101 Uses For the National Information Infrastructure
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From: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Digest (Patrick Townson))
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To: telecom
Subject: 101 Uses For the National Information Infrastructure
Some thoughts from readers on the Information Highway and a lengthy
article too large for inclusion in a regular issue of the Digest are
being sent your way for your weekend reading. John Ward has written
about the 101 best uses for the superhighway.
PAT
Subject: Info Highway - Virtual Factories
From: peter.maran@dscmail.com (Peter Maran)
Date: Thu, 7 Jul 94 22:34:00 -0640
Organization: DSC/Voicenet * Ivyland, PA * (215) 443-9434
dalk@login.dkuug.dk (Lars Kalsen) wrote:
> I have a question concering what is called the The National
> Information Infrastructure in US - the Information Superhighway.
> I have a feeling that with such an infrastructure you could have a
> more decentralized production. You could link factories together and
> production could be where the workers and raw materials are. In fact
> you could think of VIRTUEL FACTORIES where many production facilities
> were linked together acting as one ordinary factory. The different
> production facilities could of course have different owners.
> Have you heard about similar ideas or seen articles about this
> subject? Please email me with any peace of information -- or send an
> articles to this newsgroup with your thoughts.
> Greeting from Denmark,
> Lars Kalsen dalk@login.dkuug.dk
Lars,
There are several developments that have and will result from increased
communications in the manufacturing area.
1. Closer links (e.g. shared sales forecasts and production plans)
between manufacturers their customers and their suppliers will tend to
more tightly bond this community for mutual advantage.
2. The value added by distributors who simply hold inventory will become
less advantageous as customers and manufacturers become more closely
linked. This will be evident in commodity markets trading in small
items that can easily be shipped by air. As distributors add
approximately 25% to there costs, eliminating them will benefit both
customer and manufacturer. With those kind of savings, the lower labor
costs of emerging nations will look less attractive and more jobs will
return to the manufacturer's nation.
There are many sources available if you are interested in researching
this further. One that comes to mind is Tom Gunn's book 21st Century
Manufacturing.
From: cyberoid@u.washington.edu (Robert Jacobson)
Subject: Re: Info Highway - Virtual Factories
Date: 8 Jul 1994 09:20:28 GMT
Organization: WORLDESIGN, Seattle
Responding to Lars Kalsen:
The Iacocca Institute at Lehigh University, in Pittsburgh, PA,
published a two-volume report in 1991 on strategic manufacturing
initiatives. In this report, the notion of virtual factories linked
by broadband communications networks was thoroughly discussed and
scenarios presented in which the virtual factory idea was described.
Rick Dove (dove@well.sf.ca.us) is a consultant working in this area
who helped direct the team that produced the Iacocca Institute report.
Bob Jacobson
Date: Fri, 08 Jul 1994 08:04:41 -0500 (EST)
From: JWARD@LOYOLA.EDU
The 101 Best Uses for the
National Information Infrastructure
By
John Ward
Rev. (July 6, 1994)
PREFACE
I am currently researching profitable user applications for
the National Information Infrastructure (NII). This article is a
preliminary part of that research. It is my hope that the
readers of TELECOM Digest will help me to give credit where
credit is due. If anyone knows of any significant development of
an idea presented in this article, I would appreciate hearing
from you. Any responses will be researched and verified, and a
suitable reference will be included in my future publications.
Note also that each application has a number next to it. It
would be helpful if you would refer to these numbers in your
comments.
Please send all correspondence to: JWARD@LOYOLA.EDU
INTRODUCTION
The National Information Infrastructure, commonly referred
to as the Information Superhighway, is currently no more than a
roughly defined and highly debated plan for an extremely advanced
telecommunications network. The debate surrounding the NII can
be divided into three areas. The first is defining the exact
platform upon which the network will be built and delivered. The
second involves policy issues such as governmental regulation of
the network, universal connection to the network, and sources of
funding for the network. The third area, which is the focus of
this paper, is the development of useful and profitable user
applications to be hosted by the network.
The current vision of the Information Superhighway is a high
speed, broadband, wide area communications network. The NII will
most likely have the capability to combine and enhance services
such as those currently provided by telephone companies,
television systems and the Internet. One will access the NII
through a work-station of a level of sophistication suited to
one's own needs. Through this connection will travel most, if
not all, of a user's telecommunications.
While maintaining the ability to conduct a telephone voice
conversation and receive broadcast television, the user will most
likely gain a wide range of additional capabilities. These
additional capabilities result from giving the user the ability
to both transmit and receive real-time or recorded video signals
of VHS quality or better. If the Clinton administration's goal
is reached, nearly everyone in the United States should be
connected to the NII, in some form, by the end of the decade.
Through the use of the NII, activities in the work place,
the classroom, the government, and the home could take on an
entirely new appearance. With the previously defined conception
of the NII in mind, a multitude of applications can be
envisioned. While not all of the ideas for NII use presented in
this paper are completely original, I know of none that are well
enough developed as to have a specific owner. In the same sense,
feel free to use this paper as a springboard for your own
brainstorming into the topic.
BUSINESS APPLICATIONS
By talking to anyone who has been in the business world for
as little as twenty years, it becomes clear just how much the way
in which business is conducted has changed. Secretaries have
moved from electric typewriters, to word processors, to word
processing software on computers; and small businesses have moved
their account records out of handwritten ledgers and into
computerized spreadsheets. There is no doubt that the NII could
cause the next twenty years in the business world to be just as
revolutionary.
The NII could have the potential to completely alter the way
in which products are marketed and sold. (1)On-line multimedia
catalogs, for instance, could prove to be extremely profitable.
These catalogs would allow consumers to browse through a
presentation of every product in a retailer's inventory, placing
orders as they go along. (2)While filling many of these orders
would require the use of a delivery person, some orders, such as
those for computer software, could be delivered right over the
network. The NII could also provide new means by which to
advertise. (3)Businesses could distribute commercials sent out
in the form of audio visual electronic mail messages.
(4)Telemarketers could add video to their calls, and provide the
consumer with even more unsolicited information about their
product or service.
Several other previously limited forms of marketing and
sales could also be greatly enhanced when conducted over the NII.
(5)Auctions could be attended by remote bidders. (6)Classified
advertisements, previously placed only in local newspapers, could
be compiled in a central searchable database, with optional audio
and visual capabilities. (7)Newspapers themselves could go
totally on-line, thus eliminating the need for large scale
printing operations, massive paper use, and scores of delivery
people. The NII could also improve the process of searching for
a job. (8)After searching a computerized job database, one could
go to a virtual job interview anywhere in the world, via an
interactive audio and visual link.
Supplier/buyer relationships could also be greatly enhanced
through the use of the Information Superhighway as well. (9)An
oil company, for instance, could base its fuel delivery schedule
on remote electronic readings of the tank levels at its gas
stations. (10)Utility companies could eliminate the need for
meter-men by remotely monitoring utility use. With the help of a
bar-code reader, one could keep an electronically accessible
inventory of the groceries in his pantry. (11)One's grocer could
then be on contract to regularly check this inventory, compare it
to a preestablished shopping list, and make the appropriate
deliveries.
The way in which purchases are paid for could be facilitated
over the NII as well. (12)The concept of a "smart card"
virtually replacing cash, checks and credit cards is quite
probable. These cards could combine bank account balances, with
credit lines and revolutionize the banking and finance industry.
While the electronic transfer of money is currently quite common
in big business, the NII could support these types of
transactions at all levels of business.
(13)The ability to conduct one's business activities on the
NII from anywhere in the world, would be another landmark
advancement in business communications. While the NII could
provide alternatives to business travel, universal global
connectivity to the NII would allow one to maintain nearly full
access to the resources of his office from almost anywhere in the
world. (14)Another twist on this idea would be providing the
user with a single phone number that would automatically forward
all of his incoming communications to wherever he happens to be
working.
(15)With the above advances, today's notebook computers
could become tomorrow's notebook offices--complete with
telephone, fax machine and video camera. These units could
provide wireless connection to the NII in areas not wired for
connection. (16)Much like the public telephones of today, public
NII terminals could also be made available. One could go up to a
public terminal, have his identity verified, and remotely gain
access to the network facilities he normally uses.
As companies begin to spread out around the world, they must
still maintain unity. (17)This is where teleconferencing over
the NII would be extremely useful. Without the expense and time
required for long distance travel, regional directors of a large
international company could conference regularly without leaving
their regional offices. Aside from not being able to shake
hands, there is not much business that cannot be conducted during
a real-time interactive teleconference.
As the NII makes it ever easier to be contacted by nearly
anyone, anywhere, anytime, a need for the preservation of privacy
could arise. (18)One step in this direction could be the
development of the "unbeeper." Unlike today's personal pagers,
the unbeeper would not give equal priority to all pages. The
unbeeper would use a system of menus and/or access codes to
determine the urgency of an incoming page. The owner of the
unbeeper, would be able to select a threshold of urgency to which
he wants to respond. At one extreme, say during business hours,
he may choose to be alerted to every incoming page. At the other
extreme, say after he goes to sleep, he may choose only to be
alerted by the most urgent of calls.
Just as one will not have to leave work behind when away
from the office, neither will one have to leave matters of the
home behind while at work. (19)The home's electrical, heating
and security systems could feasibly be remotely controlled over
the NII. Checking to see if one remembered to turn off the
coffee pot and turn back the heat could be done from anywhere in
the world. (20)One could also monitor and interact with a
household pet or loved one from the office.
One industry that can be used to characterize an array of
NII business practices is the health care industry. (21)A
patient could have his ills diagnosed by three specialists
located around the world without ever leaving his general
practitioner's office. Each of the remote doctors would be able
to view and/or direct an examination conducted by the doctor who
is actually with the patient. (22)The doctors would also have
access to a central database containing the patient's compiled
life-long medical records.
Say it is determined that the patient needs a particularly
difficult operation. (23)The surgeon conducting the operation
could choose to have another surgeon remotely monitor the
procedure, and offer critical advice. (24)Once the operation is
complete and the patient goes home, an interface could be
developed that allows the patient's postoperative condition to be
monitored by a doctor and/or computer located in the hospital.
The NII also has the potential to start several new
industries. With most of a company's important documentation
being electronically handled, the need for mass storage and
backup arises. (25)Entire companies could develop that lease
remote data storage space for a firm's backup and filing needs.
(26)The concept of video consulting firms also comes to mind.
Professionals of many disciplines, from lawyers to financial
planners, could provide their services to clients without ever
leaving the office or having the client come into the office.
While the NII would appear to have great business potential,
the business world is very much concerned with profit. This
concern with profit could make or break the entire network. The
extent to which the NII is deemed a profitable venture, will
greatly effect the rate at which affordable and reliable network
components and applications will be developed. Without the
economic support of businesses and investors, the NII may remain
just a dream about the future of communications.
EDUCATIONAL USES
The NII also has great educational potential. Students and
teachers from kindergarten through college would benefit from the
vast amount of instructional information that could be delivered
over the Information Superhighway. The NII could become the key
to providing equal opportunities in education across the nation
and throughout every economic stratum.
The concept of each school having its own faculty, students,
and course offerings could be made obsolete by the Information
Superhighway. (27)Teaching through an interactive audiovisual
link to one or more remote sites, would allow students to take
courses not offered in their own schools. An instructor teaching
over the NII would be able to see and hear his students; as well
as respond to their questions, and monitor their understanding of
the material. (28)Team teaching from around the country to
around the world, could combine entire classes of students in
large scale cultural exchange programs.
With the interconnection of both homes and schools through
the NII, comes yet another realm of possibilities. For instance,
a student recovering from a sickness or injury need not fall
behind his classmates. (29)Just as the NII could deliver teacher
into a remote classroom, this student could join his classmates
from the comfort of his own home. (30)Homework help could also
be easily attained through dial-up teachers who would deliver one
on one assistance to a student. (31)Virtual study groups could
also be formed over the NII as a group of students from several
schools use a teleconference as a means to review for an exam in
a particular course. (32)Student debates conducted over the NII
would allow debaters to choose from a far more diverse group of
opponents than those available at their own institutions.
The electronic linking of homes and schools could also aid
in parent/student/teacher matters. (33)A concerned parent could
periodically "tune into" the activities in his child's classroom.
(34)A student's individual grades and current class average could
be electronically filed, calculated and accessible from home by
the student or his parent. (35)Electronic attendance monitors
could be used to automatically notify parents of a child's
absence from class. With such innovations in place, it would be
much easier for parents to observe, and attempt to correct, their
children's behavioral and academic troubles.
Library research could be greatly enhanced by the NII as
well. Increased bandwidth and transmission speeds will
facilitate the expansion of on-line libraries. (36)While full
text databases are currently available, the student of the future
could have both full text and full graphical access to the
world's most complete libraries without leaving home.
(37)College textbooks, complete with problem sets and solutions,
could also be made electronically accessible; thus reducing a
student's expenses and making it easier for publishers and
authors to update and correct their works.
(38)As more and more libraries go on line the concept of
one-stop research comes to mind. Software could be developed to
cross-reference the works in several libraries and databases at
once, providing the student with enough sources to complete an
entire research project. (39)Researchers of particularly current
and breaking topics, could use automatic monitoring programs to
alert them to database updates containing specific key words.
Electronic libraries attached to the NII need not be limited
to those resources considered part of a traditional library.
(40)Multimedia reference works, such as those currently available
on CD rom, could also be hosted on the NII; thus providing
students with sound and motion pictures to aid in their
understanding of the material. (41)Course lectures could also be
recorded, cataloged, and stored for electronic access. With
these lectures-on-demand, students could review for exams, make
up for absences, and learn virtually whatever they want, whenever
they feel like it, from wherever they happen to be.
In addition to bringing expanded library resources to a
school, the NII could bring a multitude of other resources into
the classroom. (42)Interactive virtual field trips, could expose
students to locations, professionals and facilities previously
inaccessible due to travel, economic, safety, or time
constraints. (43)The NII could also provide a student with wide
area network access to powerful computer software and hardware
unavailable at his own school. (44)Other interfaces could be
developed to allow students to remotely access expensive test
equipment for use in experiments.
A school's faculty and administration could also greatly
benefit from the NII. (45)School board administrators would be
able to monitor a teacher's performance in the classroom as
easily as tuning in a television program. (46)Teachers could be
able to observe and learn from the techniques of other teachers
around the world by selecting and viewing a live or recorded
lecture. (47)College professors on several campuses would be
able to collaborate on research projects without leaving their
own facilities. (48)The world's great thinkers and professors
could choose to electronically post their daily thoughts
regarding their area of expertise or just life in general.
While the use of technology in education today is most
prevalent at the university level, the NII could be inserted at
every level of education. (49)The NII could host educational
video games for its younger students. Taking full advantage of
the NII's expected speed and bandwidth, these games could be far
more engaging than those currently played in arcades. At the
other end of the spectrum, the NII could host a multitude of
adult educational services as well. (50)An adult could choose to
continue his education by partaking in a course in nearly any
discipline from the comfort of his home. The armchair student
desiring credit for his course work, could choose to partake in
an electronically administered examination.
Educational services such as these would not only increase
the amount of material available to students and teachers, but
they would also aid in the presentation and understanding of the
information as well. After all, information is worthless unless
one can make sense of it and draw it together into ideas.
GOVERNMENTAL APPLICATIONS
Aside from acting as regulatory agencies for the NII,
federal, state and local governments could derive great benefits
from NII use. In addition to easing communications between
government officials and their constituents, the NII could
provide a number of surveillance and monitoring capabilities.
The challenge will be to use all of these capabilities wisely and
effectively without turning the country into an Orwellian state.
It seems fitting to apply the Information Superhighway first
to the highway system already in place for transportation. (51)A
system of street-side traffic monitoring devices could be
developed to report traffic levels and rates of flow to central
traffic operations centers. (52)From these centers, could be
sent information to actively control speed limits and traffic
signals in a manner that would attempt to alleviate congestion.
(53)Trip computers for individual motorists could be developed
that would communicate with the traffic centers and suggest the
most efficient route from point A to point B. (54)In the event
that one feels he could find a better shortcut, these same
computers could provide access to comprehensive map databases.
(55)No need to stop and pay tolls either, toll facilities could
be automated to recognize one's vehicle and automatically deduct
the toll from one's smart card account.
Traveler safety could also be improved through use of the
NII. Boaters and pilots currently have the capability to
electronically determine their global positioning. (56)Why not
make this service bi-directional and link it to the NII? This
would eliminate the need to file a flight or float plan, by
allowing a central computer to constantly log the exact location
of a craft. (57)A similar system could be used to track stolen
cars. (58)With the addition of a camera and microphone to the
car, one could keep in full contact with a friend or relative
while on the road. In the event of a car jacking or similar
crime, this system could also help in the identification of the
perpetrator.
(59)Choosing to take this type of system a step further, a
personal recording and tracking system could be developed.
Pedestrians wishing to deter attackers could switch on a device
that would connect them to the NII, and put them in direct
communication with a friend or personal safety monitoring
facility. (60)The NII could also be used deter "smart card
fraud" by hosting improved personal identification authentication
processes, such as facial recognition.
Public safety and policing is another area that could use
the NII for increased efficacy. With universal connection to the
NII comes a nearly unlimited ability to cross reference records.
(61)Every policing organization in the nation could be tied to a
comprehensive crime computer system. While there are fragments
of this system in operation today, the national crime computer
system of the future would be far more quickly accessed and
comprehensive. (62)Interagency communications in mutual aid
situations could also be greatly enhanced. Maintaining current
mobile radios and connecting each agency's base station to the
NII, would allow members of different departments to use their
own radios to communicate over the NII to members of other
departments using other radio frequencies.
The patrol car of the future could also be far more
sophisticated due to its link to the NII. (63)Just as business
people could be able to use the NII for field access to most of
the resources in their office, so too could police officers. The
text based computer terminals entering police cars today could be
greatly enhanced if linked to the NII. (64)Without invading
privacy, and with the public's best interest in mind, the NII
could also support large scale audio visual surveillance
operations. (65)With this camera system in place, and with the
ability to monitor the cameras from a car, a policeman could
"walk" his entire beat at once from the convenience of his car
parked in some central location.
Transmitting and receiving video over the NII could enhance
several other public services as well. (66)Adding video to 911
service would allow a trained operator to better advise the
responding authority as to the urgency and nature of a call.
(67)Police departments could also establish bulletin boards where
citizens could peruse wanted posters, crime reports, and general
public safety information. (68)Adding video links to crisis
intervention hot-lines could provide a desperate caller with the
face to face support needed to deter a suicide. (69)A
comprehensive emergency broadcast system could also be developed
on the NII. With everyone connected to a single network,
emergency information could be thoroughly, quickly and
effectively delivered to all concerned parties.
The way in which criminals are convicted and punished could
also stand to be altered by the NII. (70)As more and more
surveillance is in place, vast libraries of video recordings will
amass and serve as either alibies for, or evidence against crime
suspects. What could be more expert testimony than an
authenticated video recording of a suspect in the act of
committing a crime? (71)In the event that a suspect is convicted
of a minor crime, the NII could be used to place the individual
on monitored house arrest. Virtual prison guards could be in
charge of remotely assuring that the convict remains at home for
the duration of his sentence.
Other government agencies could take advantage of the NII as
well. (72)In the event that all financial transactions take
place with the use of a smart card, income taxes could be
automatically calculated and collected by an IRS account
analyzing computer. (73)The FBI or CIA could create a composite
personal history of every person in the country based upon their
activities on the network. (74)The Census Bureau could have its
questionnaires electronically distributed, returned, and
tabulated. (75)The Government Printing Office could drastically
reduce its paper consumption through distributing its
publications electronically over the NII. Virtually any
government agency in need of collecting or dispersing information
could find uses for the NII.
Just as international business practices could be eased by
the NII, so too could world politics. (76)Peace talks between
warring nations could be conducted in the form of teleconferences
without the need to find a safe neutral meeting place. (77)The
problem of nuclear weapons proliferation could also be controlled
over the NII. The production, sale and transfer of identifiable
nuclear weapons could be recorded in a centrally accessible
database. By making each weapons holder accountable for the use
and distribution of his weapons, illegal transfers would be
greatly deterred.
The NII also has the potential to give some traditional
political processes a new twist. (78)Voting in elections for
instance could go on-line. (79)Taking remote voting a step
further, congress could become nothing more than a
teleconference, where congressmen are able do all of their
legislative work from their regional office.
With nearly every constituent connected to the NII,
politicians could use the NII as a campaigning tool. (80)Tele-
campaigning, in the form of an AV E-mail message or live video
visits, could prove to be an effective political tool. (81)The
NII would allow Clinton to conduct more town meetings. Virtual
town meetings conducted over the NII would lack the travel and
security concerns associated with traditional town meetings.
While most of these applications would make governments
easier to operate, public opinion must still be considered.
After all, the operations of a democracy are, for the most part,
in the hands of citizens. Unless a majority of the people in
America are willing to give up the privacy and money required to
support these applications, they may never go into effect.
DAILY ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATIONAL USES
Just as the NII should prove to be an invaluable tool, it
also has the potential to become a remarkable toy for children of
all ages. In fact, many may never view the Information
Superhighway as more than an unparalleled cable television
system. In-home entertainment services could potentially provide
a large amount of monetary support for the NII.
The Information Superhighway could provide users with home
theater capabilities well beyond the reach of those available
today. (82)To start with, consumer electronics products such as
stereo receivers, television tuners, VCR's and CD players could
become nothing more than software or hardware interfaces within
the user's NII work-station. The home theater will most likely
center around a television monitor and a speaker system, both of
which receive their input from the NII. (83)The NII could
potentially deliver its video signals in a high definition
panoramic format. (84)Add to this advanced video signal, multi
channel CD quality sound and the home theater platform would be
complete.
(85)The NII could give the user 500 or more traditional
network cable television channels. (86)In addition to this,
would be video-on-demand where the user could select a movie or
television show and view it as if it were a VHS cassette in his
own private collection. (87)One need not stop with video, music
too could be delivered on-demand over the NII. This would be the
equivalent of having the world's most comprehensive record
collection at one's disposal 24 hours a day. (88)Art-on-demand
could be offered such that one could decorate a room with one or
more selected great works of art displayed on HDTV monitors.
A home theater attached to the NII could also host several
interactive applications. (89)Television game-shows could be
played interactively over the NII by contestants in the comfort
of their own homes. (90)One could turn their living room into an
off-track horse race gambling facility, complete with live race
coverage and smart card wagering. (91)How-to programs could take
on an all new format. In addition to being able to pause and
replay the program, the user could potentially access a system of
pull-down menus, or live technicians offering further how-to
advice.
The NII could also deliver the required support for virtual
reality activities. (92)The virtual window, for instance, would
allow one to use home theater equipment to simulate a window with
a chosen live or recorded view. (93)The home theater could even
be used as a vehicle with which to take short relaxing virtual
vacations. With a large enough screen, the right lighting,
heating and sound, and possibly a sea-breeze generator, one could
quite effectively simulate a picnic at the beach. (94)A play
director could access a scenery database and select realistic
backdrops to be projected onto a white screen behind the actors
in his play.
The user's NII work-station would also serve as the
interface for semi-traditional person to person telephone
conversations. (95)A telephone conversation over the NII,
however; could deliver real-time video as well as audio.
(96)This could provide the need for a video telephone answering
machine. (97)In the event that one does not wish to be seen by
the party at the other end of the line, a privacy device could be
developed that would allow one to disable his video camera and
transmit a selected still photograph, text message, or blank
screen instead.
Real-time teleconferencing over the NII could also provide a
multitude of recreational uses. (98)Families could save travel
expenses and meet more frequently through virtual reunions. This
service would allow family members around the world to see each
other and converse as if they were in the same room.
(99)Relatives could even electronically exchange digitally
recorded audio visual family photo albums. (100)Moving away from
family meetings, a small group of collectors spread out around
the country could meet and present their collections to each
other. (101)Or perhaps the list servers in use by special
interest groups today, could become live and fully interactive
conversations over the NII.
With a nation of consumers still struggling to figure out
how to program their VCR's, providing user friendly access to the
NII's entertainment services will be the key to their acceptance.
The last thing American households need is six more remote
controls, and another stack of complicated user's manuals.
---------------------
A quick closing word from the sponsor --
TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland under the aegis
of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) project. Views
expressed herein should not be construed as representing views of the
ITU.
In addition, the generous support of readers like yourself help
make the Digest possible ... thanks for your continued support!
Pat
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