Advancements in RFID, healthcare part of the wireless future: PwC’s Jacobson

It’s natural near the end of the year to wonder what the future will bring. So it was fitting that before the holidays arrive David Jacobson, director of technology in the advisory services practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, addressed the Ottawa Wireless Cluster with his view of emerging technologies over the next seven years. In a little over an hour he touched on semiconductors, fibre-to-the-home, security, participative society, nanotechnologies and, of course, wireless. "While we move into the future we’ll be treated to a variety of wireless technologies," said Jacobson. "Cell phones that have the ability not only to switch frequency bands, but to switch from technology network to technology network, depending on which is the most appropriate." Certainly, while some advances will focus on practicality, others will be more frivolous. Jacobson talked about a multimedia cell phone from LG Electronics that operates as a television as well as a personal video recorder. So if you get a call while you’re watching a TV show on your phone, you can go back to your show without having missed anything when the call is over. As well, Jacobson said a combination of silicon mirrors, carbon fibres and lasers will allow for dime-sized, high-resolution projectors that could cast a metre-wide image on a surface half a metre away to be built into cell phones within the next seven years. "We’re seeing a lot of the features that we’ve been used to having in the home actually coming into the hand," he said. "You couldn’t throw your arms around the TV set, but you can cradle this thing which is now becoming part of your way of interacting with the world." Advances in RFID are also coming down the pike, but cost has been a limiting factor in greater usage. But Jacobson said organic thin film transistors can be made using common printing technology. Regular inkjet printers can layer polymer inks to build up the semiconductor, conductor and insulator that comprise a transistor and since they can be printed by the roll, the cost is much less than that of silicon chips. Jacobson gave the example of having RFID chips printed on something as trivial as a pound of butter, to identify when it was made and what temperature it’s been stored at. Of course, the possibilities of this type of technology are endless. Before wrapping up, Jacobson noted that "these types of presentations really wouldn’t be complete without the mention of digital hospitals and healthcare." Wireless technology has infinite applications, from tablet PCs and multimedia cell phones to mobile CT scanners for off-site examinations and diagnosis. RFID can also reduce "transfusion confusion" by tagging patients and blood. And then there’s the SmartPill, an ingestible wireless capsule that measures pressure, temperature and pH level data from inside a patient and reports it in real time. This, like many of the technologies that Jacobson mentioned, is already available. Of course, predicting the future accurately can be tricky business. "One way that I’ve found really very useful is to look at what’s happening now and see if there are any underlying platform technologies and trends which are likely to have a big impact as they evolve," said Jacobson. "In other words, the seeds of the future are actually in the present." So take a quick look at 2006 before its over and maybe you’ll get an idea of what we’ll see in 2007, and beyond.

Advancements in RFID, healthcare part of the wireless future: PwC’s Jacobson

News | December 14, 2006

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