Brave New World
The UK’s telecoms regulator Ofcom today posted Tomorrow’s Wireless World, outlining a society in which, if one of the helpful illustrations is anything to go by, even individual arthritic joints will have their own remote sensors.
The radio spectrum is a finite resort, but have no fear, says the report. Ofcom is here, to ensure that is used in a properly regulated manner.
· In healthcare, Ofcom foresees implanted “body area networks” to monitor how patients move and blood levels, “on-body monitors” for pulse and blood pressure, and “intelligent pill boxes or bottles” that will report whether they have been opened each day at the appropriate time.
· In shopping, “portable nutritional content scanners” would enable people to scan food wrappers quickly and easily. An extension of existing barcode technology, this could be on the market within five years, says Ofcom.
· “Intelligent transport systems” to allow vehicles to communicate with each other to help avoid collisions, maybe incorporating automatic braking systems, could be fitted to vehicles by 2015.
· Automatic emergency call out to police and ambulance services. The European Commission is discussing whether to mandate this in-car technology, which could be on the market by 2011.
· Road-to-vehicle and car-to-car communications to warn of traffic jams or of pollution or pollen concentrations, which will suggest alternative routes. This is an extension of existing GPS systems that is already being pioneered in Japan, the USA and parts of Europe.
· An e-transport system to simplify travel by bus, train or plane through one e-ticket. This could presumably start tomorrow, if the little matter of the single ticket could be resolved.
“This report demonstrates the many creative ways the radio spectrum can be used for the benefit of UK citizens and consumers,” said Ofcom’s CTO Peter Ingram.
What would we have done without it?
