Responsive Environments - Philips Research

Responsive Environments
Supporting, inspiring and enriching people’s lives
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Colophon
Responsive Environments - Supporting, inspiring and enriching people’s lives
The ExperienceLab booklet is published on the occasion of CRE 2007
Editors
Angelique Kessels, Elly Pelgrim, Privender Saini
Publisher
Philips Research Europe
Photography
Bram Saeys
Philips
Art Direction, Design and Prepress
Creada Veldhoven
Print
Boom Planeta Graphics
ISBN/EAN 9789074445771
More information
Philips Research Europe / Public Relations Departement
High Tech Campus 5
5656 AE Eindhoven
The Netherlands
resinfo@philips.com
april 2007
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Contents
Supporting, inspiring and enriching people’s lives 4
The Power of Experience 5
Welcome to the Era of New Convergence 8
From functional product to natural experience 10
Lighting the way to the ideal shopping experience 12
Strategic Considerations for Experience Research 14
Social Interactions in Ambient Intelligent Environments 17
Outlook on research in ExperienceLab 20
HomeLab 22
3DTV – enhancing the home
TV-viewing experience 24
amBX: Creating an ambience that fits your state of
mind and enhances the way you experience activities 28
See the music! 30
Ambient Telephone 32
The Buddy Bear 34
Intelligent home network for sharing experiences
and activities 36
Electronic Memos 38
Phontonic Textiles 40
Embedded Magic by ESP 42
CareLab 46
CareServant 46
Activity Lifestyle-Module for Diabetes 49
Later-Life Lighting 53
Light in your hands 54
Personal TV Volume 57
Senior – Supporting Elderly with Networks for
Initiating and Optimizing Relations 58
Home Stroke Rehabilitation Exerciser 61
ShopLab 66
The HaloSpot: a new concept for enhancing product
presentations 66
IILA – Intuitive Interaction for Lighting Atmospheres 68
The DreamScreen Intelligent Shop Window project 73
LightMan: Easy creation of appealing light effects and
atmospheres from abstract descriptions 77
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Supporting, inspiring
and enriching people’s lives
Before you lies the CRE 2007 ExperienceLab booklet.
ExperienceLab serves a number of functions within Philips
Research. The most prominent function is that of a research
facility where innovative concepts are tested. These concepts
are developed according to end-user understanding. In
order to truly support, inspire and enrich people’s lives, the
technology is typically concealed from the user and embedded
in the environment. After all, if we want people to experience,
rather than use technology, we have to focus on the human
by discovering what he needs. Another function of the
ExperienceLab that is becoming increasingly important is that
of serving as a place where customers are invited for inspiring
discussions on new ideas.
Through the unique combination of new technologies and sound
research on true user understanding, a next step is again made in
our journey towards products that make sense.
Enjoy your visit to the ExperienceLab!
ExperienceLab CRE Team 2007
Elly Pelgrim, Angelique Kessels, Privender Saini
This booklet represents a diverse collection of research work
that has been done in the past year in HomeLab, CareLab and
ShopLab. In HomeLab various illustrations of an intelligent
attentive home are shown. The inhabitants are supported to
maintain close contacts with their loved ones, regardless of
physical distance and create their own preferred ambiance.
CareLab presents solutions that support joyful and active aging.
The aim is to motivate elderly to conduct physical and mental
exercises and to support them in their daily activities. Finally,
ShopLab demonstrates the latest concepts for an inspiring
shopping experience. Here new techniques are explored for
intuitive interaction solutions for lighting atmospheres.
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The Power of Experience
Peter Wierenga, CEO Philips Research
Philips’ mission today is to improve the quality of people’s lives
by offering them timely innovations. But what is quality of life?
How do we measure it? Who are “people”? And what is a “timely
innovation”? This mission is expressed in our brand promise
as “sense and simplicity”, but what do “sense” and “simplicity”
mean? Providing clear answers to all these questions is no easy
task, because they depend on a vast number of variables. And
that, of course, is simply because they have to do with human
beings, and the many different ways they interpret the world
through the mind and the senses.
People as co-researchers
Our most important partners are people – consumers and
customers – themselves. Previously, technology researchers
tended to assume that when they had developed a technology
that did what it was supposed to do efficiently, their job was
done. It was then up to people to use it, no matter how difficult
they found it. Today, we have learned our lesson. We realize that
technology only really improves life if it offers a benefit that is
experienced as an all-round improvement – not one gained only
at the cost of extra complexity or discomfort.
And yet this is our challenge at Philips Research: to understand
what Philips can do to enhance people’s lives in ways and at times
that are meaningful to them, and then to apply our expertise in
technology to find or develop ways of actually doing it.
A question of partnership
This is such a complex task that we cannot do it alone. In striving
to understand people’s motivations, ambitions and aspirations,
and large-scale social trends, we benefit from the insight of
the Philips marketing and design community. In developing
technologies, we often seek partners in a spirit of “open
competition”. We also participate in international consortia,
working with other companies, universities and research
institutes to create synergies and share costs.
“We realize that technology only
really improves life if it offers a
benefit that is experienced as an
all-round improvement.”
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ExperienceLab
That is why we set up the HomeLab in 2001, and why we have
since expanded it into the ExperienceLab. We invite consumers
and customers to take part in our research, by allowing us to
watch them going about certain normal activities or interacting
with new technologies. In realistic environments – a home,
a shop and a care setting – we can observe what people do
naturally, and see what they find simple or difficult. We can
discuss with them their preferences and get their reaction
to new options. In this way, we can fine-tune technologies so
that they genuinely improve people’s lives in ways that they
themselves say they experience as relevant, meaningful and
simple.
“Sense and simplicity”
We believe that this approach to innovation – based not
merely on technological excellence, but also on the sound,
empirical study of people interacting with technology in realistic
environments – can significantly help all of us at Philips deliver on
our brand promise of “sense and simplicity”.
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Welcome to the Era of
New Convergence
Rudy Provoost, CEO Philips Consumer Electronics
For more than a decade now, we have been living in an era of
convergence. TVs, computers, phones, cameras – a whole raft of
technologies have been coming together, and companies have
been competing with each other to ensure their own model of
integration wins the day. However, although this technological
consolidation will no doubt continue in some form, I believe
it is about to be overtaken by what I call the “Era of New
Convergence”.
New focus
Consumers today are demanding personal attention. Although
“old” convergence provided them with technological solutions,
these were often solutions to non-problems or increased
rather than reduced complexity. No wonder consumers are
frustrated: “old” convergence took no account of people. New
Convergence, by contrast, will be all about people. It will focus
on the convergence of content, i.e., meaningful activities people
undertake (or want to undertake) in particular contexts. Besides
looking at the activities themselves, New Convergence will also
require an understanding of how people intuitively behave and
interact with their environment. Approaching innovation from
this angle, New Convergence solutions will apply technologies
– existing or emerging, alone or in combination – to help people
achieve their goals with greater ease and deeper satisfaction.
On the way
In line with this, Consumer Electronics will increasingly focus
on creating meaningful experiences for people. Some of our
recent innovations already take us in this direction. Photoframe,
for instance, gives people back the experience of browsing
through a physical photo album with family or friends; Ambilight
TV enhances the experience of watching TV or movies; and our
immersive gaming environment, AmBX, extends the concept of
Ambilight by coordinating multiple devices in the room to deliver
a new immersive experience.
Beyond entertainment
However, these new products, like traditional CE products, are
still firmly in the field of entertainment. But New Convergence
will soon take us further – into exciting new areas, such as
consumer healthcare and wellbeing, wearable electronics and
home security.
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“New Convergence will also
require an understanding of how
people intuitively behave and
interact with their environment.”
ExperienceLab
By committing ourselves to put people at the center of
our work, we at Philips have made a good start in the era
of New Convergence. But to build on that foundation, we
need to further develop our ability to understand people.
The ExperienceLab will play a key role in helping us gain
deeper insight into what they want. In HomeLab, for instance,
we are exploring navigation and control systems based on
natural modes of communication, such as gesture, speech and
humming. We are also looking at how we can enhance people’s
preventative and therapeutic healthcare routines in the home.
In CareLab, we focus particularly on how we can help make life
safer and more enjoyable for the elderly and infirm. In short,
as we enter the era of New Convergence, the ExperienceLab
will make it possible for us to play our full part in improving
the quality of people’s lives and give tangible form to “sense and
simplicity”.
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From functional product to
natural experience
Andrea Ragnetti, CEO Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care
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What people value in a product today is not just its functional
performance, i.e., how well it does its job. Rather, it’s the overall
experience a product offers that makes the difference between
a product that’s just “OK” and one that’s “really cool” or
“amazing”.
That’s hardly surprising: after all, the things in life that touch
us most deeply are subjective experiences, not objects. This
suggests that, by providing desirable experiences, we can improve
the quality of people’s lives significantly.
effect is one of relaxation, comfort and wellbeing. And that
feeling (plus a light tan) remains with you.
Another clear example of an experiential product is our Wake-Up
Light. This enables people to replace the harsh morning ritual of
loud alarms and glaring lights with a pleasant experience that follows
the patterns of nature. The light starts gently, building in brightness,
as sounds (such as birdsong or music) gradually increase in volume.
This wakes people in the most natural way possible. As a result, they
feel more rested, and welcome the day, rather than resenting the
fact that they’ve been abruptly denied their sleep.
A defining characteristic of an experience is that it is holistic:
people absorb stimuli through all their senses and then integrate
them into a unified mental event. An experience also has a time
dimension: it starts with excited anticipation, builds up to a
climax, and concludes with an after-effect and memory.
As a result of these insights, at DAP we’ve been increasingly
focusing on developing products that offer an experience. Take
our Innergize, for instance. It provides tactile input in the form
of infra-red warmth, auditory input in the form of music or
birdsong, and olfactory input in the form of aromas. The overall
“We are increasingly able
to bridge the gap between
technological complexity and
natural simplicity.”
The subjective nature of experiences means that, unlike
functional performance, they are difficult to evaluate objectively.
Experiences are also highly complex, with many difficult-to-define
personal or environmental factors contributing. We cannot rely
on our own subjective judgment to tell us what people want.
The only way to understand the nature and effect of experiences
is to observe people undergoing them, in controlled, realistic
contexts.
For us at DAP, this is the real value of the ExperienceLab,
especially the HomeLab. Within it, we can explore how our
ideas affect people in their home environment – whether in the
kitchen, the living room, the bedroom or the bathroom. And, by
being a complete house, it prompts us all to think about areas
and activities in the home that we do not yet address – the
healthcare opportunities offered by the bathroom, for example.
Thanks to the HomeLab, we are learning much more (and much
more quickly) about how people respond to and interact with
technology. In this way, we are increasingly able to bridge the
gap between objective functional specifications and subjective
human experience, and, perhaps even more importantly, between
technological complexity and natural simplicity.
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Lighting the way to the ideal
shopping experience
Theo van Deursen, CEO Philips Lighting
It’s an exciting time in the Lighting industry. New technologies
promise a revolution in the way people use and experience
lighting, presenting new opportunities for us to enrich
people’s lives. And that means we need to undertake
systematic exploration of future ways of living, and the new
roles lighting can play in them.
pursuit rather than just a necessity. To respond to this trend,
shop owners are beginning to transform their stores into
“experiential destinations”, offering not just products to buy,
but also fun, food and pampering. In the process, shopping
becomes entertainment, and the commercial emphasis moves
from merely shifting merchandise to acquiring loyal customers.
Lighting has, of course, long influenced the quality of people’s
lives. In practical terms, it makes it easier and safer for us
to perform tasks and move around. But equally importantly,
it can affect our mood, creating an atmosphere that relaxes
us, an ambience that excites us, or a focal point that arouses
our interest. At work, for instance, Philips’ Dynamic Lighting
solutions already enable the brightness levels and color of
office lighting to be easily changed to suit the time of day, the
activities being performed or employees’ personal preferences.
In the home, our new LivingColors LED lamps make it easy for
people to design (and redesign) the color and intensity of their
home lighting to suit their changing moods.
But one activity that people are increasingly enjoying – and
which new lighting technologies can enhance considerably – is
shopping. Shopping is already becoming a leisure or lifestyle
To provide shop owners with the lighting tools to succeed
in this new “shoppertainment” environment, we need to
gain an in-depth understanding of exactly what they – and
shoppers – need and want. Given today’s fast pace of life,
flexibility is paramount: new solid-state solutions make it easy
to adjust the look and feel to achieve different effects. And in
crowded markets, identity is essential: again, by creating and
strengthening the ambience in a shop, lighting can present
a clear brand identity. Importantly, it can also influence the
buying decision.
Our challenge is to make it easy for shop staff to configure
factors such as light intensity, contrast, distribution, color and
color rendering to attract attention, create identity, and provide
amusement and variety – all within the constraints imposed by
an energy-conscious economy.
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We believe that the value of good lighting is best grasped by
personal observation and experience. To show customers what
can be achieved with our existing solutions, we interact with
them at our Lighting Application Center. But to explore with
them the possibilities of new technologies and innovations, we
need something more. This is where the ShopLab comes in. Its
realistic environment is an ideal setting in which to experiment,
explore options with retailers, and work with store staff to
achieve simple, intuitive modes of operation. Equally importantly,
we can observe and talk to shoppers about how they experience
different lighting effects. In this way, we can all better understand
– and exploit – the potential and power of light to enhance the
shopping experience, and our business.
“We need to undertake
systematic exploration of
future ways of living, and
the new roles lighting can
play in them.”
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Strategic considerations for
Experience Research
Fred Boekhorst & Emile Aarts Philips Research
More than half a decade of experience research in ExperienceLab has provided Philips with a wealth of
consumer insights that have led to novel product concepts. The most pronounced of these without doubt is
the Active Ambilight TV, which took less than one and a half year to enter the market from a first concept
prototype, and which has yielded a sales volume amounting up to one million pieces by the end of last year.
ExperienceLab beyond doubt has grown into a very valuable asset of Philips and this role will become even
more pronounced in view of the development of the current company strategy on Healthcare, Lifestyle, and
Technology.
Healthcare, Lifestyle, and Technology.
The opening of ExperienceLab in 2006 by Rudy Provoost
(CEO of Consumer Electronics) has marked the start of a new
era in Ambient Intelligent research. Whereas early research
in ambient intelligence was still dominated by technology
driven developments such as device miniaturization, wireless
communication, and systems embedding, more recent
explorations are concerned with more human-centric issues
such as social intelligence and acceptance. These novel subjects
of research fully comply with Philips’ strategic change in business
direction from a classical electronics components based
company, serving Philips for more than a hundred years, to a
company that builds its business on end-user insights and needs
in the domains of Healthcare, Lifestyle, and Technology.
“The role of ExperienceLab
will become even more
pronounced than it has been
over the past years”
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Strategic studies.
The renewed strategic direction of Philips has definitely led to a
sparkling new excitement throughout the company, as many of
us have been inspired by the change in strategy in their search
for new business success. There are currently several focus
groups that conduct strategic studies and investigations. The
Compass study conducted by Philips Design has provided Philips
with new insights in the various social trends that are developing
within our contemporary society, possibly leading to a better
understanding of ordinary peoples’ future needs and desires. The
Consumer Strategy has led to the identification of a number of
promising business directions for novel products and services
in the consumer domains related to the well-being and lifestyle
parts of the company’s overall strategy.
Towards a Research Lifestyle Strategy.
Recently, Philips Research has embarked on a strategic study
with the aim of elicitating a number of new and exciting research
areas with potential business innovations on a time scale of three
to five years from now. The investigations are based on a study
of the impact of a number of so called Delta-t’s, which describe
trends in three related dimensions, i.e., Technology, Economy,
and Society, and the possibly resulting new concept-market
combinations that meet the Philips brand promise and support
the growth ambitions of Philips. Examples of such Delta-t’s are:
From Youth Hype to Dignified Aging, From Media Broadcast to
Personalized Content Production and Distribution, and From
Light Devices to Ambient Atmospheres. The novel strategic
studies will lead to new directions in our research program in
Lifestyle. 2007 is going to be a groundbreaking year that will
mark the transition from a technology-based consumer research
program to a research program in which advanced user-centric
concepts provide the basis for novel business innovations.
It goes without saying that the role of ExperienceLab will
become even more pronounced than it has been over the
past years because the human-centric approach followed in
ExperienceLab will become one of the crucial and discriminating
factors in the realization and implementation of our novel
Lifestyle Research Strategy. Newly anticipated research fields
such as hospitality, retail, and learning will require new types of
experience infrastructures requiring further extensions of the
current Experiencelab. Evidently, we have high expectations,
as its sophisticated experience research facility should show
us the way in finding new experience innovations in the
Lifestyle domain.
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Social Interactions in Ambient
Intelligent Environments
Emile Aarts & Boris de Ruyter Philips Research
Whereas research in Ambient Intelligence (AmI) has traditionally been focused on user experiences in more
entertainment and leisure-oriented scenarios, there is a move towards the deployment of AmI technologies
for health and lifestyle related scenarios. This requires a major shift in the type of end-user insights that need
to be investigated in order to come up with innovative propositions for new products and services in these
domains. More specifically, new insights in the field of social interaction between human beings is needed.
This need has led to an augmentation of the ambient intelligence model with a class of concepts that relate to
social intelligence.
User experiences.
The AmI vision positions human needs centrally and technology
is seen as a means to enrich our life. Ambient Intelligence refers
to the embedding of technologies into electronic environments
that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of people.
Aspects such as information overload, violations of privacy
and lack of trust in general threaten the introduction of novel
technologies into our day-to-day life. Consequently it is often
not clear whether people will perceive such scenarios as
beneficial. Essential are the user experiences people have when
interacting with AmI environments. Examples of such experiences
are immersiveness and social connectedness, and they both can
be viewed as emergent features of intelligent behavior in AmI
systems as studied in ExperienceLab.
Mechanical versus Social Intelligence.
In the original formulation of the AmI vision intelligent systems
behavior was attributed to four different elements identified
as context aware, personalized, adaptive, and anticipatory. These
elements differ with respect to the amount of intelligence that is
needed to realize them. It will take less time to realize “context
aware” than “anticipatory”. These elements can be viewed as
instantiations of mechanical intelligence as they are generated by
an AmI system in a mechanistic manner.
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However, due to these raised expectations of AmI technologies
the mechanical intelligence of AmI environments requires
complementing with social intelligence as depicted in Figure
1. The three elements of social intelligence can be described as
follows.
Ambient
Embedded
Many invisible distributed devices throughout the environment that are
integrated into our lives
Context awar
e
Personalized
Adaptive
Anticipatory
Mechanical Intelligence
that know their situational state
that can be tailored towards your
needs and recognize you,
that can change in response to
you and your environment, and
that anticipate your desires
without conscious mediation
Socialized
Empathic
Conscious
Figure 1: Mechanical vs. Social Intelligence in Ambient Intelligence.
Social Intelligence
that adhere to social conventions
that have a representation of
your emotions and motives, and
that form and use a model of
their inner motives
The term socialized means compliant to social conventions. For
example, in a sensing environment some form of mechanical
intelligence that is context aware would know that a person is
in a private situation. A system that is personalized, would know
“Due to the raised expectations
of AmI technologies the
mechanical intelligence of
Aml environments requires
complementing with social
intelligence.”
that it is the user’s preference not to be interrupted in such a
situation. A system that is socialized would use common sense
to not allow interrupting the person in such a context. This
example illustrates that although we make a distinction between
mechanical and social intelligence at a conceptual level, that at
the implementation level both forms of intelligence need to
come together.
The term empathic refers to the ability to take into account
emotions and motives of a person and adapt to this state. For
example, a form of mechanical intelligence could infer that a
person is getting frustrated while the socially intelligent system
with empathic capabilities would trigger the AmI environment to
demonstrate understanding and helpful behavior towards
the person.
The term conscious implies that a system has an inner state of
its own. With such a level of social intelligence, the conscious
system could anticipate the effect a person is trying to get onto
the system. With this level of social intelligence it will be possible
to develop rich and human like interactions in AmI environments.
Conclusion.
As AmI technologies are gaining impact in our daily lives, the
need for extending the mechanical intelligence with social
intelligence becomes more articulated. The effect of social
intelligence in AmI systems is investigated in ExperienceLab
through so-called controlled experiments. First results obtained
from studies of socially intelligent AmI systems in ExperienceLab
reveal that incorporating social intelligence into AmI systems
in general has a positive effect on the user’s acceptance of AmI
technologies.
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Outlook on research in
ExperienceLab
Reinder Haakma Philips Research
Just like all other organizations, the ExperienceLab needs to
evolve. However, being a front-runner, it is by far not obvious
where to go. There is no obvious path, and different people will
have different opinions on how to proceed. Therefore, I consider
two things to be important in bringing the ExperienceLab
forward. The first one is a discussion with stakeholders of
the lab. It is important to learn from people how they regard
the ExperienceLab and how they see it bring value to their
organisations. The second one is leadership. Front runners are
leaders, shaping the future. They don’t necessarily strive for
consensus, but work from irresistible inspiration and enthusiasm.
Both ingredients are necessary in the process of bringing the
ExperienceLab forward.
To me, being one of stakeholders in the ExperienceLab, the
heart of the matter is that the lab functions as meeting ground
where researchers and end-customers discuss innovations
and assess how these meet the customers’ needs and desires.
The lab offers the right context for this discussion because it
allows users to experience how these innovations could impact
their lives. For example, ShopLab has served as a setting where
researchers, people from Lighting and retailers jointly discussed
the innovation proposals at display and what that could bring to
shoppers. In addition, shoppers were asked about their shopping
experience in ShopLab and how the proposed innovations
enhance that. In this way, the ExperienceLab is instrumental in
engraining the Philips brand promise of sense and simplicity in
innovations coming from Research.
Being a front runner, the innovations coming from the
ExperienceLab have to be top-notch for their intended market.
To me, the different labs in the ExperienceLab are linked to
markets: HomeLab is linked the home consumer market,
CareLab to the assisted-living market for elderly and ShopLab
to the retail market. These are markets where Philips has
growth ambitions, markets where Philips has the ambition to
shape the market by enabling new experiences from technical
innovations. For example, in HomeLab the amBX system shows
how watching movies can be enriched and become an impressive
multi-sensorial experience. But it doesn’t always have to be
overwhelming. In CareLab, subtle illumination is introduced to
prevent seniors from falling at night when visiting the bathroom.
It is a subtle, but high-impact effect because falling is the number
one reason why seniors loose independence and have to enter
institutionalized care. What counts is that these innovations
make a difference to people’s lives. And the ExperienceLab can
also make a difference in other markets by adding new labs. For
example, hospitality is a market that is important as well for
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Lighting as for Consumer Electronics. We currently study what
innovations could bring value to owners and guests of hotels
and restaurants, and other stakeholders in the hospitality market.
And more markets could come under consideration. In this way,
the ExperienceLab is instrumental in matching Philips’ research
ambitions with Philips’ market ambitions, together a powerful
combination.
I see a bright future ahead for the ExperienceLab. Its research
innovations will continue to make a difference to people’s
lives along the brand promise of sense and simplicity, while
matching the marketing and research ambitions of Philips.
Though ExperienceLab does not allow us to predict the future,
it definitely helps us to experience what it could bring and
empowers us to shape that future.
“The ExperienceLab is
instrumental in matching
Philips’ research ambitions with
Philips’ market ambitions”
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HomeLab
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3DTV – enhancing the home
TV-viewing experience
Robert-Paul Berretty, Chris Varekamp, Marcel Krijn Philips Research
In recent years the visual quality of television displays has almost
reached perfection. Nowadays home users want more immersive
experiences. This can be achieved by adding 3D sound systems,
light systems such as AmbiLight, and other non-visual effects.
The creation of a 3D viewing experience will be the next big
addition to the visual experience since the introduction of color
TV. The effect of 3D has been clearly shown in demonstrations at
conferences, in the emerging 3D gaming market and through the
introduction of 3D in the advertisement market.
Content is key for the adoption of 3D applications in the
market. Philips has taken up the challenge to realize all elements
in the chain from content creation and signal processing to
visualization. The end-to-end 3D systems are fully backwards
compatible with the current 2D multi-media and broadcast
formats since legacy 2D video can still be viewed in 2D. Philips’
conversion algorithms allow real-time conversion of existing
content into 3D. Philips also offers services to convert existing
content to 3D.
Philips’ 3D displays provide exciting out-of-screen effects
without the need for special glasses. Multiple users can
experience 3D at the same time in a large 3D viewing zone. A
sheet of transparent lenses is fixed on an LCD screen. This sheet
sends different images to each eye, so that a person sees two
images. These two images are combined by our brain to create
a 3D effect. Because the sheet is transparent, it results in full
brightness, full contrast and true color representation.
In HomeLab we demonstrate the combination of 3D sound, 3D
lighting and 3D video: the ultimate experience.
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amBX: Creating an ambience
that fits your state of mind and
enhances the way you
experience activities
Winfried Berkvens Philips Research
In recent decades there have been tremendous changes in
interior decoration in the home. During this period there has
been a change from standard functional furnishings towards a
more decorative approach. Consumers nowadays like to create
a more personalized environment in which they can feel relaxed
and comfortable and where they create their own ambience.
This can be done in various ways. Lighting is seen as one of the
elements that can help to realize this – for instance by using
candles to create a romantic atmosphere.
In the infrastructure in the HomeLab living room the lighting can
be controlled via pre-set light settings at the push of a button.
This ensures that user interaction with the system is kept
very simple. The light settings that can be created range from
simple static scenes to full dynamic atmospheres. If the system
is extended, the user will even be able to extend the set of light
settings by adding personal scenarios. In this way the user will be
able to create the atmosphere in the room that fits his current
mood or that will help him to get into the mood of his choice.
In addition to this, user studies have shown that people appreciate
the developments that have taken place in TVs, e.g. AmbiLight
TVs where colored light creates an enriched experience. The very
positive feedback from users who have experienced amBX for
gaming as well as for Home Cinema and have become completely
immersed in the content has further convinced us that colored
light is one way to create a pleasant and attractive ambience.
At present media content is used as the driver for these
developments but this does not necessarily have to be the case.
The amBX system used to realize the HomeLab setup is,
however, more than a standard light control mechanism because
it provides a means of rendering full dynamic experiences,
including the stimulation of other human senses, in a coherent
way. At the same time, the amBX system can also be used for
other media applications, e.g. for listening to music or watching
TV, and can enhance these with multi-sensory effects as well.
One application shows the playing of 3D video enhanced with
experience scripts that relate to this content.
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29 03-04-20

See the music!
Dragan Sekulovski, Gijs Geleijnse, Bram Kater, Fabio Vignoli Philips Research
Music is an important contributing factor to the atmosphere
in an environment. As such, people use it to enhance or create
their mood in everyday life. By playing the music of their choice,
they change the environment to suit their personal preference.
Other aspects of the environment could be changed accordingly
in order to strengthen the atmosphere inspired by the music.
For example, the color of the lighting in the room could be
changed to suit the music.
In discotheques and clubs visual effects in the form of disco lights
are added to enhance the experience. These effects are based
on the music that is being played and the same techniques could
also be used in a home environment. However, the types of
music and the settings in which disco effects are appreciated are
very specific. In their living room, people prefer lighting effects
that change slowly and smoothly and are based on a much
broader range of music.
Previous methods used to automatically compute colors from
music failed to maintain the semantic connection between the
lyrics and the visual effects. Although these methods succeeded
in enhancing the experience, end-user studies have shown that
this semantic connection is important. Consider, for example,
the Beatles’ song about a yellow submarine, where the room
lighting changes to red or blue during the chorus. If you consider
the lyrics, however, you would expect the lighting to be yellow in
color instead.
In order to preserve the semantic connection between the
music and the accompanying visual effects, we retrieve images
from the Internet based on terms taken from the lyrics. Because
of the large amount of data available on the Internet, we find
a representative set of images that are associated with parts
of the lyrics. Color information from these images is then
used to compute the visual effects: the search for ‘a yellow
submarine’ yields a set of images from which we were are
able to extract a yellow color, while ‘Strawberry fields forever’
yields the colors red and green. Note, however, that it is not
entirely straightforward to identify terms in the lyrics that have a
semantic connection to a color.
When we synchronize the lyrics to the music that is being
played, we can traverse the identified terms sequentially. The
associated images are used to create visual effects that change as
the song progresses. By adding visual effects to the room, based
on the music that is playing, we enhance the experience that
is created. The addition of an automatically created slideshow
provides the user with a rich multimedia experience, preserving
the semantic connection with the lyrics of the song.
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31 03-04-20

Ambient Telephone
Aki Härmä, Michael Verschoor Philips Research
AmbiPhone is a next-generation distributed hands-free
‘telephone’ system for the home environment. It was inspired
by the observation that Skype users tend to abandon the
130-year-old concept of the telephone call and instead leave
the line continuously connected so that they can experience a
stronger sense of being together with a distant friend or relative.
Current VoIP solutions cannot fully support this mode of use
because they rely on handsets, headsets or the close proximity
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of a speakerphone to enable mediated communication. This
means that the user has to carry, wear or stand next to the
terminal in order to have a conversation with a friend. Reliance
on these terminals also means that communication tends to be
strictly session-based because nobody wants to have to be so
close to a terminal all day long.
Just like the lighting or the air conditioning, AmbiPhone is
available everywhere in the home. As a result, it also creates the
potential for the continuous presence of a friend or a relative.
To extend this potential to real-life settings, AmbiPhone enables
users to carry on a conversation with a remote friend or
relative while walking from one room in the home to another
without having to be reliant on explicit user commands or
obtrusive user tracking. For this same reason, AmbiPhone
enables users to transfer smoothly an ongoing conversation
to a traditional handset or a mobile phone for a more private
and intimate conversation. This degree of support for openended
mediated communication makes it possible for users
to experience the spontaneity and naturalness of face-to-face
communication in mediated conversations. We believe that this
might serve to increase substantially a sense of personal and
warm communication with friends and relatives who are not in
the same location.
Further research and innovative new technologies in the fields of
speech capture, transmission and rendering are required in order
to develop the AmbiPhone system. New concepts for audiobased
user tracking, user interaction, home networking, and
automatic configuration also need to be developed to provide
all the functionality described above. These are the research
topics in the SoPresent project, one of the New Frontier
Projects at Philips Research. In the CRE 2007, we provide a
flavor of the experiences that AmbiPhone can provide to users
by demonstrating the ability to carry on a conversation with a
friend in a remote location while moving to a different room in
the home.
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The Buddy Bear
Aweke Lemma, Mehmet Celik, Stefan Katzenbeisser and Michiel van der Veen Philips Research
Meet Emily and her companion the ‘Buddy Bear’. In the eyes of
an innocent onlooker, Buddy Bear is just another stuffed toy,
but Emily has a different view – Buddy Bear is not a toy, he is
her buddy. They experience life together. After breakfast, they
watched their favorite cartoon on TV. Now they are listening
to a nice song and waiting for her mother to show up with the
DVD of the latest animated movie. They will watch it this
evening before going to bed. Although he is a great companion,
Buddy Bear is very shy. He does not share his thoughts or
show his emotions.
Imagine Buddy Bear were alive and more social. Just by listening
in, he would recognize his owner’s favorite cartoon when it
comes on TV and would show his enthusiasm through his
actions, either by shouting “yeah” or just by smiling. He would
also recognize a theme song and – if he feels like it – he might
dance along to it, whether it is played on the radio or from the
sound track of a DVD. Buddy Bear would not need Emily to tell
him how to act, he would decide for himself and might even
surprise Emily. As a good companion, he would also protect
Emily and warn her if the movie she started watching was not
appropriate for her.
Every kid has his/her Buddy Bear, whether it is a stuffed bear
or an action figure. Digital watermarking technology offers an
efficient and flexible way of making these toys recognize
audio-visual content and react accordingly. Now they can be
turned into living and interacting companions.
Digital watermarking works as follows: at the mastering stage
the designer decides what actions are suitable for which parts
of the audio-visual content. A watermark conveying the relevant
action codes is embedded at the corresponding positions
in the audio track. Content is distributed to the consumers,
for instance on DVD. At the consumer’s site, the watermark
detector built into the toy captures the audio signal through
a microphone and inspects it to see if there is a watermark
present. Once found, the embedded action codes and associated
timing information are extracted from the watermark. Action
codes are translated into a series of pre-determined actions and
conveyed to electro-mechanical actuators at the right point in
time. In a sense, the toy can ‘hear’ the designer’s instructions
and act upon them. As the watermark is independent of
the underlying audio content, different instructions can be
embedded into the same content, for instance when it is
broadcast on TV. Furthermore, toys with built-in detectors will
have the ability to react not only to the current content but also
to future content bearing the same watermark, for instance the
sequel of an animated movie.
Digital watermarking opens up new dimensions both for the
designers and for Emily.
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“Every kid has his/her Buddy Bear, whether it
is a stuffed bear or an action figure.”
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Intelligent home network for
sharing experiences and activities
Maddy D. Janse, Dietwig Lowet, Paul Shrubsole, Peter Lambooij, Peter Vink Philips Research
New types of personal devices are taking over the role of
everyday tools, such as diaries and telephones, while others
are giving users access to new types of value-added services,
for example mobile Internet. The introduction of such new
devices and services into home networks and appliances
presents major challenges. While consumers are demanding
seamless services with high functionality, the underlying
components that deliver such value-added services are
derived from many different infrastructures that are not able
to work together. Home networking has already emerged in
specific applications such as PC-to-PC communication and
home entertainment systems, but its ability to really change
people’s lives is still hampered by complex installation
procedures, a lack of interoperability between equipment
made by different manufacturers and the absence of compelling
user services.
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The Amigo project is a joint effort by fifteen of Europe’s leading
companies and research organizations in mobile and home
networking, software development, consumer electronics
and domestic appliances. The goal of the project is to develop
a service-oriented architecture for intelligent future home
networks, which can use the available context information to
provide intelligent and attractive user services. This architecture
can handle different devices and compose and integrate new
devices and services that provide users with applications
in which the main objective is to enable people to share
experiences, to create social presence and to enable responsive
home environments. Furthermore, it also gives users the
possibility to extend their home environment to other homes,
the car, a hotel or an office environment. Since content sharing
and community-driven applications are very popular applications
on the Internet and the PC platform, extending this development
to include consumer devices, for example by means of an
interoperable middleware, could provide excellent opportunities
for Philips. Hence, providing attractive and interesting services by
which users can share experiences and activities in an easy and
personalized fashion is another important objective of the Amigo
project. People can share experiences and activities in their
personal environment, for example in their living room, with
friends, family or other social communities in other locations.
Regardless of the location, the Amigo interoperable technology
makes it possible, for example, for a parent who is away on
business to still be able to read a bedtime story to their child
at home. Both the parent and the child can see each other, talk,
play a game together, do some exercises or just watch television
together or look at pictures. This can be done independently of
the type of equipment used, e.g. TV with PC, TV with hotel TV,
mobile with TV. This is the application that is shown in HomeLab.
In another application example, in which the middleware
technology is used, people can use the services in their own
home via a personal device, for example a mobile phone, from
someone else’s home network.
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Electronic Memos
Manfred Müller, Harry van Amerongen, Frank van Abeelen, Guofu Zhou Philips Research
Alex Henzen iRex Technologies BV
Electronic communication has enriched our lives at an
unprecedented rate, yet a simple written note still remains an
efficient means of communication. Examples include the sticky
note (the well-known post-its), the pin board or the traditional
family note pad on the fridge. Indeed these applications have
a number of advantages over more modern communication
methods, such as mobile phone, SMS or e-mail. Notes can be
stuck virtually anywhere and serve as an efficient eye-catcher/
reminder for anyone close by, because they display their message
continuously. They can also combine text with sketches or other
content and are both cheap and easy to use. On the downside,
however, they lack all the advanced possibilities offered by
modern telecommunications facilities.
With electronic paper one can combine paper and wireless
communication into a new message system that brings the sticky
note into the digital age. These ‘electronic sticky notes’ are based
on technology developed jointly by Philips Research and its spinoff
iRex Technologies. They are, therefore, a showcase for open
innovation on the High Tech Campus as well as a good example
of the possibilities offered by electronic paper.
Electronic sticky notes retain the functionality of the paper
version and complement well the communication possibilities
offered by mobile phones. They could be used in applications,
such as:
• A wireless message board that enhances the functionality of
the traditional family fridge notes (“I’ll be home late! I missed
the train!”).
• A way to share notes, greetings cards, etc., between devices.
For example, rather than trying to describe a location verbally
on the mobile phone, one can just quickly sketch a map on one
device and send it to another.
• A wireless up-to-date sign (“This shop will open 30 minutes
late because the owner is still stuck in a traffic jam! We
apologize for any inconvenience caused!”).
The devices presented here focus on simplicity and ease of use.
Input will mostly be via mobile phone by just sending an SMS or
MMS to the device. This takes advantage of the fact that people
nearly always have access to a cell phone and most find it quite
natural to use it to send text messages. The addition of a touch
screen further improves the flexibility of the device: messages
and sketches can be drawn directly on the electronic sticky note
and can then be shared with other similar devices at the push of a
button. If a message is received it will be shown continuously until
a new message arrives. Older messages can be accessed via scroll
buttons. The whole device is compact and battery operated.
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The electronic paper currently used can show bright, high-contrast
black-and-white messages with 16 gray scales without the need
for continuous power (power is only needed to change the image
content). Planned improvements include the use of thinner, more
flexible displays as well as higher switching speeds. Once colored
electronic paper becomes available, the sharing of photos will also
become much more attractive. The device will then combine the
functionalities of an electronic picture frame with an MMS receiver,
where friends can decorate each other’s message boards, for
example with holiday snapshots or greeting cards.
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Photonic Textiles
Liesbeth van Pieterson, Rabin Bhattacharya, Koen Kriege, Piet Bouten, Olaf van Loon Philips Research
Technology is rapidly becoming a part of every aspect of our
daily lives. Because technology is so pervasive, electronics are
increasingly being designed to blend in with the surroundings and
personal devices are becoming objects of identity rather than
being purely functional. The experiential side is becoming more
and more important.
safe, so that it does not affect the quality of sleep. If the child
is not lying completely under the covers, another application
– the interactive teddy bear wearing a t-shirt with a fabric
display – can help him to get to sleep. When hugged, the bear
will display relaxing animations on its t-shirt, which gradually
fade away once the child has fallen asleep.
It is precisely this experiential and fun side of technology on
which Photonic Textiles at Philips Research is working. We have
incorporated light-emitting elements into textiles. Combined
with the softness and ‘drapeability’ of fabrics, light can give rise to
truly magical effects.
The applications in HomeLab are explorations into the
potential for influencing emotions and experiences by means
of light and textiles. We embedded light-emitting elements into
a quilt cover for children. The light-emitting elements blend
into the fabrics and are invisible in the ‘off’ state. When the
bedroom lights are turned off at night, the quilt cover comes
to life! The child climbs under the covers and is welcomed by
light. This light enables the child to read under the blankets.
However, the lights are not strictly functional; they also make
the child feel safe in the dark. The system is lightweight, soft and
We have recently improved the softness, weight and drape of
the fabrics. The light-emitting textiles consist of conductive
yarns interwoven with polyester yarns. LEDs are attached at the
crossovers and can be addressed individually, enabling pictures to
be displayed. The system obtains its power from a small battery
pack or the mains.
“Light can give rise
to truly magical effects”
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Embedded Magic by ESP
Willem Fontijn, Janneke Verhaegh, Jettie Hoonhout Philips Research
Children are getting hooked on computer games at an everyounger
age. However, these offer a physically restrictive
and unhealthy user interface. Electronic tangible interfaces
enable toys and games that offer the thrill of computer game
interactivity combined with the wholesomeness of traditional
toys. At the same time, they promote cognitive development,
dexterity and social interaction.
Combining sensing technology and embedded computing we
have developed a low-cost and easy-to-apply platform for
tangible interfaces targeted at self-contained educational and
entertaining applications. By hiding the technology fully we can
create interactive toys with an almost magical interaction. The
platform becomes easy to apply through end-user programming
tools based on a high-level descriptive language (ESPranto),
which is simple enough for an 8-year-old child, yet rich enough
for professional content creators. We call a programmable
tangible user interfacing solution based on this platform a
Tangible Interaction Console (TIC).
The educational board game TagTiles is an example of a TIC. It
combines tabletop positioning, audio output and an LED grid. The
absence of a screen in particular enables a robust and low-cost
design, ideally suited for both the classroom and home setting.
It offers collaborative play and addresses real needs, such as
healthier interactive gaming, assessment during play, and teaching
that is tailored to the individual child.
TagTiles is used to investigate how the challenge that a game
offers can be tuned to optimize both enjoyment and learning.
Providing a challenge, seen as the most important factor to make
a game enjoyable, requires the game task to be simple enough to
appear achievable, offering a sense of control to the player, yet at
the same time difficult enough for the outcome to be uncertain.
Consequently, in order to preserve the challenge, the task must
evolve with the player’s skills, requiring the skill level of the
individual child to be assessed during play. TagTiles addresses a
wide variety of skills, e.g. cognitive, social and fine motor skills.
Tangible interfaces are suitable for serious gaming applications
targeted at adults. For instance, the same assessment methods
used for children can be used to monitor cognitive decline
and provide targeted training for the elderly. This can be done
unobtrusively, e.g. in cases where the elderly person is not keen
to admit to the problem. In addition, it can address the issue of
social isolation by offering games connected to the Internet that
they can play with their (grand)children through interfaces that
offer a natural style of interaction.
Games can be used to motivate in a personal healthcare
setting. An important issue in getting people to change their
behavior (e.g. starting regular physical exercise) is how to bridge
the gap between short-term effort and long-term benefit. Play is
useful here because it adds a short-term benefit in the context
of the game.
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Medical applications include therapy support, e.g. by using
(physical) games to make physical therapy enjoyable or by
providing personalized patient information to children in a
non intimidating way through special dolls.
Finally, tangible interfaces can be used for lighting and home
control applications. By focusing first on toys and games, we can
gather input on how to develop devices which people will enjoy
interacting with and that are also inexpensive to implement.
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CareLab
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CareServant
Jan van Bekkum, Peter van Grinsven,
Jurjen Eisink Philips CareServant
Infotainment that makes the patient feel like a guest
The Philips CareServant provides communication solutions and
services that improve the quality of a stay in hospital for patients
and clients of care organizations. It is an interactive system
consisting of a TV with plug-in card or touch-screen terminal.
It provides users with information, communication facilities and
relaxation in their care environment. A central network server
drives the entire system.
CareServant builds on the experience and technologies used
by Philips Consumer Electronics for hotel TVs and Internet
protocol television (IPTV). It also draws on Philips Research’s
work on portals in care environments. The result is a turnkey
patient ‘infotainment’ solution which, in addition to providing
controlled access to broadcast programs, also uses modules,
for example for video on demand or games, access to the
Internet or e-mail, ordering meals, shopping or for delivering
information about the hospital facilities or the patient’s personal
treatment schedule.
“Improve the quality of a stay in
hospital for patients and clients
of care organisations”
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d 47 03

Easing the caregiver’s load
Apart from the extra comfort for patients, CareServant also
makes life easier for caregivers. It can handle tasks like reminding
patients to order meals, or to turn off sets at a specified time,
e.g. at 21:00 hours. This frees up more time for nurses to
concentrate on providing medical care. Much like the related
Motiva home telemedicine solution, CareServant also makes it
possible to deliver instructional movies and to survey patients,
for example to record their own subjective assessment of their
condition.
Designed for the care environment
In a hospital environment the CareServant can use an LCD
television mounted on the wall or suspended from the ceiling as
well as a touch-screen terminal. Wall or ceiling mounts are used to
solve the cleaning problems associated with touch screens as well
as to ensure the screen does not obscure the nurse’s view of the
patient. On the other hand, the touch screen is better suited for
displaying information that is of a private nature.
The layout of the wired remote control and the design of the
screen are based on Philips Consumer Electronics’ expertise in
developing interfaces for people who are not computer literate,
as is often the case in hospitals. A wired control eliminates the
inconvenience of having to spend time looking for units that have
been mislaid.
In other care environments, such as nursing homes or private
condominiums for senior citizens, a TV-based setup is chosen
that fits perfectly in a home environment yet still offers all
the benefits of interactivity. By using as much mass-produced
hardware as possible the investment cost can be kept down,
installation and maintenance can be simplified, and cheap and
easy upgrades will be available as and when necessary.
CareServant has been commercialized by the new CareServant
Lifestyle incubator. As the solution is intended to provide relief
for the medical staff, Philips offers a full range of links to other
systems, from RFID readers to ensure each patient gets their
correct content to connections to the patient’s demographics
and records in the Hospital Information System. Because it
offers added services, it can also link to the hospital’s prepay or
invoicing system. Philips CareServant has already been installed in
six healthcare institutes in the UK and the Netherlands.
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Activity Lifestyle-Module
for Diabetes
Christien Zeijlstra, Laura Peters, Jan van Herk, Rufus Driessen Philips Research
Diabetes is a chronic disease that has a major impact on the
quality of life for many people. It is estimated that in 2025
the number of people with diabetes will exceed 333 million.
This metabolic disease is associated with elevated blood
glucose levels. Over time, this can lead to life-threatening
and feared complications such as a stroke, blindness, kidney
failure and amputations; 65% of the diabetic population dies of
cardiovascular diseases.
Diabetic care is not only characterized by medical treatment
of the health complications; consumer lifestyle choices also
play an important role in dealing with the disease. The most
prominent lifestyle modifications have to do with physical activity,
eating patterns and controlling body weight. Although lifestyle
modification is beneficial to many individuals who do not suffer
from a chronic condition, for diabetes it is the primary therapy
to manage the disease. Once diagnosed, individuals with earlystage
type-2 diabetes can delay the progression of the disease,
postpone complications and reduce the need for medication by
changing their lifestyle.
Although the clinical effectiveness of lifestyle intervention has
been proven, the implementation is not obvious.
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What is missing today is an effective and customized tool to
support the individual, as well as a financial incentive scheme
initiating and sustaining lifestyle modifications. The solution
calls for a diabetes lifestyle companion in combination with
professional care provided through the healthcare system.
An important component in the diabetic lifestyle companion is
the activity module. The small activity sensor is worn on the
body and monitors the body movements. An accurate algorithm
has been developed to translate the accelerometer data into
meaningful output, such as the individual’s energy expenditure.
The activity sensor communicates with a personal computer.
This enables detailed analysis of the activity data and provides
the desired output to the individual. When appropriate, specific
data stored on the PC can be made available over the Internet
to others, such as caregivers or peers.
The activity module supports the individual in changing his
lifestyle in a number of ways. The display on the activity sensor
itself provides immediate feedback to the individual wearing the
sensor. Secondly, the individual will gain a true understanding of
his actual physical activity pattern from the analysis of the data
on a PC. This analysis takes place on the basis of three factors:
the duration, the intensity and the temporal distribution of the
physical activity during the day. The individual can see what he
has achieved and can monitor his progress over time. Thirdly, in
intervention schemes where it is crucial for motivational reasons
to share accomplishments and information with others, the
individual can be part of an on-line peer community.
The activity module in CareLab shows that body sensor
technology, physiological algorithms and information technology
can contribute meaningfully in the primary therapy in diabetes.
It can improve people’s quality of life and it addresses healthcare
cost of a chronic disease of epidemic proportions.
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Later-Life Lighting
Esther de Beer, Luc Schlangen, George Kok Philips Lighting
As people grow older many of their bodily functions start to
deteriorate: hearing, vision, physical mobility and cognitive/
memory performance. Philips Lighting works together
closely with care homes to develop lighting solutions and
recommendations that facilitate elderly care and improve
well-being in later life.
The aim of the project is to design and test lighting solutions that
are tailored to suit the needs of the elderly. The product solutions
are designed to enhance the quality of life through improved
visibility, better sleep quality, greater alertness during the day and a
generally enhanced sense of well-being. The project involves design,
end-user testing and claim validation of the product concepts by
means of tests with end users in their own living environment.
One line of product concepts creates favorable conditions to
enable the elderly to continue visual activities like reading, playing
cards, embroidery, etc. These activities are known to maintain
or improve the cognitive/memory performance. In order to
compensate for poorer eyesight, elderly people require lighting
levels that are 3-5 times higher than those required by younger
people. In addition to the need for more light, the elderly are
also more sensitive to glare. A relatively bright, glare-free lighting
solution helps to reduce the risk of daytime falls.
A second line of product concepts is aimed at improving the
sleep-wake rhythm. In elderly people most of the input that
regulates the bio-rhythm is reduced: there is less social input
(family life with a daily routine), motor activity decreases and,
in particular, they tend not to have sufficient exposure to
outdoor or bright light that enters the body through the eyes.
Moreover, light exposure may be impaired by different age-related
deficiencies in the eye or by degeneration of the optic nerve.
This means that even if patients are exposed to adequate light
intensities during the day, less light will actually reach their
24-hour biological clock.
Light treatment is a non-pharmacological approach to improving
the day-night rhythm and has virtually no adverse side effects.
This is particularly relevant for the elderly, many of whom are
already taking a range of drugs for various health problems.
Conventional light therapy is administered by the patient sitting
in front of a bright light for a minimum of 30 minutes a day.
Compliance by elderly with this procedure is difficult and requires
supervision. An alternative is to increase the intensity of the light
in the ambient surroundings of the main room where the patients
spend their day. A third possibility is to use dawn and/or dusk
simulation that mimics outdoor twilight transitions. A gradual
dusk and/or dawn has the advantage that it can be fitted in
automatically to suit the regular sleeping patterns of the person
concerned. Moreover, it does not require daily bright-light therapy
sessions or the presence of a caregiver.
A key challenge in the project is how to design products that
offer comfortable and healthy lighting conditions and are
appropriate for the end user in terms of aesthetics and userfriendliness/ease
of use.
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Light in your hands
Cees Ronda, Antony Liu, Gongming Wei, Hugo Cornelissen, Marcel Krijn, Erik de Ruijter, Bo Liu,
Kairaz Contractor Philips Research
The perception of visual information is very important in reading.
In the developed western world, light can be generated virtually
anywhere, either using the electricity grid or using batteries. As
reading is only pleasurable at sufficiently high lighting levels, it
is not always possible to read without disturbing others, e.g. in
shared bedrooms or in airplanes.
Light generated only locally and only at the place where it is
required (‘designed around you’) enables a high level of reading
comfort without affecting other people. Moreover, if modern
solid-state light sources are used, only very low power levels are
required. This means very compact reading lights are possible.
Such reading lights are easy to use.
The demonstration shown in CareLab consists of a light guide
with an integrated magnifying glass. This light guide is placed on
the object to be read and reflects light onto it. Two batteries are
all that is required to enjoy several hours of reading. Rechargeable
batteries allow sustainable operation of the reading light.
When placed on the object to be read, the magnifying glass
has no effect, which suggests that reading lights like these can
be used universally. The full functionality of the glass becomes
apparent by increasing the distance from the page to be read. In
this way, the reading light can be used as reading glasses.
The ability to read is also instrumental in human development.
By educating people in developing countries, it is possible to
help these people out of the poverty trap. Current solutions are
based on burning fuel, which on the one hand is very expensive
and on the other hand very unhealthy and dangerous. Other
countries have electricity in some areas, but many people are
without it. Furthermore, in some regions of the world the
electricity supply is limited and unreliable. Our lighting product
enables people to enjoy light so they can study or read in the
evenings, even without access to an electricity grid, because a
solar panel that charges the battery during the daytime has been
integrated into the light.
The project involves design, tests with end users and validation
of the claims made by the product concepts. To this end, Philips
researchers based at three locations (Eindhoven, Shanghai and
Aachen) are working together very closely. With the help of
Philips Research Business Development in Shanghai, products are
expected to be ready to be launched onto the market in 2007.
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Personal TV Volume
Werner de Bruijn Philips Research
With age, people’s hearing deteriorates. This leads to problems
in a variety of everyday activities, such as difficulty understanding
what people are saying on the TV. As a result, hearing-impaired
people tend to turn up the volume of their TV, often to such
a high level that it disturbs other people in the room or even
the neighbors. And to make matters worse, in many cases
turning up the volume does not actually solve the intelligibility
problem, because the acoustics of the room (reflections and
reverberation) often form a significant part of the problem.
The Personal TV Volume system shown in CareLab solves both
problems at the same time, i.e. it results in better intelligibility
for the user and less annoyance for others.
The concept on which the solution is based involves reproducing
the TV sound as a narrow beam of sound directed towards
the user, using a slim array of loudspeakers integrated into
or installed just beneath the TV. The digital signal processing
technique used for this is an advanced form of ‘beam forming’.
In effect, the processing makes it possible to direct most of the
radiated sound energy from the TV towards the user, while
radiating significantly less energy in other directions. For the
user, this results in better speech intelligibility and clarity, since
less reverberation is generated in the room. For other people in
the room, this results in less disturbance because a significantly
smaller amount of sound is radiated towards them than when a
normal TV speaker system is used. There is also less disturbance
for people outside the room because the total amount of
sound power that is needed to achieve a given sound level at
the position of the user is also significantly lower. Obviously,
the increased intelligibility achieved by the system is not only
of benefit to hearing-impaired users, but to users with normal
hearing as well, since in many multi-person households it often
happens that when one family member is trying to follow the
news on TV, this is made impossible by other family members’
noisy activities or conversations.
The direction of the sound beam can be controlled. This
means that if the system is combined with a user-tracking
system, the beam can be automatically directed towards the
user. Other beam characteristics, such as width, can also be
manipulated and tailored to suit a variety of user scenarios.
When combined with a home-theatre system, the Personal
TV Volume array can be used to only beam the (center) dialog
channel to enhance intelligibility of the movie dialog.
Finally, an important point to note is the flexibility of the
hardware and processing architecture used to implement the
Personal TV Volume system. By loading different processing
algorithms, the same system can be used for a broad range of
other sound reproduction concepts as well, for example
one-bar surround sound reproduction (‘one-bar SonoWave’)
or directional multi-audiostream reproduction. Integration of
this sound reproduction system into a TV or implementation
thereof as a separate TV add-on will therefore make it possible
to provide the user with a range of attractive, innovative
sound features.
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Senior – Supporting Elderly
with Networks for Initiating and
Optimizing Relations
Elly Pelgrim, Boris de Ruyter, Harm Buisman, Merlijn Sevenster, Alexander Sinitsyn Philips Research
Due to the changing physical and cognitive conditions often
associated with old age, elderly people experience a growing
need for assistance. For example, they might start to forget to
take their medication or become so distracted during shopping
that they forget several essential goods. Although cognitive
decline is a normal part of aging, it is a major concern for elderly.
Some people find it difficult to cope with this change in their
abilities and might become afraid of going out or commencing
new activities.
Fortunately, empirical evidence has also shown that cognitive
training has a positive effect on cognitive functioning. However,
during their daily lives elderly are often not as mentally
stimulated as younger generations, for example due to the fact
that they are retired. This makes it difficult to stay mentally active
in a natural and unforced way.
The Senior project aims to support elderly with cognitive
stimulation, by offering mind games that are challenging,
motivating, easy to use and personalized. Currently a set of six
games are offered, covering a variety of aspects of cognitive
performance which can be enhanced by training. In order
to stimulate regular exercising and trigger social contact, a
community view is added to the individual scores overview,
which shows the gaming frequency of members in a person’s
social network. Applying this social network as a motivator to
engage in cognitive exercising will serve two core needs at a
time, namely social participation and cognitive stimulation.
The mind games are offered as a service proposition on the
television, thereby taking advantage of the fact that nearly all
elderly people have a television and are therefore already familiar
with this kind of interaction. In order to promote acceptance
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of the service proposition by the elderly user, it is essential to
make the user-system interaction as intuitive as possible, thereby
taking into account the differences in preferences and capabilities
of various groups of senior citizens (e.g. healthy versus frail
elderly people). More specifically, the user interface on both the
display and the remote control are being studied and developed
within the project. These usability issues will be addressed
primarily by means of user tests in the CareLab, while detailed
preferences and acceptance issues will be addressed in longerterm
field studies in people’s homes.
By adding a complementary value to indoor activities, without
representing an alternative to outdoor activities, the service
proposition aims to strengthen the feeling of self-efficacy and
social participation for senior citizens. This, in turn, might give
elderly people more confidence to engage in outdoor activities.
“The service proposition aims to
strengthen the feeling of selfefficacy
and social participation
of senior citizens”
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Home Stroke
Rehabilitation Exerciser
Richard Willmann, Privender Saini, Annick Timmermans, Jürgen te Vrugt,
Stefan Winter Philips Research
Effective rehabilitation after a stroke increases patients’ quality
of life by enabling them to resume work and live independently.
For rehabilitation it is vital that therapy is not discontinued
prematurely or reduced in intensity. However, the ideal
rehabilitation path is often not followed for many reasons,
including cost pressure and lack of patient motivation. Philips is
developing and testing solutions to increase the efficiency and
effectiveness of rehabilitation.
how well he has performed the exercises. In addition, the patient
can view illustrations of his performance and progress over time.
Relevant and engaging training exercises and easy-to-interpret
feedback are essential for maintaining patient compliance and
motivation over a prolonged period of time.
One-sided motor problems that affect arm-hand function
are among the most common effects of a stroke. The Stroke
Rehabilitation Exerciser uses motion sensors to fully capture
the patient’s upper-body movements. These sensors are
attached to the patient’s torso and strapped to the wrist and
upper arm. The movements recorded are evaluated against
prescribed motor exercises. The motor training is planned by
the physiotherapist and uploaded to the remote patient unit.
The patient is then coached through his training program in the
comfort of his own home. As the patient performs an exercise,
the StrokeRehabilitation Exerciser processes and analyzes the
data in real time to give timely feedback on how it is performed.
After completing a set of exercises, the patient is able to play
back his movements, thus enabling him to review and understand
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“Relevant and engaging training
exercises and easy-to-interpret
feedback are essential for
maintaining patient compliance
and motivation.”
From a clinical point of view, the Stroke-Rehabilitation
Exerciser enables the therapist to play a fundamental role in the
assessment, tracking and planning of home training, as well as to
make essential therapeutic interventions. The therapist is able to
review the motion exercises remotely, add or modify the training
modules and deliver personal messages to the patients. Face-toface
sessions can be scheduled and organized effectively thanks
to the continuous availability of training data. In this way the
therapist is able to monitor and treat multiple patients within a
shorter timeframe.
An interdisciplinary team developed the wireless inertial sensors,
the motion tracking algorithms and the design of the user
interfaces in order to ensure that the system not only fulfils
the relevant clinical standards, but is also designed around the
patient. We are continuing to extend our network of clinical and
academic partners to enable us to investigate valuable solutions
for the patient and the therapist. Assessment of these solutions
in a series of clinical trials with patients and medical professionals
forms the central process for guaranteeing the development of
optimum and meaningful innovation.
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ShopLab
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The HaloSpot: a new concept for
enhancing product presentations
Raluca Constantinescu, Annemarie Buddemeijer Philips Lighting
Tom Bergman, Tim Dekker Philips Research
Retailers constantly have to try and keep up with rising
competition and changing consumer preferences. Consumers
respond to the total product and its presentation. The atmosphere
in the shop can be more influential than the product itself in the
purchase decision. Because lighting is an important factor in the
creation of shop atmospheres, we started by investigating the
benefits of a colored lighting effect for merchandise displays: the
colored halo effect.
For many people shopping is one of their favorite leisure activities.
People shop for fun, to feel good about themselves, to take their
mind off things or just because they need to replace a product.
During shopping, experiences play an important role. There are
many different aspects that can influence the way shoppers perceive
and experience a shop environment and its products. A positive
experience in a shop can make shoppers buy more and return to
the shop regularly.There are many enablers for creating a specific
shopping experience that shoppers will perceive as positive.
One of these enablers can be the shop lighting. Lighting in shops
is generally used in its functional role, i.e. to illuminate the shop
and the products inside it. However, lighting is increasingly being
used to create an emotional effect. This can be achieved by using
combinations of different lighting parameters such as color,
intensity, color temperature and beam divergence. Lighting can
be used to change the total look and feel of the shop and can
therefore enable the retailer to create the desired atmosphere and
shopping experience for his customers. If used properly in the shop
environment, colored lighting could create such an experience. The
use of color and dynamics in shops attracts shoppers’ attention.
However, neither retailers nor shoppers like it when colored light is
used to illuminate products. Colored light can have an adverse effect
on the color rendering of the merchandise and may make shoppers
unsure of the real color of the product. Furthermore, retailers
do not want to distract shoppers from browsing and buying the
products. However, both shoppers and retailers are interested in
a memorable shopping experience. Philips Lighting is therefore
working on a new lighting concept that combines both of these
roles – the functional and the emotional. This concept uses light
with good color rendering properties to illuminate the merchandise,
and colored RGB LED light for the surroundings to enhance the
presentation of the merchandise. Using expertise from GOAL, we
evaluated the halo concept with retailers in the fashion segment
as well as with shoppers. A possible design for this halo concept is
explored by the Atmosphere-providing Luminaires project (Philips
Research) in the form of an elegant flat transparent luminaire.
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IILA – Intuitive Interaction for
Lighting Atmospheres
Richard van de Sluis, Tom Bergman, Peter van den Biggelaar, Jettie Hoonhout Philips Research
The IILA project aims to define new user interaction solutions
for lighting atmospheres in the retail domain. These solutions
will also help to realize the aim of Philips Lighting’s AmbiScene
concept by helping retailers to flexibly change atmospheres and
to create inspiring and meaningful shopping experiences.
shop more often so the shop remains attractive and refreshing
and to create a sense that there is always something new. The IILA
project investigates ways to change the lighting atmosphere in an
easy and enjoyable way but also explores what type of interactive
lighting would be valuable for both the retailer and the shopper.
For many people, shopping is an enjoyable leisure activity,
a journey of discovery and experience that fulfils a need in itself.
Since many shoppers often navigate in a less structured way,
they will be attracted by appealing product presentations and
nice environments and will stay longer in atmospheres that
induce pleasure and excitement. Pleasing atmospheres are also
known to have a positive effect on a person’s mood, which in
turn makes them view the products they see in the store in a
more positive way.
Product collections in shops are being refreshed at an increasing
rate, especially in fashion. Fashion retailers want to be able to
present frequent shoppers with new products every time they
visit the store. To highlight these frequently updated collections,
retailers also want to update the interior and atmosphere in the
Concepts
Based on knowledge of the trends and needs in the retail
domain, a large pool of concepts was created, which were then
evaluated with shoppers, shop owners and other stakeholders.
This led to a number of concepts being selected, which were
developed into operational concept demonstrators and have
been integrated into ShopLab.
The color-control concepts that have been realized are:
• ColorWheel: a touch wheel that enables simple navigation
around a color circle.
• ColorSensor: a sensor that allows a user to hold an object of
the desired color in front of a sensor.
• LightWand: a color-sensor-based scanning and pointing device
that enables the user to ‘paint with light’.
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The interactive shop lighting concepts that are being explored
in the project are:
• Interactive Clothing Rack: a rail with integrated lighting that allows
proper illumination of the garments in the rack so as to attract
the attention of shoppers from a distance and in a subtle way.
• Smart Color Cube: a display cube with integrated color lighting
and a camera that can automatically adapt the inside color of the
cube to suit the colors of the product on display.
• Reactive Spotlights: spots to illuminate products in the store that
can subtly change in beam width when a shopper approaches.
Evaluation of the concept demonstrators
In cooperation with the Marketing and Sales experts at Philips
Lighting, sessions were organized in which prominent fashion
retailers from the mid and higher segments were invited to
ShopLab in order for us to aquire feedback on all ShopLab
concepts. Separately from this, user studies were organized in which
frequent fashion shoppers were confronted with these innovations.
Based on the feedback from these two important groups of
stakeholders, concept demonstrators are continuously being
further refined and improved. For the winning concepts, we will
explore the possibilities of turning these innovations into business
opportunities.
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The DreamScreen Intelligent
Shop Window project
Evert van Loenen, Tatiana Lashina, Mark van Doorn, Angelique Kessels, Vic Teeven,
Werner de Bruin, Rick van Haasen, Lars Kaijser Philips Research
The Intelligent Shop Window (ISW) is one of the key concepts
that is being explored in the DreamScreen project. This project
aims to create attractive experiences by augmenting or replacing
the view through what are otherwise transparent windows. Its
goal is to find out as early as possible what value propositions
can be created based on end-user insights in order to define the
necessary technological requirements and, eventually, to create
complete, easily programmable prototype systems, including
appropriate interaction solutions.
The Intelligent Shop Window provides shop owners and visual
merchandisers with powerful new tools to express their brand
in order to attract and inspire target customers, to dynamically
adapt the shop appearance, and to offer after-hours shopping
options. It is in the interests of shoppers to be better informed
about the products available and this also enables them to
explore the range and even reserve or buy products when the
shop is closed.
To be able to evaluate the feasibility, usability and end-user
appreciation of different ISW application and interaction
options, a fully functional test setup was developed and
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integrated in ShopLab. Here different options, such as explicit,
implicit or combined interaction solutions, can be compared
side-by-side.
The DreamScreen-ISW focuses on simplicity: it is easy to
experience for shoppers, and easy to create for shop owners.
Shoppers can obtain information about the items on display in
the shop window just by looking or pointing at them. They can
also find information about all the products the shop has to
offer by using the window as a touch-screen display. All content
appears transparently on the windows without blocking the view
of the actual products. Information can be targeted at individual
shoppers by means of a localized audio system. The Intelligent
Shop Window is aware of the presence of people nearby and
can adapt its behavior accordingly. For example, when people are
further away from the shop the full shop front is used to express
the identity and style of the shop in an elegant way. Another
option, to be shown for the first time during CRE2007, is to
change the entire shop front into an interactive digital painting.
This Protoquadro, which is being developed in co-operation with
the video artists F. Bonelli and M. Martinucci of Submultimedia,
has the property of continuously changing itself in such a way,
that every instance in time is unique and never repeated.
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End-user programming
One of the user insights obtained from evaluation of the ISW
demonstrator with retailers is that customization is very
important. To differentiate from the competition and respond
to changes in the market, shop owners want to be able to
personalize the look and feel of the shop window to suit their
brand. This means it should be easy for shop owners to change
not only the content on the ISW but also the total experience,
i.e. the way in which the shop window interacts with users. To
accommodate this variety, the underlying system architecture
must allow easy programming by end users. To this end, we are
developing an Ambient Narrative Engine that uses context data
and explicit user feedback to sequence small, modular ambient
experience fragments to form a coherent story that people
perceive as ambient intelligent behavior. End users, such as shop
designers and visual merchandisers, can write their own ambient
experience fragments using a simple authoring tool and can then
add these scenes at any time to the existing set of scenes to
change the run-time behavior of the system.
To communicate the style of the Intelligent Shop Window before it
is actually built and to test the ISW under varying conditions, we are
developing an Ambient Narrative Simulator as part of the end-user
programming solution. This simulator consists of an interactive 3D
virtual environment where designers can gain a realistic impression
of the final experience before actually rendering it in real space. The
simulator uses the same underlying engine and abstractions as the
real system but uses virtual sensing and rendering devices instead.
This enables us to work on improving the underlying models and
algorithms without having access to the complete working system.
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LightMan: Easy creation of appealing
light effects and atmospheres from
abstract descriptions
Jan Nesvadba, Rainer Assent, Salvador Boleko, Reinhold Elferich, Dirk Engelen,
Bozena •z Erdmann, Robert van Herk, Armand Lelkens, Arjen van der Linden, Iustina Mezei,
Harald Radermacher, Oliver Schreyer, Matthias Wendt Philips Research
Evolutionary changes in the lifestyle, desires and demands of
societies throughout the world call for technologies that supply
the market with adequate, sensible, simple and experienceenhancing
solutions that satisfy people’s needs and preferences.
These solutions are ubiquitously applicable, spanning not only an
individual’s private surroundings, leisure- and shopping areas, but
also public areas and spaces.
Atmospheric ambient lighting serves these needs perfectly
because it enhances an individual’s experiences and appreciation
by means of pleasant and situation-appropriate lighting
atmospheres and effects. Such lighting solutions may include not
just vivid dynamic color effects that are rendered harmoniously
according to the lighting setup, but also automatically selected
experience-enhancing effects and atmospheres that respond
to an individual’s actions and interactions. In addition, such
solutions make it possible to cover distributed locations with
uniform lighting to communicate a sense of community or
corporate identity.
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In the retail market, for example, frequent interior
refurbishments are required to ensure that a shop retains its
appeal and remains attractive. Nowadays, such refurbishments
include repainting the interior, making adjustments and new
additions to the lighting infrastructure. This results in costly
downtime for the shop.
LightMan tackled this issue and elaborated a transparent and
flexible lighting management system that hides from view the
complexity of the system setup and maintenance (a variety of
heterogeneous lighting modules with a range of diverse lamp
capabilities, connected actuators, sensors, etc.). The solution
includes robust communication protocols across wired and
wireless (e.g. DMX or ZigBee, respectively) lighting management
networks, appropriate representation of distributed ubiquitous
light sources by their physical capabilities, and automatic
rendering of static and dynamic effects. The desired atmospheres
are derived from an abstract description of the light scenes,
which are currently designed by professional atmosphere
designers for chains of shops. The abstract description is then
converted into specific lamp module control values for the
various shops and these are then managed by the system.
Furthermore, tailor-made solutions are foreseen, which will allow
even ordinary consumers to enjoy colored lighting systems.
LightMan’s ShopLab demo includes the automatic and simple
creation of atmospheres that respond to user interaction,
changes in the shop layout (rearrangement of objects) and
changes in the semantics of areas.
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