- Tampere seizes creative economy

The games industry, open source and ambient
intelligence all share the concept of creative
technology. Tampere therefore already
has a strong grip on creative technologies that
unlock future possibilities. But what does creative
technology actually mean?
According to Ilkka Kaakkolammi from
Technology Centre Hermia Ltd, any technology
that combines elements in a new and creative
manner can in principle be defi ned as a creative
technology. In the ICT sector – most of all – creative
technologies and their applications are humanoriented
as opposed to traditional development that
has advanced in a more technology-pulled manner.
Kaakkolammi directs both the Tampere Region
Centre of Expertise Programme for Information and
Communication Technology and Neogames.
“The essential issue is how a technology serves
its user and how applications of a technology ease
people’s daily lives at home and in their place of
work. When services and applications are expressly
the driving forces, one abandons both technology
push and thinking based on strict industrial
boundaries,” Kaakkolammi says.
The upshot is that the development of creative
technologies doesn’t concern the ICT sector alone;
it helps build a competitive advantage extensively in
many industries and in the entire urban region.
“A creative application of technologies sets
demands on the operating environment. Tampere
is an expanding city that continuously attracts new
residents and hosts an extensive range of education
and research, from technology to humanistic studies
and the School of Art and Media. In addition,
the city’s versatile business structure facilitates the
exposure of new areas of application. This is where
Tampere’s great opportunity lays.”
Gameliness opens interaction
Neogames has operated in Tampere for two years.
It has brought together stakeholders from the
Finnish games industry as well as from the media,
content and technology industries. It has created
both strong games industry expertise and a broader
understanding of gameliness.
“When speaking of creative technologies, I
particularly emphasize the importance of gameliness
as it also expands game features such as playability
and use based on trial and error outside the actual
games industry. In the interaction between a user and
a technology, gameliness enables ways of action that
humans fi nd natural,” Ilkka Kaakkolammi says.
Possible areas of application range from digital
media to industrial automation. Usability and
communication on human terms are also in a key
position in the research of ambient intelligence and
ubiquitous technology. According to Kaakkolammi,
usability expertise at the University of Tampere and
the electronics research at Tampere University of
Technology, for example, form a good foundation for
the ambient intelligence development centre, which
will launch its activities in the beginning of next
year.
“Today our environment is full of technology
whose use we have to manage because technology
doesn’t do anything by itself. By defi nition,
ubiquitous technology is unnoticeable: humans can
communicate with devices by means of speech for
example, without awkward keyboards or monitors.
With ambient intelligence, devices are also able to
adapt to their environment and can partially operate
themselves.”
In practice, an application of ambient
intelligence may mean an intelligent and remotely
controlled home or offi ce environment, a smart
garment that monitors and reacts to human body
functions, a guide that is conscious of location or a
product that can tell a consumer about itself from
the retail shelf.
“Creative solutions like these make it possible
for a human to have genuine interaction with
technology without having to concentrate on the use
of devices and the management of technology. As
such, a service produced by a technology need not
be complicated as long as it genuinely reaches the
citizen,” Kaakkolammi says.
Global creativity in reach of Tampere residents
Finding and creating possibilities for creative
applications requires a new way of thinking from
companies, too. Globally and openly operating
developer communities are an excellent example
of a new kind of creative operation. Communities
that break company and industry as well as state
boundaries are richer than traditional closed
innovation teams.
“A unique innovation model and way of
operation has evolved around open source.
This model can also be utilized outside software
production in content production, for example.
Open source applications could, for instance,
promote the proliferation of ambient intelligence
solutions by bringing them within reach of everyone
in an equal and easy manner,” says Director of COSS
Petri Räsänen from Technology Centre Hermia Ltd.
COSS is currently establishing its activities
in Tampere. According to Räsänen, COSS has
succeeded in creating an extensive network of
companies and research institutes which has also
led to COSS taking a distinct international role as a
promoter of the use of open source and its business
potential. There are currently several companies
offering open source services in Tampere.
“For example, in future the number of machine
and equipment manufacturers utilizing OS solutions
will increase and there will be a lot of demand
for expertise related to open source. The initial
enthusiasm created by Linux has already somewhat
settled. However, there is now an increasingly clear
awareness that business utilizing open source can be
lasting and profi table.”
Petri Räsänen points out that as new user
applications emerge, new models for OS business
will be found. Among others, a variety of application
rental services have been established in recent
years, based on the use of open source. According
to Räsänen, potential user groups could be found
particularly in government and services as well as the
SME sector.
“The task of open source, like that of other
creative technologies, is to bring the information
society seamlessly into people’s daily lives. Through
open source, for example, Tampere residents are
also able to be part of global creativity and, at
best, be visible as individuals or companies in the
international operating environment,” Räsänen
envisions.
Tampere Business • Science • Life 9