VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLANDVuorimiehentie 5, EspooP.O.Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, FinlandTel. +358 20 722 111, Fax +358 20 722 7001www.vtt.fi

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is the largest multitechnological applied research organization in Northern Europe. VTT provides high-end

technology solutions and innovation services. From its wide knowledge base, VTT can combine different technologies, create new innovations and a

substantial range of world class technologies and applied research services thus improving its clients’ competitiveness and competence. Through its

international scientifi c and technology network, VTT can produce information, upgrade technology knowledge, create business intelligence and value

added to its stakeholders. VTT is a non-profi t-making research organization.

in business and everyday life

Erw

eko O

y, 2012

Graphic design: Tuija Soininen, VTT

1

Contents

2) The next ICT disruption

4) New business from ubiquitous technologies

5) Emphasis on customer focus through business model

6) Smartness

12) Interaction

18) Interoperability

2

The next ICT disruption

The next ICT disruption occurs as physical and digi-

tal worlds become bridged by sensors, actuators,

and ambient intelligence. This trend is described by

terms such as ‘ubiquitous computing’, ‘pervasive

computing’, ‘calm technology’, and ‘ambient intelligence’.

No matter the term we use, the impacts are great and can

justifi ably be compared with such technological revolutions

as the introduction of the telephone or the Internet. For only

a few examples, think about intelligent traffi c systems guiding

drivers to less congested roads, the location-based services

that grew in only a few years from research prototypes into

an everyday commodity, contactless technology for easy

payment, or the mixed-reality type of user interfaces now

seen in some games.

To seize the opportunity of ICT disruption, VTT launched the

Open Smart Spaces (OPENS) spearhead programme in

2009. The four-year programme directed and co-ordinated

VTT’s activities in the fi eld. It comprised a portfolio of research

projects – implemented with European and Finnish compa-

nies and research partners with the support of Tekes and the

EU – as well as contract projects for companies and VTT-

funded ‘mini-projects’ aimed at creating demonstrations and

inventions that can help our customers and spin-offs. The

volume of the OPENS programme will total approx. 300 per-

son-years.

VTT develops solutions for interoperability, intelligent devices,

and services, as well as human/technology interaction in

‘smart spaces’. These are essential building blocks for ubiq-

uitous computing.

Interoperability means sharing information between devices

and services residing in the same space, which will lead to

synergy benefi ts and new business opportunities. VTT ,

together with partners, has developed the interoperability

platform M3 for this purpose. M3 makes it possible to build

new mash-up applications in smart spaces on top of existing

devices and services.

Smart devices and services are aware of the user’s location,

situation, and context, which will improve user experience

and work processes’ effi ciency, also cutting costs. VTT has

developed a state-of-the-art activity recognition software

library for portable and resource-limited devices. The activity-

recognition library is capable of, for example, enabling a

device to know whether the user is resting, sitting, walking,

or travelling by car or bus. This information is needed for

context-aware services or mobile advertising.

New methods of interaction, particularly mixed-reality as well

as contactless services utilising smartcards and mobile

devices, will take user experience to a new level. VTT has

world-class technology for implementing augmented- and

mixed-reality applications. Recent technology development,

including 3D cameras, opens exciting new possibilities for

gesture based user interaction and other applications. VTT

has grasped these possibilities.

Heikki Ailisto

Research Professor, Programme Manager

The ICT disruption is just starting to be visible in our everyday

lives. ‘Internet of Things’ is a term that describes the future

well: ICT will be everywhere.

Embrace the future with VTT.

3

4

New business from ubiquitous technologies

When we started our programme back in 2009,

we decided to create new business from

ubiquitous technologies not only for VTT but

for our customers as well. Today our custom-

ers use VTT’s solutions in their products and services. For

example, Finnish company VividWorks uses VTT’s aug-

mented-reality solution, which helps VividWorks’ customers

to see with ease how specifi c items of new furniture would

fi t their living rooms. Another very visible result of the pro-

gramme has been Nokia Battery Monitor, which has been

downloaded fi ve million times in all. With this application,

users have a clear view of which applications use the bat-

tery most and can also share their data with other users.

More examples of our collaboration with customers are

found on the following pages.

New business was built also by spin-offs that the pro-

gramme was able to assist in their launch stage. These were

built on new technologies developed by VTT. Adfore pro-

vides both mobile and laptop users with information about

local sales, opening hours, and traffi c conditions by using

context information. With a Hookie Technologies mobile-

phone client, an end user’s activities can be followed

throughout the day. The information can be used for well-

ness purposes as well as for games. A third spin-off, called

6Starz, makes it possible to share details with new friends

by touching one mobile phone with another or to perform

check-in at various types of locations more accurately than

earlier.

One might ask how we were able to close the gap between

research and commercial exploitation, which have very dif-

ferent maturity levels. This clear challenge had to be tackled

through, fi rst, identifi cation of potential topics and, then,

creation of an offering that provides added value for our

clients. Fortunately, we chose augmented reality and con-

text awareness from among existing competencies for our

main topics; both of these started to climb the hype curve

as the programme progressed.

Through a thousand customer meetings over the years, our

personnel learned about the customer needs. For these, we

were able to fund internal development projects (mini-pro-

jects) to establish concrete competencies and offerings. We

also established closer co-operation with specifi c custom-

ers. For example, our work with ST-Ericsson in the area of

wireless charging has proved to be very fruitful for both par-

ties. Within the programme, we also have increased inter-

national sales in Japan and Germany through co-operation

with Toyota, NSN, and Siemens.

Marko Jurvansuu

Key Account Manager

5

Emphasis on customer focus through business model

OPENS was the fi rst large-scale VTT research

programme that was planned and managed

from the outset on the basis of a business-

model approach. At their core, business mod-

els address this question: How can we effectively and sus-

tainably create and deliver value for our customers? From a

research programme perspective, this means that by adopt-

ing a business model approach we are emphasising the cus-

tomer viewpoint in confi guring research strategy, in carrying

out research projects, and in fi nding the most effi cient ways

to deliver the research results to our stakeholders.

In addition to being the fundamental question for all busi-

nesses, the challenge of value creation and delivery also

resonates with VTT’s overall mission, which is to produce

research services that enhance the international competitive-

ness of companies, society, and other customers in crucial

stages of their innovation processes.

In the OPENS programme, business-model thinking was

applied not only on the programme level but at project level

as well. This meant that already in the planning stages of

individual research projects, the key business-model issues

had to be tackled: How can we create value? Who are our

customers? What is our value proposition and offering?

The benefi t of business-model thinking is that it forced us to

take a holistic view with respect to the technologies and mar-

kets. Smart-space solutions are created in value creation

networks, or ecosystems. Understanding the roles of the

various value-network companies enabled us to gain better

understanding of the technology- and business-related chal-

lenges these companies face in both the short and long term.

One might consider, for example, the activity-recognition

solution for mobile devices that was developed in OPENS.

From the perspective of a mobile-marketing ecosystem, it

provides the essential element – the context knowledge – for

effi cient marketing communication.

Finding means to deliver value effi ciently – i.e., effi cient ways

to transfer our research results to our customers – was con-

stantly given attention in the OPENS programme. A pro-

gramme-specifi c IPR team was established with a special

focus on IPR generation and utilisation. Active and close col-

laboration with VTT’s Business Intelligence, Business Solu-

tions, and Business Development units enabled better ‘pro-

ductisation’ of our research results. Direct-sales activities and

close customer contacts too were stressed throughout the

programme.

Timo Koivumäki

Research Professor

6

Smartness

‘Smartness’ is a term that is often used quite liberally to

describe automatic or intelligent behaviour of a digital

device, system, or service seen as useful by the user. The

most common use of the concept is in the term ‘smart-

phone’. Smartness, or being truly useful and pleasant for

the user, is not an easy thing to achieve. It is based on

complex algorithms and data. The data are needed by

learning methods that involve modifying the behaviour of

the system and also during the execution of the smart

algorithm, to make the choices presented useful. Acquir-

ing data during use often requires sensors embedded in

the device or the user’s environment and sensor-data

processing algorithms.

VTT’s special competence is in design and implementa-

tion of smart algorithms for resource-limited devices with

limited battery capacity, processing power, or memory

space. These devices are typically portable or wearable.

Examples can be cited of smart solutions related to

energy usage optimisation for mobile phones as well as

methods of recognising the user’s context. Both rely on

the same competence in designing algorithms for

resource-limited devices. We also present an example

case of smart technology used to support elderly people

in living at home, based on our competence in sensor-

data analysis.

Lightweight distributed data processing and decision-making methods for small mobile embedded devices

Customers: Nokia, Suunto, Polar, VTI (Murata)

Challenge: There exist more and more interconnected

embedded devices with quite limited computational, mem-

ory, and energy resources. Also there is a need for effi cient

data processing in such devices. One example is distributed

decision-making among several smartphones in view of the

current context.

Solution: Working with several industrial partners, VTT has

developed effi cient data processing and decision-making

methods for small embedded devices. The methods are

highly optimised and enable very lean resource consumption

by the target devices. The methods have been effi ciently

applied to automatic recognition of human physical activity.

Benefi ts:

• Low consumption of computational, space, and energy

resources

• High performance

• Enabling of novel kinds of services – e.g., for mobile

phones

A versatile tool for mobile phones’ energy consumption tracking and management

Customer: Nokia

Challenge: Modern smartphones use a lot of energy. They

have large, energy-hungry screens and many applications,

which differ in their energy consumption. For a mobile-phone

user, the energy consumption leads to several questions:

How long will the battery last with the user’s normal usage

habits? How much energy does a new downloaded applica-

tion use? What is the condition of the battery pack? How can

the user control the energy use of the phone?

Solution: VTT has developed, in collaboration with Nokia, a

versatile tool for a mobile phone’s energy consumption track-

ing and management. It is able to detect the normal applica-

tion usage patterns of a mobile-phone user and the energy

consumption of the applications running on the phone. It also

models the characteristics of the battery pack. In addition, it

allows the user to control when to switch the phone over to

power-save mode.

Benefi ts:

• Ability to estimate the energy consumption of mobile-

phone applications

• Accurate and adaptive battery models

• Ability to estimate the actual remaining usage time of the

phone

7

Automatic detection of context transition of a mobile-phone user

Customer: Adfore

Challenge: Often it is more important to detect when the

context of a mobile-phone user changes than to detect the

actual context. For example, the right point for direct market-

ing might be when a person leaves the workplace, directing

the user to a shop. It is possible to track the mobile-phone

user context all the time, but this would consume too much

energy. In addition, the change in context should be detected

almost immediately.

Solution: VTT has developed a method that estimates

potential time instances in which the context is about to

change. The context-change detection is activated only near

to the potential change time, which leads to signifi cant energy

savings. Currently, the method is applied to the mobile-phone

user’s location only, but it is applicable also to other context

types.

Benefi ts:

• Fast and accurate detection of context transition

• Low energy consumption

• Enabler of a very broad range of mobile services in, for

example, the marketing and security domains

8

User verifi cation with mobile-phone motion sensors

Challenge: A mobile phone is a personal device that often

contains sensitive or even confi dential information. The phone

and the information contained on it could become lost or

stolen. The phone cannot verify whether it is being used by

its legitimate user.

Solution: VTT’s walking-pattern detection system GAIT can

be used as a biometric identifi er. Motion sensors embedded

in a mobile phone can be used to obtain the gait pattern and

thus verify the user.

Benefi ts:

• Ability to protect the confi dential material stored on the

phone against theft

• Extension of user identifi cation to embedded devices

Example use case: The mobile phone PIN code is not used

when the mobile phone detects that it is being carried by its

rightful owner. When the mobile phone is stolen, it locks itself

with the PIN.

User identifi cation with a car key

Customer: Toyota ITC

Challenge: A vehicle can be stolen with a stolen key. The car

should be usable only by authorised persons. In addition, the

same key can be used by several family members, who may

well have different personal preferences for the car. The car

also does not know the context linked to a driver.

Solution: VTT developed an algorithm that identifi es a driver

by his or her walking style. The algorithm uses the data from

accelerometers in a car key, and comparison is made

between the walking style of the current key-holder and the

database of authorised users. The car can personalise the

seat and mirror positions in advance to match driver prefer-

ences.

Benefi ts:

• Improved safety

• No need for additional hardware

• Lightweight implementation

Remote detection of the situation/context of persons or vehicles

Challenge: It is diffi cult to know the context of a person or

object remotely. Usually, no real-time information is available

on the safety of a person who is working alone in a dangerous

environment or to verify proper handling of expensive equip-

ment. Current mobile-phone and other device solutions pro-

vide only raw data, but they do not offer context recognition.

Solution: VTT offers an intelligent context recognition solu-

tion that includes both a hardware platform and software.

Activity-recognition algorithms detect whether a person is

running, falling, still, or performing other activities.

Benefi ts:

• A small embedded device that has both context recog-

nition and communication capabilities

• A unit that can be carried by a person or embedded in

a vehicle

• The possibility of small-scale production: VTT manufac-

tures the device and tailors the software to customer

needs

Example use case: A security guard catches a thief by run-

ning and has to use physical force to hold down the suspect.

VTT hardware in the guard’s belt informs the operation centre

about this dramatic change in context. More units are sent to

the site.

9

A dynamic indoor positioning solution

Challenge: Indoor positioning based on location fi ngerprint-

ing (e.g., WiFi RSSI, digital images, or magnetic anomalies)

requires a burdensome set-up phase. If the environment

changes, the map has to be revised.

Solution: The reference fi ngerprint database is collected by

means of autonomously operating mobile robots or other

moving vehicles, such as trucks and forklifts. A vehicle

equipped with VTT’s solution performs simultaneous localisa-

tion and mapping, and it thus builds a 2D/3D map of the

environment.

Benefi ts:

• Enabling of mobile positioning and 3D reconstruction of

indoor spaces

• Provision of added value for domestic robot manufactur-

ers

• A highly modular platform that utilises state-of-the-art

building blocks from Open Source libraries and inter-

faces

Example use case: In a large logistics centre, automated

trucks identify their position but also simultaneously detect

how their surroundings are changing and create a dynamic

map.

Automatic CO2 footprint calculation

Customer: Nokia Research Centre

Challenge: Consumer decisions will be heavily dependent on

green values in the near future. Green values will become a

major component of company information, leading to an

overfl ow of green information. Therefore, a need exists for

automatic means to simplify and synthesise the information.

Solution: Jointly with Nokia Research Centre, VTT has devel-

oped a mobile-phone application that can recognise trips

made by a mobile-phone user automatically. The applica-

tion also detects several modes of travel, such as private

car and train, automatically and is able to estimate the

CO2 emissions of the user on the basis of this informa-

tion. The application also connects to an external ser-

vice and is able to fetch information on the CO2

emissions for each means of travel automatically,

in several countries.

Benefi ts:

• Rich and accurate information on the

CO2 emissions caused by travelling

• No need to remember the timing and

length of the trips

• Enabling of novel services, such as

company-level CO2 emission tracking.

10

ShoppingMate – a location- and context-aware service assisting consumers during their shopping

Customer: Fonella

Challenge: There is a need for a shopping system that com-

bines the advantages of traditional shopping and e-shopping

so as to help consumers fi nd what they need and to save

time. The challenge is to develop a system that is accessible

at any time from any place, and that is easy to use even for

computer novices, and to ensure a high level of security and

privacy management. In addition, it should enable shop-own-

ers to differentiate their products from competitors’.

Solution: VTT, together with partners, developed an innova-

tive digital system that transforms mobile phones into highly

interactive personal shopping assistants. The outcome is a

terminal-independent application that combines user, prod-

uct, and service-supply profi les with location-awareness.

Benefi ts:

A solution that is profi table for all payers involved –

• Service providers, as a result of extensive usage and

appropriate revenue models

• Consumers, who will enjoy better value for money

• Shop-owners, who will gain from an increase in sales

A wireless network for real-time work-site management

Customer: Lemminkäinen Infra

Challenge: On a road construction site, real-time status and

progress information should be made available so that the

process can be optimised and the work plans updated in line

with the actual status. This means collecting process data

wirelessly from work machines and work-site locations, then

integrating these different data sources with each other for an

up-to-date view of the process’s state.

Solution: VTT implemented a wireless work-site network for

mobile work machines on a road pavement site. It enables

collection of process and sensor information, along with

analysis of the data collected. This real-time status informa-

tion is used mainly for managing and constantly optimising

the work process. It can also be transferred to remote stor-

age for quality assurance purposes.

Benefi ts:

• Real-time process optimisation

• Work plans that are updated on the basis of actual sta-

tus

• Higher quality in road construction

11

Human posture- and activity-monitoring in furniture via low-cost wireless sensors

Customers or industrial partners: Caritas-Säätiö, KPO,

Temelex Oy, Vivago Oy (Suomi-Soffa SSF Oy)

Challenge: Recognition of human posture and activity is use-

ful in making the life of the elderly living at home safer. The

challenge is to recognise posture and activity by non-invasive

means.

Solution: We approach furniture-occupancy and human-

behaviour monitoring from the angle of minimally intrusive

sensors. The motivation is in tracking behaviour and detect-

ing abnormal living patterns among elderly people living at

home. We use capacitative proximity sensors for this; we

have developed very low-cost sensors, with wireless sensor

network technologies, and have also built posture and activ-

ity classifi ers upon that development.

Benefi ts:

• Low-cost instrumentation of furniture involving capacita-

tive sensors

• Robust monitors for tracking of the posture and state of

activity of the furniture-users

• Ease of integration with other systems

12

Interaction

As the world around us becomes populated with more

and more devices and things-cum-computers, it

becomes crucial that we be able to interact with them in

ways that do not overburden us. VTT has addressed this

issue by developing means of natural interaction.

Our efforts have led to an augmented- and mixed-reality

technology platform that is used for fast and effi cient

development of natural user interfaces and new ways of

using computers to visualise the future – e.g., in interior

design or building simulation in real-world settings. This

platform employs a world-class 3D tracking method and

software library for augmented- and mixed-reality apps

(ALVAR).

Natural interaction in combination with social media is at

the focus of the 6Starz concept, driven by a start-up

company building on Near Field Communication (NFC)

technology and VTT’s research results. The next few

pages will give the reader a glimpse of technology and

application emphasising the importance of natural inter-

action.

Augmented-reality software

Challenge: Augmented-reality (AR) applications require real-

time video-tracking algorithms that identify features in the

picture. There is little support for cross-platform augmented-

reality application developers. End users have a large variety

of devices and platforms, which require diverse AR solutions.

Solution: VTT has developed the ALVAR (A Library for Virtual

and Augmented Reality) software. Possible platforms are

Windows, Linux (including Android and Maemo), Flash, Sil-

verlight, iPhone/iPad systems, and Symbian.

Benefi ts:

• World-class video feature tracking technology that is

made available for customers

• Multi-platform nature

• An Open Source solution

• Availability of various development tools

Example use case: When a family eat breakfast, the children

use a mobile phone to see an augmented cartoon character

on the cereal package. They also participate in a daily story

game, with new content presented every morning.

Augmented-reality interior design

Customer: VividWorks Ltd.

Challenge: It is always diffi cult to judge how a new piece of

furniture seen in a shop would fi t with existing home interiors.

Previously, 3D technology enabled virtual furnishing only in

artifi cial environments. The challenge has been to develop

augmented-reality furnishing technology that would seam-

lessly integrate virtual furniture into real living environments.

Solution: VividWorks developed their new product line Viv-

idAR on the basis of VTT’s augmented-reality tracking tech-

nology (from the ALVAR SDK). The solution is tightly inte-

grated with the existing VividWorks’ product line, offering all

the functionality for such uses as selecting colours and mate-

rials, or building modular furniture – now all augmented in

photos taken of the consumer’s home. VividAR can be down-

loaded from various Finnish as well as foreign furniture manu-

facturers’ and resellers’ Web sites.

Benefi ts:

• A new, unique product line for VividWorks

• A spearhead for the company’s international marketing

and growth

• A new marketing and sales tool for furniture-manufac-

turers and resellers

• Improved ways for consumers to evaluate furniture and

make purchase decisions

13Source: VividWorks Ltd.

14

Augmented-reality solutions for data glasses

Customers: Vuzix Corp. (the world’s leading data-glass man-

ufacturer)

Challenge: Vuzix manufacture data glasses specifi cally tar-

geted at augmented-reality applications. In addition to view-

ing, they wanted to provide tools for creating and testing 3D

content for the AR applications. Typically, the content is pro-

duced with 3D design tools, such as Autodesk 3ds Max.

However, it is not possible to test the 3D models easily with

an AR application at design time.

Solution: Vuzix developed maxReality, an add-on tool for 3ds

Max. It takes the newly created 3D model, adapts it to max-

Reality Viewer, and allows the designer to test the AR experi-

ence within 3ds Max and by using the Vuzix data glasses.

The maxReality Viewer system is based on VTT’s ALVAR

technology.

Benefi ts:

• A faster, more effi cient, and dramatically easier 3D con-

tent design process for AR applications

• A larger user base for data glasses from among profes-

sional content designers and their customers

• A new business area and revenue stream for the com-

pany

Enhancement of reader experience through augmented-reality

Customers: Aller Media, DNV, Futurecode

Challenge: How can one enable digital content to be effi -

ciently linked with print media?

Solution: Augmented-reality is a technique of superimposing

virtual objects on the user’s view of the real world, providing

a novel visualisation technology for a wide range of applica-

tions. An augmented-reality application distributed with the

Dibidogs children’s book and with two magazines makes the

main characters of the television series seem to pop out of

the pages and have engaging interaction with the reader.

Besides PC and browser platforms, VTT’s technology is avail-

able for all major mobile platforms – namely, Android, iPhone,

and Nokia systems.

Benefi ts:

• Ready-to-be-applied technology and easy solution

development

• Novel and interesting combination of print media and

digital content

• Creation of engaging interaction with users and effi cient

capture of their attention

• An enhanced reading experience, which provides better

insight into the message the text is conveying

15

A depth camera enabling new kinds of interaction with gestures

Challenge: Our environment does not support smooth and

intuitive interaction with devices and objects via gesture-

based interaction. For interaction involving gestures, develop-

ment of video content analysis using traditional 2D cameras

faces very diffi cult problems (e.g., changes in scene illumina-

tion, object recognition, object connectivity, and pose estima-

tion).

Solution: Most of these issues can be conveniently resolved

by means of 3D sensors. The price of depth sensors has

dropped dramatically in recent years. VTT offers a software

platform for rapid development of natural/gesture-based user

interfaces and video surveillance systems.

Benefi ts:

• Fast prototyping with VTT’s expansive knowledge

• A low-cost solution

• Availability of licences

Example use case: A person sees an interesting digital sig-

nage display in a shop. He or she interacts with the display

by means of hand gestures and sees advertisements geared

to his or her gender and age.

Low-cost depth cameras in 3D human tracking and scene reconstruction

Customers: RDnet Ltd, Imagenesis Ltd

Challenge: Three-dimensional scene sensing has several

interesting applications, from human detection and tracking

to measurement of the dimensions and geometry of a space.

Obtaining 3D information in practical applications can be a

complex task.

Solution: RDnet Ltd, together with VTT, develops technology

for capturing precise 3D dimensions and geometry of free

spaces by using a mobile set of sensors.

Imagenesis Ltd is a producer of turnkey interactive spatial

experiences and content products for museums and science

centres. On the basis of the person detection and tracking

technology developed at VTT, they have included effective

real-time interaction elements in their products.

Benefi ts:

3D scenes’ reconstruction

• Low-cost off-the-shelf hardware components

• Generation of dense point clouds instead of a sparse set

of points

• The option of operation in low-light and even dark con-

ditions

• A fast and robust way of operating

Detection and tracking of people for interactive digital instal-

lations

• Multi-camera technology’s elimination of dead zones

• Non-criticality of sensor location, coupled with fast cali-

bration

• Ability to obtain better-articulated and more complex

information

16

ICT that helps to optimise parking facilities’ management

Customer: Finnpark Tekniikka

Challenge: In a typical parking facility, the monitoring covers

only the total number of vehicles in the facility, or, at most, on

every fl oor of it. Especially in large underground facilities, the

challenges are to improve such monitoring such that it has a

precision of a smaller area and to track individual vehicles.

Solution: VTT has worked with Finnpark in the development

of a new parking-facility monitoring solution, in which cam-

eras that are able to recognise vehicles’ licence plates are

installed throughout the facility, with data collected, pro-

cessed, and visualised for both the facility-operators and the

clients. The system has been developed to be installed fi rst

in Tampere’s new P-Hämppi facility, which, through this and

other ICT systems, will become the most technologically

advanced parking facility in Europe today.

Benefi ts:

• Improved monitoring of the facilities’ capacity in various

areas

• Ability to collect statistical data for optimised facility

management

• Helping the client to fi nd his or her own vehicle

• Helping the client to fi nd free parking spots

Applications for computerised living environments

Partners: VTT, Ideapark Koy, Luova Tampere, Aurinkomat-

kat, NeuroAgent, Lempäälän kehitys, Nokia Corporation, and

Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Inno-

vation.

Challenge: How do people accept and use new technolo-

gies? Are new technologies always needed?

Solutions: VTT created the IHME space: a room fi lled with

new technologies such as ‘smart boards’ and touchscreens.

This space was placed at Lempäälä Ideapark, to gather

direct user experience.

Benefi ts:

• Convenience and entertainment for the user and devel-

oper

• Fast feedback from the user

The 6Starz brand, developing a start-up business

Customer: SoLoCEM

Challenge: How can one launch a start-up business and

design a global mobile Web service product? Scarce

resources require focus on development in accordance with

business needs. A development platform related to NFC

technologies, Facebook, and service testing should be

brought into the real world.

Solution: VTT provided in-depth expertise in the selected

technical approach. Furthermore, VTT has been mapping the

technological choices in line with business development

needs. A roadmap has been created for brand-building with

a target of global customers.

Benefi ts:

• The right business and technology choices

• A roadmap for building of a global brand

• Product testing in context

17

A multi-device learning platform for schools

Customer: Schools and the public sector

Challenge: New pedagogical approaches emphasise learn-

ing by doing. Teachers need tools to control the learning pro-

cess, as well as channels to challenge students with new

assignments.

Solution: The mobile enhanced learning (MEL) platform

stretches from mobile phones to tablets and gives both stu-

dents and teachers the tools they need. The MEL facilitates

technology-based learning and helps students to express

their needs, thoughts, and experiences during learning activ-

ities in the form of user-created multimedia content, such as

images and videos.

Benefi ts:

• The MEL’s provision of a scalable learning platform for

schools and enabling of the learning process to move

outside the traditional classroom setting and into the

learners’ environment – the learning process becomes

more situated, personal, and collaborative

• That the collection of learning activities captured during

the school journey will stay in the repository, enabling a

new kind of school history for the students and their

families

18

Interoperability

We are surrounded by systems, devices, and services

that are digitally controlled. Today, these do not engage

in dialogue with each other and so cannot share or use

information that another system or device possesses.

This unfortunate situation is particularly commonplace in

offi ces, manufacturing and retail, and other such fi elds.

As digitalisation of our everyday life advances, this isola-

tion of systems becomes an even more pressing issue.

Naturally, there are efforts to address this issue via open

standards or more limited industry alliances. A few of

these efforts have borne some fruit. Interoperability

between products made by a single manufacturer is the

most easily achieved, and some major consumer elec-

tronics and appliance companies have chosen this route.

In the home automation domain, several industry alli-

ances, of which ZigBee is perhaps the most widely

known, are in competition.

VTT approaches the issue from an open system view-

point. Jointly with our European and Japanese partners,

we have studied open interoperability platforms for

smart spaces and object identifi cation (i.e., tagging). As

a result of this work, we have proposed and adopted

open technologies such as M3, NFC, and uCode.

Opening of information on embedded devices for intelligent applications in smart environments

Customers: People and society

Challenge: Our environment is full of devices and embedded

systems that include useful information and capabilities.

Developing intelligent services, homes, buildings, and cities

for us would be much easier and more cost-effective if we

could use existing infrastructure. Solutions that are simple to

integrate into existing systems and that preserve their inde-

pendence and honour their purposes are needed.

Solution: The Semantic Web principle of opening data in

understandable format was extended to the embedded sys-

tem domain. VTT has developed scalable and portable M3

solutions for information sharing for embedded systems and

mobile devices. Shared information enables the creation of

intelligent mash-up applications similar to those on the Inter-

net in the physical domain.

Benefi ts:

• A simple, portable, and scalable solution for sharing of

semantic information

• Domain-, language-, and platform-independence

• An opportunity for mash-up of information and tech-

nologies

User-centric and energy-effi cient management of indoor environment

Customer: Senaatti

Challenge: Building automation and other systems provide

a great deal of information on indoor environment. However,

only a small fraction of this information is actually utilised in

the facility management. This may lead, on one hand, to

unnecessary or incorrectly directed energy consumption and,

on the other, to an unsatisfactory indoor environment.

Solution: VTT has been involved in the development of new

means of utilising the information provided by the various sys-

tems. Our solution brings the information to the users of the

facility in real time. Furthermore, the solution provides an

opportunity for a user to give feedback on the indoor environ-

ment so that those responsible for the facilities’ maintenance

can react to possible problems effi ciently.

Benefi ts:

• Increased user satisfaction with the indoor environment

• Energy savings in adjustment of the building automation

according to real needs

• Better focusing of maintenance work

19

Opportunistic computing in smart environments

Customers: Accenture, SAE – Automation

Challenge: Communities of objects, such as refrigerators,

set-top boxes, and thermostats, with embedded sense–

compute–actuate nodes as found in homes and other build-

ings are inherently heterogeneous in their sensing, actuation,

and computing resources/capabilities. Moreover, the actual

mix of objects available in a wide variety of settings is largely

unknown at the time of development. Therefore, the main

challenge of applications is to take the best possible advan-

tage of whatever resources happen to be available at run

time.

Solution: A platform for building automation was created that

simplifi es the task of developing and deploying opportunistic

applications in heterogeneous and incompletely specifi ed

object collections.

Benefi ts:

• Easy implementation

• Flexibility of accessing resources

• Cost-effective programming of new applications

20

Situation based Adaptation of Intelligent Services in Smart Environments

Customer or industrial partners: Nokia, CRF, CCC, TEC-

NALIA, Conante

Challenge: Digital services of smart environments require

inherent intelligence. Heterogeneous systems and devices

are to be easily integrated, get sharing information and acting

together. A common understanding is required about infor-

mation, context and behaviour. End- user’s intent and situa-

tion are also to be taken into account when adapting applica-

tions to fi t to the situation at hand.

Solution: Semantic information broker service collects and

shares information from/with different devices and actuators

in understandable format for the devices. It is interoperability

over different programming languages and formats. Applica-

tion development is supported by a professional modelling

tool and end-user programming environment.

Benefi ts:

• Lower risks due to incremental development of smart-

ness into existing environments

• Improved user experience

• Effective development

• Innovative solutions for run-time information security

and performance management

• Motivating end-users to develop intelligent applications.

Remote adjustable camera

Embedded Linux computer

NFC tag trace

Wireless AP

Bridge height sensor

NFC reader Photo: Johan Moreels

21

Ubiquitous M2M service networks (UseNet)

Customers: ITEA 2 research project (industrial partners:

Polar, Ouman, Alcatel-Lucent, BULL, Fagor Electrodomesti-

cos, Foreca Consulting, Soraluce, Thales Communication &

Security)

Challenge: M2M systems have been limited to vendor- or

domain-specifi c closed systems. This has resulted in high

development costs, as solutions have had to be developed

and implemented separately for each domain or even specifi c

business case.

Solution: UseNet set out to develop ubiquitous M2M service

networks, wherein the infrastructure is able to connect and

combine services produced in different domains. Standardi-

sation played a key role in the project, which has had a major

impact on M2M standardisation internationally. The bulk of

the effort was concentrated on the M2M core architecture

through the European Telecommunications Standards Insti-

tute (ETSI).

Benefi ts:

• Wider business possibilities for companies

• Increased service quality

• Reduced costs

• Increased customer satisfaction

• Fast exploitation

Situation-based adaptation of intelligent ser-vices in smart environments

Industrial partners: Nokia, CRF (Italy), CCC (Italy), TECNA-

LIA (Spain), Conante (Netherlands)

Challenge: Digital services of smart environments require

inherent intelligence. Heterogeneous systems and devices

are to be easily integrated, start sharing information, and

begin acting together. A common understanding is required

about information, context, and behaviour. Also, end users’

intent and situation are to be taken into account in adaptation

of applications to fi t to the situation at hand.

Solution: A semantic-information brokerage service collects

and shares information from/with different devices and actua-

tors in understandable form for the devices. It is interoperable

across several programming languages and formats. Appli-

cation development is supported by a professional modelling

tool and end-user programming environment.

Benefi ts:

• Lower risks, on account of the incremental development

of smartness into existing environments

• Improved user experience

• Effective development

• Innovative solutions for run-time information security

and performance management

• Motivates end users to develop applications

Tagging of individual objects in the Internet of Things

Challenge: In 2015, there will be three times more devices

connected to the Internet than people on the planet. Prod-

ucts, locations, people, and other physical objects in huge

numbers could be connected to the Internet as well. There

should be a global way to fi nd and connect information on

these objects.

Solution: Universal Ubiquitous Code provides means to tag

practically every object in the world with a unique identifi er.

VTT provides the u-Easy application and service for creating

a globally unique identity (uCode) for any kind of object and

writing it to an NFC tag or to a QR code. Features include

adding picture, text, and location data to the virtual identity

as well as reading object history.

Benefi ts:

• A simple way to create a globally unique identity for any

kind of object and to attach information

• Ability to utilise ideas from the u-Easy application in mul-

tiple areas of application, such as the food industry,

manufacturing, and fl ow of goods

Example use case: An artist makes a painting and creates

a uCode tag for it. After dozens of years, the new owner of

the painting can track where it was created and where it was

located previously.

22

Wireless battery charging over NFC

Customer: ST-Ericsson

Challenge: Wirelessbattery charging is becoming a viable

option for charging our every object: mobile phones, remote

controllers, laptops, LEDs, gadgets, etc. The main motivation

for wireless charging lies in its usability. It will come to full

fruition when wireless chargers are massively embedded in

our living environment and interoperable with devices to be

charged independently of their manufacturers. The imple-

mentationof this easy-to-use ubiquitous charging facility calls

for activities and new innovations in several areas.

Solution: VTT has developed wireless charging solutions that

can exploit existing Near Field Communication resources.

Thanks to its technical expertise and solid theory-based

knowledge developed in co-operation with industry player,

VTT has also been able to contribute to global standardisa-

tion for this fi eld via the NFC Forum (www.nfc-forum.org/).

VTT was one of the initiators of the NFC Forum Wireless

Charging task force, established in February 2012.

Benefi ts:

• More compact and cost-effi cient wireless charging inter-

faces for small devices

• A more pervasive charger infrastructure

• The possibility of integrating NFC-based services into

charging applications

23

24

Internet of things, Ubiquitous computingHeikki Ailisto, Research Professor, Programme Manager

+358 40 555 0726

IP Networks, Ubiquitous technologiesMarko Jurvansuu, Key Account Manager

+358 40 547 9441

Business developmentTimo Koivumäki, Research Professor

+358 40 507 3631

ICT business solutionsSeija Sihvonen, Vice President

+358 40 532 1637

Advanced radio systems, Smart gridsTapio Rauma, Key Account Manager

+358 40 526 8231

ICT for health and environmentKari Kohtamäki, Key Account Manager

+358 40 512 7611

Crossmedia technologiesHarri Nurmi, Key Account Manager

+358 40 571 7753

Information and product security, Software technologiesJukka Rautava, Key Account Manager

+358 40 571 5761

User experience technologiesTatu Harviainen, Senior Scientist

+358 50 549 8785

Data communications, Software technologiesJukka Kiviniemi, Key Account Manager

+358 40 037 2856

Data communications, Terminal devicesHeikki Anttila, Key Account Manager

+358 40 517 0140

Software business & productionTony Wong, Key Account Manager

+358 40 744 7094

Graphic design: Tuija Soininen, VTT

VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLANDVuorimiehentie 5, EspooP.O.Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, FinlandTel. +358 20 722 111, Fax +358 20 722 7001www.vtt.fi

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is the largest multitechnological applied research organization in Northern Europe. VTT provides high-end

technology solutions and innovation services. From its wide knowledge base, VTT can combine different technologies, create new innovations and a

substantial range of world class technologies and applied research services thus improving its clients’ competitiveness and competence. Through its

international scientifi c and technology network, VTT can produce information, upgrade technology knowledge, create business intelligence and value

added to its stakeholders. VTT is a non-profi t-making research organization.

in business and everyday life

Erw

eko O

y, 2012