The social implications of mobile communication
Mobile tech articles in this weeks edition of the Economist
Hello all,
There is a nice section in the latest edition of The Economist on new technology. It is in the Technology Quarterly section of the magazine. When thinking of mobile technology, there are several articles that are of interest. These include an article on the use of mobile communication to assist in reminding people to take medicines, “the connected car,” the mobile phone as a sensor, and an article on Marty Cooper, the fellow at Motorola who pushed for the development of the first mobile phones (as opposed to car phones). In addition, there are articles on robotics, smart energy grids and mapping software.
The connected car article is interesting since it draws many different threads together into a use of mobile communication onboard automobiles in addition to the wiring of the roadways in order to make them safer and more environmentally neutral (http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13725743). In addition, there are user benefits that come out of this. There are issues such as dynamic insurance pricing, road pricing and advanced types of car-pooling. Onboard information includes access to road and flow conditions, the location of potential parking spaces and, on the more egotistical side, services such as “Trapster,” that provides the location of speed traps.
The advanced carpooling idea combines real-time maps of “pool” cars that members of a collective can use with mobile communication and dynamic reservation. One version, Zipcar http://www.zipcar.com/ includes a system where the cars report their location and their status (reserved or free) to a control center. Potential users can get a map of the nearest available car. They can go to the car and unlock it using an chip. The user then “signs in” the car and drives off. I am looking at a map of the Zip Cars in Chicago at the moment. There are several dozen in the downtown area including, for example a Mini Cooper at the corner of New Orleans and West Illinois that would cost $12 per hour or $82 per day.
There are other “smart car” technologies described in the article. One approach that is vehicle to vehicle (inevitably dubbed V2V) communication. This approach treats the cars as a type of emergent network that exchanges information on road conditions. It also would allow for the development of convoys of cars that move along the same route in sync. While taking away some control from the drivers it would eliminate tailgating (and the consequent accidents that jam up the system). Thus, it would make the transportation system more efficient overall.
The article on mobile phones used to remind people to take medicine uses an interesting approach (http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13725667). The medicines are in the form of patches that change color when exposed to urine. The link is that people with some sicknesses such as tuberculosis have to take many pills that have harsh side effects. The fact that they are taking the pills can be determined by taking a urine test. The patches in the urine test change color to expose a code number. The individual can then send this code number as an SMS and if they have the right code, they get airtime on their phones. The system in the article is called XoutTB (http://littledevicesthatcould.blogspot.com/2009/02/xouttb-gets-colors.html).
The article on mobile phones used as sensors suggests using them in to both gather data on different environmental issues in a background mode but also to allow for user input (http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13725679). One system called InSTEDD (http://instedd.org/) uses different functions of the mobile phone to examine how people move around cities and to map the spread of environmental and medical emergencies.
Finally, the article on Marty Cooper is a nice history of the development of the pportable handset at Motorola (http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13725793). Cooper was the head of the group that developed the Motorola Dynatac. His famous call to his AT&T rival Joel Engel on April 3 1973 is sometimes referred to as the first mobile phone call. More correctly it is the first call from a portable handset (the Bell system had installed a cellular phone on the New York to Washington Metroliner in January 1969 http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2007/3/2007_3_8.shtml).
There is a nice section in the latest edition of The Economist on new technology. It is in the Technology Quarterly section of the magazine. When thinking of mobile technology, there are several articles that are of interest. These include an article on the use of mobile communication to assist in reminding people to take medicines, “the connected car,” the mobile phone as a sensor, and an article on Marty Cooper, the fellow at Motorola who pushed for the development of the first mobile phones (as opposed to car phones). In addition, there are articles on robotics, smart energy grids and mapping software.
The connected car article is interesting since it draws many different threads together into a use of mobile communication onboard automobiles in addition to the wiring of the roadways in order to make them safer and more environmentally neutral (http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13725743). In addition, there are user benefits that come out of this. There are issues such as dynamic insurance pricing, road pricing and advanced types of car-pooling. Onboard information includes access to road and flow conditions, the location of potential parking spaces and, on the more egotistical side, services such as “Trapster,” that provides the location of speed traps.
The advanced carpooling idea combines real-time maps of “pool” cars that members of a collective can use with mobile communication and dynamic reservation. One version, Zipcar http://www.zipcar.com/ includes a system where the cars report their location and their status (reserved or free) to a control center. Potential users can get a map of the nearest available car. They can go to the car and unlock it using an chip. The user then “signs in” the car and drives off. I am looking at a map of the Zip Cars in Chicago at the moment. There are several dozen in the downtown area including, for example a Mini Cooper at the corner of New Orleans and West Illinois that would cost $12 per hour or $82 per day.
There are other “smart car” technologies described in the article. One approach that is vehicle to vehicle (inevitably dubbed V2V) communication. This approach treats the cars as a type of emergent network that exchanges information on road conditions. It also would allow for the development of convoys of cars that move along the same route in sync. While taking away some control from the drivers it would eliminate tailgating (and the consequent accidents that jam up the system). Thus, it would make the transportation system more efficient overall.
The article on mobile phones used to remind people to take medicine uses an interesting approach (http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13725667). The medicines are in the form of patches that change color when exposed to urine. The link is that people with some sicknesses such as tuberculosis have to take many pills that have harsh side effects. The fact that they are taking the pills can be determined by taking a urine test. The patches in the urine test change color to expose a code number. The individual can then send this code number as an SMS and if they have the right code, they get airtime on their phones. The system in the article is called XoutTB (http://littledevicesthatcould.blogspot.com/2009/02/xouttb-gets-colors.html).
The article on mobile phones used as sensors suggests using them in to both gather data on different environmental issues in a background mode but also to allow for user input (http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13725679). One system called InSTEDD (http://instedd.org/) uses different functions of the mobile phone to examine how people move around cities and to map the spread of environmental and medical emergencies.
Finally, the article on Marty Cooper is a nice history of the development of the pportable handset at Motorola (http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13725793). Cooper was the head of the group that developed the Motorola Dynatac. His famous call to his AT&T rival Joel Engel on April 3 1973 is sometimes referred to as the first mobile phone call. More correctly it is the first call from a portable handset (the Bell system had installed a cellular phone on the New York to Washington Metroliner in January 1969 http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/2007/3/2007_3_8.shtml).
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Comment by Margaret Davis on July 18, 2009 at 4:21am
- I've read some of the articles you mentioned here and they are really great especially the one about car-pooling. The articles here stress how important technology and transportation are in our lives. I won't wonder if someday more advanced gadgets will be made out of used car parts. Maybe a mobile phone through a recycled hyundai parts. What do you think?
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