In a previous post I showed how the modularity of SW and HW allows the customization of products and how it can help the customer shapes his own ideas and turn them into a product.

Below, you can see a 3D model of a foot scan made with a special 3D scanner that takes only four seconds to scan a customer’s feet.

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http://www.globalfootwearsolutions.com/

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http://www.precision3d.co.uk/?gclid=CM_7weah15oCFcmS3wodgAmj2g

If we think about it, there is nothing new: my grandfather produced customized shoes with wooden shoes models of his customers.

He manufactured shoes with the help of the models shown below, made in the same shape of the customer’s foot.

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In the early years of the twentieth century, my grandfather was well-known in Bologna for his ability in making leather goods.

He was asked to make saddles and bridles for racehorses.

Back then, he also had all the measures of the horses, and he manufactured customized products for animals. In those days, he also manufactured wooden limbs for amputees in the Rizzoli Hospital in Bologna.

The interesting thing is that he had always worked during his lifetime: in the shop where he sold his products and at home when he was very old; for him, the factory has never existed.

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http://www.lablav.it/glossario/home.html

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the footwear sector had not yet taken on the industry innovation path, with automated and centralized production, like other sectors had in the previous century. Craftsman’s success was based on:

1) manual dexterity
2) creativity
3) experience
4) network of customers

After the second world war, machines had automated the production in the footwear sector; people were organized through a rigid work and process distribution and none of them had the control of the overall process as it was the case for the artisans in the previous times.

http://www.mech.utah.edu/senior_design/06/index.php/RobotHandMechanics/HomePage

Today we have technologies that enable us to return to the working model of my grandfather although with some major differences:

1) manual skills will be achieved by robots
2) the experience will increase over time and won’t be wasted (knowledge and experience sharing e.g. Wikipedia)
3) the market will be global
4) production of personalized items on a large scale (not only my grandfather’s customers in the old Bologna but in the world)                                                                                                                                5) products will integrate ICT and Robot Technology.

 Here is an example of an integration of shoes and a robot to help people with movement disabilities.

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http://world.honda.com/news/2008/c081107Walking-Assist-Device/

The transformation of production has a major impact on companies that on one hand will need to exploit the factor of scale and on the other hand will need to be closer to the consumer. Mass market and market of one will have to go hand in hand. This is made possible by more flexible production and characterization of products through services. It is likely that we will see a landscape with few large companies, able to invest huge amount of money for infrastructural deployment and up keeping and many small enterprises focusing on niche but global markets.

These smaller enterprises will need to operate in a loose cooperation framework, an ecosystem.

We have already talked about the concept of modularity in the design of hardware and software; modularity is a strong ecosystem enabler that facilitates cooperation among different actors with different skills.

BugLabs is an interesting American company that produces modules that assembled can form a gadget or a personal object. People can assemble different modules to build a mobile phone with GPS and geotagging, add a touch screen display, add modules with solar cells and sensors and different kinds of wireless connectivity like bluetooth, ZigBee, HSDPA, Wifi, etc. ..

In practice the system is a modern Lego which can theoretically create any custom object.

http://www.buglabs.net/products

Main Unit with CPU and Memory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fJOuEWrx_Y

BugLabs provides an SDK (Software Development Kit) that allows the development of applications by the BugLabs community.

Screenshot of the SDK

The business model is based on an ecosystem that is been developed around the platform; Buglabs has fostered a community of enthusiasts, clients, application developers who can sell their applications from the site.

An interesting characteristic of the site is that everybody can provide ideas on new modules and applications to improve the ecosystem.

I think BugLabs is a concrete example of what will happen in goods production and this will have a strong impact on the way we buy things in our every day life.

This model raises interesting points:

1. the customization of the product is based on design made by the customer composing different modules;

2. it’s possible to add services on the product inserting applications developed by third parties;

3. the direct feedback and suggestions/ideas from the community enable continuous improvements in the service and in its quality;

4. a simple, recycling of modules for new products at no cost;

5. the connectivity of modules in a product will enable the development of new services and applications from producers and third parties.

Buglabs is an example of how different modules can be combined to create your own customer gadget; each modules is based on different application chips based on Java.

The module below is named after Dr. Eric von Hippel of MIT who wrote the book Democratizing Innovation.

Yesterday I watched the presentation about the release of the iPhone OS 3.0. This release has a lot of new features that will enrich the Apple’s business ecosystem.

I will try to explain briefly the most interesting part of the main features of this new operating system:

1) With this new OS, it is possible to purchase content and services directly from the application. In this way, a company can manage directly all aspects of the transaction including process payment and can also provide the customer all the information regarding the purchase. This is managed by Itunes Store like a services provider.

2) The Apple Push service will be available not only for the email application but for all applications that needs it; this service has been designed in order to save energy.

3) APIs for the new OS will be released to connect every application with external HW either through the 30 pin connector or wirelessly with bluetooth; that means that a new developer of HW products and the connection of the iphone with real world can be done through sensors, machines, instruments, appliance, etc…

4) Applications can use the bluetooth in a very simple way, without pairing, to develop social network and facilitate smart messaging; not just games but also the possibility to bring the social network from the virtual world to the real world with a face-to-face interaction among people.

5) The option to use google maps like a tool inside the applications allows the development of information mash-ups.

6) The possibility for applications to use the contents of Itunes and perhaps, in the future, the use of  personal preferences can allow the development of personalized services.

I see a convergence between these new features of Iphone 3.0 and so do our researchers in Future Centre.

Points 1, 3, and 6 could enhance applications’ performance in the Micromachine and Market@One project.

Point 4 could be used in an application for the direct interaction among people who are in the same physical place according to their profile and tastes; it could be used by a services provider like Facebook or other social networks for a face-to-face interaction; Life and Lives project is studying this kind of scenario.

Finally, point 5 can facilitate the mash-ups for Iphone applications.

I think that it’s an amazing idea to give payments and process control tools to companies that want to improve and manage their business models; it means flexibility, true payment services with one click, no troubles to manage accounts.

Integration with mobile CRM can add value to these tools; in the presentation, Oracle has showed an application based on his mobile CRM.

Iphone, Ipod, Itunes, and Apple Store are becoming a business platform and it’s amazing that this platform can be used to improve services in different vertical markets. I think that it can be a good opportunity for Telco operators to improve ecosystems in different areas.

Apple is looking at the market and how to help companies to develop their business in different markets…and now it’s only the beginning of this new way to play in the business ecosystems.

In a near future, a variety of wireless sensor networks will be part of our environment: at home, in the workspace, and everywhere we go. Objects may embed a tiny computer with sensors: how will this make a difference to people? How will people access and discover services?

Think about your mobile phone as if it were a magnifier you can use to explore the world around you; when you pass on an object with a sensor embedded, you may activate a hyperlink from this object leading to information and services, a sort of an “amplified reality” where things and related information are integrated. The hyperlink opens a real time window with information on the object.

Other companies could use this technology to mash-up information and new services on other companies’ products and on their products. If a company’s product remains connected and is flexible to accommodate new services it can be upgraded based on new offers becoming available and on the use it is being made of that product.  The product, to all effects morphs into a service. Will the biz model also shifts towards a service biz model?

Some trials are been done at MIT with the TRICORDER, a mobile sensor network browser (take a look at http://www.media.mit.edu/resenv/tricorder/tricorder.htm) developed by the Responsive Environment Group lead by Joseph A. Paradiso.

The name TRICORDER comes from the science fiction STAR TREK where it was a device capturing physical data from the environment, such as temperature, life presence, the kind of materials, intensity of magnetic field, or whatever was pointed out.

The TRICORDER developed at the MIT; gets data from surrounding wireless sensor networks; just point the device and it gives you real time information intercepted by sensors from the environment.

The GUI (Graphics User Interface) is simple, it shapes the environment in two dimensions; in the future, the background will be the real ambient in 3D with Hyperlink integration. Take a look at this video: http://www.media.mit.edu/resenv/tricorder/tricorder_tv.avi.

This MIT’s prototype could be an example of a mobile sensor network browser that may be implemented in our cell phones in the future.

My daughters usually have to carry a lot of books to school. Their backpacks weigh about 10 Kg each.

They go to school every morning Monday to Friday with those very heavy bags, for 13-year-old children.

Considering that in Italy we have about 10 million students, we have about 100.000 tons of paper that are being carried back and forth everyday. The same happens in Japan and of course, in other countries.

What is the global impact on the environment? It’s huge if we think at a global level. In this sense, can we use innovation technology to overcome this problem? Of course yes.

Professors can prepare lessons beforehand and push them into devices like Kindle (picture below); they can choose the content that editors can mash-up on these professors’ lessons. Educational documentaries can be mashed-up on lessons and be made available on other devices such as iPods, computers, TVs, etc.

Professors and students can be in touch with social networks like Facebook and by email through cell phones.

A Kindle costs less than the total cost of all books used in a school year and can be used for several years. It can also be connected to an ink printer to print some pages when necessary.

The printer can hold robot technology to print books directly and instantly at a classroom with a personalized cover; plus, on this cover there will be a QR Code that you can read with your mobile phone and get services like documentaries, spoken lessons, pictures, and articles about the topics related to the printed book.

Nowadays, in Brazil, at the most advanced primary schools, students are getting their homework through the web by logging in their school website.

This services platform can be seen like a seed where different actors can do business; for instance, book publishers might own the platform, and push their content, professors can add their lessons and post their availability to give private lessons, multimedia companies could add video and audio lessons customized to the students’ profile. In addition to that, companies such as language schools can advertise their services through this service platform.

In this sense, electronic books could expand this type of social network among schools, students, professors, alumni, editors, self-produced content like wiki, companies in the education field, and so on.

Until recently the hardware component was predominant in most products. Now SW is looking more important and more pervasive; the use of open platforms has allowed strong cost reductions and fast development of applications and services.

Operating systems like Linux are open and built to operate with networks; applications such as web servers allow you to develop basic services at virtually zero cost; Linux allows easy interfacing with all types of devices and peripherals and it’s possible to connect products wirelessly with standard protocols. Services like Open VPN, Apache web server, and a lot of applications, are free and easily integrated.

We can try to imagine Human Body like HW components and Mind like a SW component of a man.

In regards to the human interaction with the real world, how much is contribution from the body and how much is it from the mind ? Mind is the essence of interaction and can be seen like a special software that evolves and learns from experience. Mind is built on cognitive maps and naturally does logical mash ups between different sources; this is one of the creative process of our mind.

Open, information, computation, memory, self-learning, these could be words associated to smart products and objects in the near future; design is going in this direction. More software less hardware, customers will interact with designers and will choose product’s modules.

Products will have more SW components and less HW components, more “mind” components and less “body” components. Products will be open to learn new functions and to interact with each other.

Easy remote control could enable functionalities like alarm’s monitoring, functionalities upgrade, data user’s analysis, localization, remote diagnosis, troubleshooting of hardware problems and post sale services like up-selling. This means to add a service layer to the products of the future.

This idea of service is part of the culture of ICT companies, but it is a new concept for other companies working on traditional stuffs like tables, washing machines, home appliances, televisions, buildings, and so on.

Is it possible to create Indicators to measure the weight of SW components in a product?

We could point out indicators like:

1) Is the product open to support new applications and interactions with the current applications?

2) Is it possible to connect the product using standard protocols?

3) Does the product have a server component?

4) Is it remotely upgradeable?

5) Is it possible to perform remote maintenance?

6) % sensors managed by SW

7) % actuators managed by SW