his lab. A tiny metallic-oxide sensor measuring a few square millimeters detects alcohol on a persons breath simulated here with dry ice (left). A FET sensor measures carbon dioxide (right).
cles interior could be dangerous, since CO2 inhalation causes fatigue. Drivers can lose consciousness if the gas exceeds a certain concentration. CO2 sensors would also be very useful for building-technology applications for example, to regulate ventilation in conference rooms, Fleischer points out. Simon and Fleischer believe that FET sensors also have potential medical uses. Those who suffer from asthma, for example, could use such a sensor to check the nitrogen-oxide content of their exhaled air to identify a possible infection of lung tissue early on. This is crucial because the nitrogen-oxide level in exhaled air increases three to fivefold a few days before an asthma attack. At the moment, pulmonary clinics are only equipped
with expensive and bulky stationary nitrogen-oxide measuring units. When technically fully developed, the sensor from Siemens might be able to fit into a handbag. Remote Measurements. The third type of gas sensor from Siemens works with laser light, which takes measurements without making physical contact and can be guided to difficult-to-reach locations with glass fibers. Such sensors are thus very suitable for industrial applications. They function as follows: Most gases allow visible light to pass through but absorb certain light wavelengths in the infrared range. Conventional diode lasers, such as those used in communications technology, can be used to pinpoint individ-
ual absorption lines. If the gas in question is present, less light reaches the detector, and this information can be used to calculate gas concentration. Because each gas has its own absorption lines, there is no danger of the detector being confused by other gases or dust particles. Until now, it has been possible to use such sensors to measure oxygen, ammonia, water vapor, CO2, methane and hydrogen sulfide. New laser technologies could enable the detection of other gases that absorb light in the mid-infrared region. The main area of application for laser spectrometry is industry. The Swedish company AltOptronic developed this sensor technique for flue gas denitrogenization units at the end of the 1980s. Siemens acquired the
M A J O R C AT E G O R I E S O F G A S S E N S O R S
Sensor type sensors How it works tivity of a semiconductor tivity of a polymer Example semiconductor polymers Applications all gases, e.g. blood-alcohol, volatile organic molecules, food testing, use in arrays as an electronic nose Amperometric gas sensors Gas takes electrons from one elecThe current flow is a measure of the gas concentration. Potentiometric gas sensors Optical gas sensors ing membrane Gas absorbs light Laser diode spectrometer Gas alters the transmission of light through a polymer layer FET gas sensors Gas is adsorbed on the surface, a voltage is generated Still under development + Inexpensive, partially miniaturizable, rapid reaction, sensitive, selective Optode Advantages/disadvantages Low selectivity, high power consumption + Broad selectivity, high sensitivity, operation at ambient temperature Humidity interferes with the measurements, sensor could be poisoned Electrochemical Applications: For example, monitor- + Versatile ing the presence of toxic gases at the Average level of selectivity, low lifespan, workplace, measurement of numerous inorganic and organic molecules vehicle exhaust or in metallurgical processes Simple gases such as O2, CO2, CH4, + Very precise, selective HCl, HF Fire detector Gases require sharp absorption lines in the near IR, unsuitable for complex molecules + Miniaturizable, low power consumption sensitive to high humidity and extreme temperatures trode and passes them to the other. cells Conductometric gas Gas causes a change in the conduc- Metal oxide Gas causes a change in the conduc- Conductive Broad area of application for nearly + Robust, long life, versatile, miniaturizable
Electrical charge on an ion-conduct- Lambda sensors Measurement of oxygen content in + Functions at high temperatures
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In Brief
ation, temperature or pressure. Thats a much more manageable number. The challenge here primarily involves the engineering in other words, coming up with the ideal design for each application and making sure that its both robust and sensitive. In addition, customers are demanding that such sensors become smaller and less expensive. Developers of chemical sensors, on the other hand, are confronted with problems such as cross-sensitivity in other words, the fact that one sensor can detect more than one substance. For example, natural gas sensors dont just react to methane; they also often sound an alarm when vapor from a naphtha cleaning agent fills the air. We therefore need to develop sensors that are very selective in other words, react to only one substance. We can now more or less accomplish this with sensor arrays, whereby sensors of differing affinities and sensitivities are linked together. A mathematical comparison is then used to determine which substance is actually present in the air. I Today, sensors are an integral part of our lives a car, for example, contains around 100 of them. They also perform key functions in industrial production, environmental and building systems and medicine. In 2008, the world market for civilian sensor systems will amount to about $50 billion some $18 billion more than in 1998. I Future trends: Sensors are becoming smaller, cheaper and more powerful. They are being integrated into networks and gaining intelligence to act on their own and pre-process measured data (p. 63). I Tiny wireless micro-electro-mechanical systems sensors could some day be used in building technology to measure air temperature or CO2 content. (p. 70) I Researchers have developed the first sensors that can independently communicate with one another and organize themselves into a network. Siemens has developed a sensor network that guides firefighters to the source of the fire in burning buildings. (p. 72) I Biosensors can help detect diseases quickly. Although the DNA and protein diagnostic system quicklab from Siemens is only the size of a credit card, it can supply test results completely automatically in about an hour. (p. 74) I Optical sensors are increasingly using 3D images, as recognition algorithms are more effective in 3D than in 2D. Siemens has developed sensors that can spot defects measuring only a few nanometers. Hidden defects can be discovered by making a virtual 3D flight through the component. (p. 77) I Siemens develops gas sensors for industrial facilities and building technology systems and for detecting leaks in gas pipelines. In the future, they will be able to determine the amount of alcohol or nitrogen oxides in a persons breath. The latter can warn of an impending asthma attack. The unit will be small enough to fit into a cell phone. (p. 81) PEOPLE: Optical sensors: Dr. Gnter Doemens, CT PS 9 guenter.doemens@siemens.com Ernst Lthe, A&D ernst.luethe@siemens.com Dr. Peter Mengel, CT PS 9 peter.mengel@siemens.com Dr. Anton Schick, L&A anton.schick@siemens.com Michael Staudt, A&D michael.staudt@siemens.com Jrgen Stephan, CT PS 9 juergen.stephan@siemens.com Gas sensors: Dr. Maximilian Fleischer, CT PS 8 maximilian.fleischer@siemens.com Stefan Lundqvist, Siemens Laser Analytics, stefan.lundqvist@siemens.com MEMS sensors: Dr. Osman Ahmed, SBT, USA osman.ahmed@siemens.com Biosensors: Dr. Walter Gumbrecht, CT PS 6 walter.gumbrecht@siemens.com Dr. Reinhard Gabl, CT MM 2 reinhard.gabl@siemens.com Sensor networks: Dr. Rudolf Sollacher, CT IC 4 rudolf.sollacher@siemens.com Turbine sensors: Dr. Hans-Gerd Brummel, PG USA hans-gerd.brummel@siemens.com Olaf Knig, PG olaf.koenig@siemens.com Automobile sensors: Grard Troy, Siemens VDO gerard.troy@siemens.com Dieter Wagner, Siemens VDO dieterwagner@siemens.com Somatom, ultra-fast ceramics: Frank Berger, Med frank.berger@siemens.com Prof. Bernhard Boser boser@eecs.berkeley.edu Prof. Anton Heuberger heuberger@isit.fhg.de Ray Sangster, pr@eleksen.com Prof. Jochen Schiller schiller@inf.fu-berlin.de Dr. Udo Weimar upw@ipc.uni-tuebingen.de LINKS: Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center: www-bsac.eecs. berkeley.edu Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology: www.isit.fhg.de Forum for MEMS sensors: www.memsnet.org
company in 2001. The Swedish team then got together with Siemens Automation and Drives in Karlsruhe, Germany, to rework their measuring device. The new version, presented as LDS 6 at the Hanover Trade Fair in 2004, is completely digital. It rapidly and accurately analyzes gas concentrations in smokestacks, combustion chambers and pipes at temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Celsius. The system consists of a sensor and an analysis unit, which are linked to a glass fiber cable and can be separated by up to one kilometer. LDS 6 can assist in the automatic control of combustion processes in power plants and other industrial facilities. You can practically look into the combustion chamber and get results within seconds, says Stefan Lundqvist from Siemens Laser Analytics in Solna, Sweden. If the oxygen level is too high, the air inflow is automatically reduced, for example. Up until now, many facilities have extracted the gas and then analyzed it but thats too long if you want to control a facility efficiently, says Lundqvist. The LDS 6 is also used in petrochemical facilities to reduce the risk of explosion, and the spectrometer can also be found at engine test stands, where it supports catalytic converter research. Other conceivable areas of application include the medical sector and the food industry. Multiple Sensitivity. The future, says Fleischer, lies in the combination of several sensors to create a type of electronic nose. At present, everyone is using a separate device for each application, he says. But the goal must be to bring together the various measuring principles and integrate them into a single device. However, much development work still needs to be done before several sensor probes can be combined on one chip. Controlling them and processing their data represent further major challenges. If the scientists succeed, however, the measurement signal could not only be checked directly on the chip but also freed from interfering signals. Fleischer describes his vision as follows: Future sensors should know what kind of device and environment they are in. And theyll be intelligent enough to do more than just take measurements. I Ute Kehse
Dr. Udo Weimar (41) is a lecturer and specialist in biological and chemical sensors at the Physical Chemistry department of the University of Tuebingen. He believes the biggest challenge facing detector developers is how to come up with sensor probes capable of detecting odors on a selective basis.
Sniffing out Illnesses by their Odors

Sensors are currently used for measuring things like acceleration, gas concentration and tire pressure. What will they be able to do in the future? Weimar: Tomorrows sensors will be able to detect chemicals and molecules much more easily and clearly than those of today. This represents a major challenge, since even rough estimates say that about a billion different chemical substances exist. Ultimately, you would have to develop a sensor for each of them. Do we really need to be able to identify all of these substances? Weimar: No, of course not. The problem is that we often dont know what it is we should be looking for. Coffee, for instance, contains around 1,500 substances that influence aroma. But to date, we are only familiar with a portion of those molecules that are decisive for giving it that spicy taste. The real question is: What causes aroma and taste to be perceived by the brain? Its as if developers of chemical sensors are searching for the right chemicals in a smashed-up pharmacy. How do you build the appropriate sensors? Weimar: The important thing is to come up with a sensitive layer that displays a high level of affinity with the substance youre targeting. This greatly facilitates detection. For example, aromatic compounds or biological molecules can bind on and in openpored organic surfaces, such as polymers. The result is a change in the weight of the surface layer that can be detected by a unit made of sensitive oscillating quartz. However, the substance youre trying to detect cant be allowed to bind too solidly to the sensor, since it has to drop off from the sensor as soon as its concentration in the surrounding environment begins to decrease. As this is not very easy to achieve, its often necessary to wash off the biological molecules. Sensors used for measuring physical parameters are significantly less affected by these problems than are biological or chemical sensors. Does that mean its easier to develop physical sensors? Weimar: Well, the fact is there are only about 100 physical parameters, like acceler-
What do you think are the prospects for bio-sensors can they be used to combat disease, for example? Weimar: In my opinion, you wont soon be seeing sensors that travel through the bodys circulation system and radio their diagnosis to the outside. One of the reasons for this is that blood is a rather unfavorable medium, since it can easily clot. At the same time, sensors that measure blood sugar outside the body have been standard for quite some time. Much more exciting and promising, in my opinion, is the possibility of detecting diseases through odor. It is said that the alchemists of old and practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine were able to diagnose illnesses on the basis of body odors. For example, respiratory infections have a typical odor. Its therefore conceivable that sensors will be used in the future to conduct odor diagnoses. Initially, however, we have to clarify the old question: What exactly causes a typical odor? And which molecules are actually responsible for it? I Interview by Tim Schrder
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HEARING AIDS
Its been a long road from the first hearing instruments to todays tiny models. In this 1922 ad, Siemens Phonophor was packaged in an elegant handbag. In todays laboratories, hearing aids are manufactured under a microscope. Right: cross-secton of a Triano 3. prove sound quality. And there will be further advances in ease-of-use. Users of dual hearing aids, for instance, have always had to manually adjust the volume or the programs of both devices when a change was necessary. Yet physicians and acousticians believe that dual devices are a necessity: The brain can only relearn how to hear correctly in stereo. In the future, dual hearing aids should therefore be able to communicate easily with each other through wireless signals. This convergence of hearing aid and wireless technology presents a new challenge, because engineers have to cram the antenna and the wireless electronics into the same space with all the other components. But theres the promise of a dual pay-off too, because wireless communications can be used to connect hearing aids to other devices. As a result, the hearing aid could become the headset of a cell phone, and perhaps shift its image away from healthcare and toward lifestyle. Perhaps people would then be less likely to put off dealing with hearing problems. Because unlike glasses or contact lenses, hearing aids continue to have a negative image. Today it takes ten to 15 years on average, says Rhrlein, before someone with hearing problems decides to take a professional hearing test. I Bernd Schne
Electronic Ears
Siemens founder Werner von Siemens built a telephone amplifier for the hard-of-hearing way back in 1878. Over the past 125 years, these devices have evolved into high-tech mini-marvels that can handle even extreme acoustic challenges.
Battery compartment Microphones Receiver
Pushbutton
henever a hearing aid is sold anywhere in the world, the odds are good that its from Siemens. For a century now, Siemens Audiologische Technik (S.A.T.) in Erlangen, Germany, has been the number one address for good hearing. About one in every three hearing aids sold anywhere in the world was designed here. But this level of success has taken a lot of hard work, because a good reputation and a far-flung dealer network dont necessary result in high sales. In many countries, dealers are required to provide the hard-of-hearing with a choice of devices by different manufacturers, explains Dr. Gerhard Rhrlein, in charge of research and development at S.A.T.. After several days of hearing tests, the customer chooses the product that provides the greatest hearing improvement and feels best. Telephone with Amplification. Siemens founder Werner von Siemens himself took an interest in helping people with hearing problems. In 1878, he built a telephone handset with powerful amplification for the hard-ofhearing. Since 1910, Siemens has been making real hearing aids that amplify ambient sound too initially only for Siemens employees and their families. In 1913, an improved model named Phonophor was introduced to the market. It consisted of a battery, microphone and receiver plus a handbag or carrying case (see poster, above). Starting
in 1914, Siemens marketed Phonophor models with a proprietary miniature receiver. This insert receiver was not only less conspicuous but also located closer to the eardrum, so that the sound waves could produce greater effect. This Ear-Speaker was one of the first Siemens inventions specifically for hearing aids. In 1924, a carbon microphone amplifier boosted sound by up to 46 dB. The abbreviation dB stands for decibel, a logarithmic unit of measure thats useful in technology but can be somewhat misleading. An increase of 3 dB corresponds to a doubling of the sound pressure. By way of comparison: The hand behind the ear amplifies by about 10 dB, the ear trumpet Beethoven had to rely on, by 25 dB. Modern hearing aids can amplify sound intensity by up to 80 db, Rhrlein notes about the state of technology. Thats enough to help virtually deaf people live actively again. Hearing aid manufacturers are constantly striving to exploit new technologies. In the late 1920s it was tube amplifiers with better sound and a hefty weight. Not until
the 1950s did miniature tubes allow devices to shrink to something hardly larger than a pack of cards. Next came transistor technology, and hearing aids shrank to the size of a pillbox. These Siemens devices were still sold under the name Phonophor. Electronics in the Ear. Since the 1960s, electronics have migrated into the immediate vicinity of the ear. First in the form of the eyeglass hearing aid. But then Siemens developed behind-the-ear hearing aids that contained all the electronics and fitted snugly behind the ear. Todays in-the-ear hearing instruments can actually be contained entirely within the auditory canal. Theyre virtually invisible in actual use and thats an important selling point, notes Rhrlein. Both behind-the-ear and in-the-ear hearing instruments have their proponents. Only subjects with the most severe degrees of hearing loss may still encounter certain limitations with in-the-ear devices. Since the microphone and the sound transducer are separated by mere millimeters, there is a risk of feedback when the amplification is too great.
In the future, hearing aids will use radio to communicate with each other and even serve as headsets for cell phones.
For nearly three decades, engineers had to be satisfied with relatively minor improvements, because they couldnt fit more than four transistors plus a few coils and capacitors into these instruments. A new era began in 1996, when the first all-digital hearing instrument arrived in the market. A digital hearing aid not only amplifies sound, it recomputes it. In most cases a person with hearing loss can no longer perceive the high notes, explains Rhrlein. Speech and music therefore sound muted, and as hearing loss progresses, they become unintelligible. A digital hearing aid amplifies the affected frequency bands quite selectively. In the Triano, Siemens top-of-the-line device, three microphones provide the data input (see illustration above). If necessary, ambient noises can be filtered out mathematically. And thanks to directional microphone technology, a user can pick out what another individual is saying among a cluster of people. The signal processors in these devices have a respectable computing power of several million operations per second. Digital technology, however, did pose a real challenge for engineers, since the voltage and capacity of the batteries are limited. Even a brand-new hearing aid battery packs only 1.6 volts, and often puts out as little as 0.9 volt during operation. But standard components used to require three to four volts, explains Rhrlein. And our chips had to work
on a mere 0.9 volt. Very few companies were able to make such silicon wafers. But patients were ecstatic. Much like the equalizer in a stereo system, the amplification of the hearing instrument can be adapted by the acoustician to the entire tonal spectrum of the individual patients hearing deficiency. When Hearing Aids Go Wireless. Still more advances are in the works. In the foreseeable future, microphones will no longer be separate components but will be integrated into the chip. That will save space and im-
CUSTOMIZED HEARING AIDS
SCULPTED BY LASERS
Todays hearing aids can be concealed within the ear, thanks to ever smaller electronic components. The shell is now customized to fit the patient, designed in a computer, and sculpted to perfection by a laser. The advantage of this new process is a better fit and improved patient comfort, explains Gerhard Hillig, president of Forum besseres Hren (Improved Hearing Forum), established by 14 hearing aid companies active in the German market. If the device can be made just a millimeter smaller than in the past, due to more precise dimensions, it can be concealed several millimeters deeper within the auditory canal. Siemens and its partners have perfected a new manufacturing method for this process. First the audiologist or acoustician makes a cast of the patients auditory canal. Then this cast is precisely measured by a laser, and the data are entered into a CAD program. This initial design is then perfected by a technician, who can observe the model while rotating it about any axis on a display screen, to ensure that it will fit precisely within the virtual canal. In addition, the position of the chips must be established and the course of the ventilation channels optimized. Then a powerful laser comes into play, which slowly sinters a nylon powder to precisely create the shape of the hollow housing. This process takes four hours but can produce 200 housings simultaneously.
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PAT E N T S
&
I N N OVAT I O N S
I N N OVAT I O N N E W S
Once a year, Siemens honors outstanding employees for their patent registrations by naming them Inventors of the Year. The prize-winners (there are usually 12 of them) are selected from among thousands of researchers and developers in all of the Siemens groups. Approximately 600 inventions can be attributed to the winners from last year alone. Here we introduce two typical researchers whose developments have made traffic safer in the air and on the ground.
Energy-Saving LEDs Illuminate Runways
Wristband with RFID
Early, Accurate Diagnosis
PATENTS
Chin Up in the Car of the Future M
These displays use mirror systems to project important information such as speed or navigation tips onto the windshield. To a motorist, the information appears to be floating above the hood of the car, and that means theres no need for the driver to continually look away from the road and then refocus on the traffic situation. Not only is this convenient; it also makes a substantial contribution to the safety of all drivers and passengers on the road. Abels latest invention centers on a technique for controlling Displays developed by Heinz-Bernhard Abel how a reading is to be diswill be able to automatically adapt to individual played. It allows displays driving situations.
ntil recently, experts thought only halogen lamps could meet the high safety standards for lighting airport runways during take-offs and landings. The consensus was that the luminous efficiency of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was not up to the task. Unconvinced, Jean-Claude Vandevoorde of Industrial Solutions and Services in Belgium began intensive research into airport lighting. Equipped with highperformance LEDs, the lighting systems he developed are now in use on runways at airports in Brussels, Vancouver and Cincinnati. These LEDs have several benefits: They have much shorter reaction times and use up to 70 percent less electricity than halogen lamps. They dont have to be made of heat-proof material and are largely immune to corrosion and the ageing effects of extreme temperatures. And they have a service life of up to 20 years. This eliminates the need for expensive runway-maintenance work, which lowers costs and increases safety. In the past eight years, VanLED runway lights are economical, devoorde has registered 21 invenrobust, miniature and maintenancetions. free. I Louise Christensen
n the future, hospital treatment could become simpler for physicians and more transparent for patients thanks to a radio wristband from Siemens that contains a 0.5square-millimeter radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. To ensure data privacy, instead of storing the patient file, the chip stores the files Web address on a central computer that can be dialed up by an authorized doctor even from mobile devices. As part of a pilot project at the Jacobi Medical Center in New York, Siemens Business Services has provided more than 200 patients with the radio wristbands. Doctors can read out the data with an RFID-enabled PDA, and
o provide earlier and more accurate diagnoses, Siemens has combined two imaging processes into one instrument. The True Point SPECT.CT technology combines nuclear medicine-based SPECT (Single Photon Emission CT) diagnostics with computer tomography. The x-ray images from computer tomography are used to obtain high-resolution 3D images of the inside of the body. SPECT, however, is based on the detection of small quantities of radioactive substance that accumulate in certain organs. The emitted gamma radiation is recorded by a special camera. SPECT not only lets physicians and doctors draw inferences on body and cell functions; it can identify pathological changes at a very early stage. However, compared to computer tomography, SPECT images have a lower spatial resolution, so the two methods are combined to reap the benefits of each. As a result, it is possible to improve diagnoses of cancer, heart diseases and nervous disorders. The technology will be launched on the Siemens SPECT.CT combines the German market beginning in June benefits of nuclear medicine and 2005. na computer tomography.
Cell Phone Photo Diary
any of the inventions created by Dr. Heinz-Bernhard Abel of Siemens VDO in Babenhausen, Germany, are associated with head-up displays for cars.
to be used in a way thats suitable for any imaginable situation. The manner in which information is conveyed depends on the driving conditions of the moment or how much strain the driver is being subjected to, for instance. This enhances the drivers ability to perceive warnings or other safety-related notifications, and that contributes to making streets and highways safer. In the future, the system will automatically identify the situation the car is in and then set the display properties of the appropriate instruments. Since the mid-1990s, Abel has come up with 18 inventions, several of which have been patented and implemented in products. The inventor also collaborated on the head-up display now used in the new Series 5 BMW. I Louise Christensen
S
Always 100% informed: Doctors know their patients case histories almost from the moment they shake hands. if a patient is sent to the x-ray station, for instance, the physician there can immediately work with the digital patient file and add data such as diagnoses or x-ray images. Siemens is also developing an innovative RFID watch. With the help of antennas around the hospital grounds, a person wearing the watch can be located to within two meters. Patients wear a sensor on their chests that also measures their heartbeat and sends the data to the watch, which then transmits the readings to the doctor. So high-risk patients are always under medical supervision even in the hospital park, for instance. na
iemens developers have written software that cell phone users will be able to use to keep a mobile photo diary. When combined with the GPS satellite navigation system, photographs taken by a mobile phone camera can be provided with location data. If the images are then linked to a digital map, the locations where they were taken can be indicated in appropriate sections of the map. With a Bluetooth-enabled input device (for example, a digital pen or mouse) its also possible to link handwritten notes or voice messages to the photos and send these too. In the future, the program could also run on a large cell phone display. The monitor shows a section of a map that displays each digital photo as a thumbnail image, and a user clicks on the image to enlarge it. A menu at the bottom of the screen lists the pictures chronologically. By labeling the photos with information on when and where they were taken during a trip or at a trade fair, for example experiences Picture chronicle on a display. Thanks and events can be chronologically docto GPS, software can link cell phone umented. na photos with locations.
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FEEDBACK AND SERVICE
PREVIEW SPRING
2005
Would you like to know more about Siemens and our latest developments?
We would be happy to send you more information. Please check the box alongside the publication and language edition you would like to receive, and send this page by fax to +49 (0)9131 9192-591, by mail to Publicis Publishing Elke Engelhardt Postfach 3240, 91050 Erlangen, Germany, or send an e-mail to elke.engelhardt@publicis-erlangen.de. Please use Pictures of the Future, Fall 2004 as the heading. Brochure on the method and results of Pictures of the Future, the strategic visioning and future planning at Siemens (2004 edition) Back issues of Pictures of the Future magazine:
P E R S O N A L I Z AT I O N
Theres nothing more personal than a visit to your physician. One day, electronic health cards and digital patient files will be used to store medical records. But personalized services go way beyond the area of health. The Internet will see the arrival of personalized portals for shopping as well as administrative and security applications. Personal user interfaces and electronic helpers will make it easier to operate equipment. Whats more, products up to and including medications will be tailor-made to suit individual needs.
SERVICES FROM A DISTANCE

Using modern communication networks, it will be possible to remotely start up, service and even control power plants and industrial facilities be they steelworks or sewage treatment plants. Such remote services will be suitable for use with other products too: In addition to providing software updates, it will be possible to conduct remote fault diagnosis on medical equipment, cell phones and vehicles. Thanks to video and augmented reality, technicians will be able to consult experts as though they were in the room. Users will also be able to benefit from these remote services personally, since physicians will be able to make virtual house calls.
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Further information about Siemens innovations is also available on the Internet at: www.siemens.com/research-and-development (R&D website) www.siemens.com/innovationnews (weekly media service) www.siemens.com/pof (Pictures of the Future on the Internet with downloads) I would like to receive a free sample issue of Pictures of the Future I would like to cancel my subscription to Pictures of the Future My address is incorrect Please send the magazine to
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and the problem is getting worse. The abstraction and treatment of water is thus a key task when it comes to sustaining our resources, as are the management of water supply networks and the treatment of waste water. The avoidance of dangerous materials and the conservation of raw materials are also key goals and that means addressing everything from product design to recycling and disposal.
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Publisher: Siemens AG Corporate Communications (CC) and Corporate Technology (CT) Wittelsbacherplatz 2, 80333 Munich For the Publisher: Dr. Ulrich Eberl (CC), Dr. Dietmar Theis (CT) ulrich.eberl@siemens.com, dietmar.theis@siemens.com Editorial Office: Dr. Ulrich Eberl (ue) (Editor-in-Chief) Dr. Norbert Aschenbrenner (na) (Managing Editor) Arthur F. Pease (afp) (Senior Correspondent, Corporate Technology) Additional Authors in this Issue: Marybeth dAmico, Andreas Beuthner, Achim Born, Louise Christensen, Bernhard Gerl, Gnter Heismann, Dr. Stefanie Hense, Sehee Hwang, Ute Kehse, Dr. Michael Lang, Katrin Nikolaus, Florian Martini, Bernd Mller, Kerstin Purucker, Dr. Jeanne Rubner, Bernd Schne, Tim Schrder, Rolf Sterbak, Barbara Stumpp, Dr. Sylvia Trage, Dr. Evdoxia Tsakiridou, Nikola Wohllaib Author Support, English Editing: Kerstin Purucker, Christoph Manegold, Publicis Kommunikationsagentur GmbH, Erlangen Picture Editor: Judith Egelhof, Julia Berg, Publicis Kommunikationsagentur GmbH, Munich Photography: Kurt Bauer, Bernd Mller, Volker Steger Internet (www.siemens.com/pof): Volkmar Dimpfl Historical Information: Dr. Frank Wittendorfer, Siemens Archive Address Database: Elke Engelhardt, Anke Kimmling, Publicis Erlangen Layout / Lithography: Rigobert Ratschke, Bro Seufferle, Stuttgart Illustrations: Natascha Rmer, Stuttgart Graphics: Jochen Haller, Bro Seufferle, Stuttgart Translations: TransForm GmbH, Cologne Printing: BechtleDruckZentrum, Esslingen
For further information: www.siemens.com/pof Picture Credits: Meir and Meir (4-7), Zefa / image 100 (16), Vodafone Group Plc. (18), Fujitsu Siemens Computers / Siemens AG (20-21), Siemens Electrogerte GmbH (25 l.), Nikola Wohllaib (28), private (29, 84), Sehee Hwang (30), images.de (32 b.), laif (34), picture-alliance (35 t. r.), Just Imagine (56), Poly-IC GmbH & Co. KG (58-59), ElekSen Ltd. (66), University of Erlangen (69, lower row), Free University of Berlin (73). Copyright of all other images is held by Siemens AG.
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2004 by Siemens AG. All rights reserved. Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
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Pictures of the Future

COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE SENSOR TECHNOLOGY

Always-On Society Intelligence Inside Superhuman Senses

PICTURES OF THE FUTURE

PICTURES OF THE FUTURE

Europe and Siemens: Innovation Is the Key

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

PICTURES OF THE FUTURE

Horizons2020 A Glimpse of Things to Come

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

PICTURES OF THE FUTURE

HORIZON2: THE PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED ME SOCIETY

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

MANY ROADS LEAD TO THE MOBILE INTERNET

High-speed train In vehicle Driving in the country

Beyond 3G (requirements for 4G)

Driving in the city Walking Shifting locations

possible WiMaxexpansion EDGE HSDPA WiMax (IEEE 802.16e)

In buildings Personal sphere

WLAN (IEEE 802.11a,g)

WiMax (IEEE 802.16a,d)

Data transfer rate (Mbit/s)

High-bandwidth videoconferencing will soon be possible on the move as well.

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

The Mobile Office

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Next-generation telephone networks will transmit voice over the Internet.

INTERNET ACCESS IN AIRCRAFT AND HIGH - SPEED TRAINS

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

INTERVIEWS WITH EXPERTS

Why Cell Phones Have a Multimedia Future

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Real-time-capable solutions allow digital control of plants.

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

HOME AND LEISURE

WLAN AND ETHERNET: OFFICE TECHNOLOGIES FOR INDUSTRIAL SETTINGS

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

HOME AND LEISURE

Standards will ensure that all networked devices are compatible.

Pictures of the Future | Fall 2004

FACTS AND FOREC ASTS

Percentage of cell phones in use in Western Europe

Source: The Yankee Group, 2003

1.20 1.00 0.51 0.26 0.13

0% 2003 I UMTS 0% I GPRS 28% I GSM-only 72%

2004 1% 54% 45%

2005 4% 72% 25%

2006 8% 79% 12%

2007 16% 77% 6%

2008 28% 69% 3%