APRIL 1999 BROADSHEET - Computer Interface with People. Life in 2020
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR MEMBER TONY HOOLEY WHO HAS JUST WON THE SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD
Tony has invented a digital loudspeaker which does not require an amplifier. DTI have put £100K into the venture and a prototype will be on display in the Millennium Dome. More details in the Cambridge Evening News Business Section for 23rd March.
Our March meeting was brilliantly conceived largely due to the inspiration of our member Tony Hooley who himself is making a huge contribution to the subject for that evening, namely, Computer Interface with People: Life in 2020.
Our first speaker was Dr David Cleevely, M D of Analysys Ltd, a company specialising in economic projections, especially in ICT (Information Communication Technology). He had been responsible for the Cambridge 2020 report and is a founder member of Cambridge Network. He talked about the changes in the nature of life when communication became all pervading, of the problems of reconciling the meteoric growth around Cambridge with the preservation of its historic past and quality of life.
Next came Dr Antony Rowstron, a senior researcher from the Communication Group of the Cambridge University Engineering Department. He over stretched our imaginations with the ubiquitous computer having no visible interface. A refrigerator, for example, would be able to select which items had to be used next and throw out anything beyond its 'best by'. Alarm clocks would manage one's diary and the kettle. Everything would be done by 'thin' i.e.. very simple computers in one's clothes, furniture etc. In fact the carpet would be the main connecting point with interconnection through one's shoes and even by conducting tattoos. Sensors would ensure that optimum conditions prevailed and electricity costs were kept to a minimum. Our minds were all impressively boggled!
Finally we had Trevor Thomas, the Chief Scientist of Vocalis Ltd, the speech recognition company in Great Shelford. Trevor was rather more cautious, explaining that humans were completely random and unpredictable in their utterances and until they spoke as they wrote even the most expensive and advanced recognition device would be hard put to it to achieve the perfection of HAL9000 from 2001 Space Odyssey. However the first steps of speech to text and command and control using simple repeatable words had made good progress. Perhaps by 2020 full interactive dialogue with reliable error identification will be achieved, but certainly not by 2001.
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