Robots that smile and blink. A "ubiquitous" Internet that envelops people in an always-wired world. Radio ID tags on every product and person, letting you check whether the wine you're thinking of buying will go with that steak or if your children have arrived safely at school.
These visions of the future were among innovations exhibited yesterday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit, in Busan, South Korea.
The service will be offered to South Korean consumers next year, in the form of WiBro-enabled cellphones, laptop computers and expansion cards.
The move is part of South Korea's campaign to create a "ubiquitous" information society, including everything from e-health to e-learning to e-government.
Star of the technology showcase is a 137cm tall, two-legged robot topped with a head modelled after Albert Einstein. "Albert Hubo" has 31 motors behind its face allowing it to laugh, blink - and even scowl when someone tries to tip it over.
"Our first goal is to make robots as similar to humans as possible," said Oh Jun-ho, director of the government-funded Humanoid Robot Research Centre, declining to speculate on the applications for such a machine. But one of the demonstrations provides a possible hint: a robot-staffed bar a la Star Wars.
Also on show was digital multimedia broadcasting, a service unveiled this year that delivers TV broadcasts and music to cellphones via satellite. The country aims to establish DMB as a worldwide standard to keep people glued to their cellphones.
For those wanting the big picture, South Korean firms Samsung and LG showed off massive plasma screens measuring 260cm diagonally that they said were the world's largest.
Other innovations planned for rollout in coming years are radio ID tags on all products, so people with properly equipped phones can wave them in front of a bottle of wine and get information on whether it is a good vintage.
Children with radio-tagged phones will check in at school sensor stations, triggering an SMS to their parents to let them know they got there safely.
Autor: Burt Herman
Quelle: The Star, 16.11.2005