CeBIT 2007, 15 to 21 March- Hot Topics

You've just gotten round to talking about that family vacation in South Africa four years ago and your visitor is sitting expectantly in front of your PC. Meanwhile, you find yourself slavishly wading through a deluge of files looking for that lovely photo of your daughter with the sandcastle she's just built on the beach.

Getting your photo archive into some kind of order is a familiar problem for photographers, amateurs and professionals alike. Now, to help find photos faster, scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology (FIT) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications HHI have developed aceMedia software - a system that is being unveiled at CeBIT 2007.

It can tell, for example, whether a picture has been taken indoors or outdoors and can even memorize faces and landscapes. It can also sort images and videos by topics or dates and times. The system works by analyzing a range of visual and contextual characteristics each time a file is read into the system. A Pocket-PC Photobrowser uses the same system to sort images on mobile handheld devices. As is it creates a thumbnail of every image, which takes up far less memory, the mobile device can then search through large amounts of data, which would normally require a powerful computer.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute believe that the Pocket-PC Photobrowser could be launched onto the market in just a few months and be installed on any handheld device that uses a Windows mobile operating system.

Fraunhofer-Institut für Angewandte Informationstechnik FIT
www.fit.fraunhofer.de
Hall 9, Stand B36 

It is called Da Vinci and is one of the highlights of TeleHealth (19 to 20 March) in the Convention Center at CeBIT 2007. Da Vinci is an operating robot that helps surgeons carry out the most demanding keyhole surgery.

Da Vinci helps make the often large incisions involved in numerous operations a thing of the past. They now only need to be large enough to allow the necessary instruments and a camera to pass through. What makes Da Vinci different, though, is that the robot holds and maneuvers the instruments, not the operating surgeon.

But there's no need to worry. Da Vinci still isn't working completely alone; it is controlled by a doctor using something very similar to a games console. This allows the surgeon to orient him or herself in three dimensions based on camera images that can be magnified up to 15 times. But if the physician's famously steady hand should falter, Da Vinci steps in and corrects the movement.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
www.intuitivesurgical.com
Convention Center (CC) 

"Learning-based facial animation" is the name of the highlight being brought to CeBIT 2007 in Hannover by scientists from Siegen University. It is certain to be a star attraction, since behind this rather plain name lies the possibility of transferring facial expressions and language from one face to another.

This new development uses a dynamic 3D scanner to record someone saying selected phrases. This data then forms the "articulation corpus." The distortion of the mouth is analyzed and a "phoneme space" is created, where movements of the mouth can be depicted using curves and created as a video animation. The system can transfer this data from one face to another. By using an audio file, researchers can then make any 3D model speak.

Max Planck Institut für Informatik (MPII)
www.mpi-inf.mpg.de
Hall 9, Stand B40 (beim: German Federal Ministry of Educatioin) 

While in the home, the fixed network connection, fax, e-mail and cell phone are all used individually, new business packages are showing the way forward. One telephone, one fee, one number, one mailbox, one telephone directory, one invoice - everything fully integrated, even to the point of using the Internet to telephone colleagues throughout the world at no cost. Several exhibitors are demonstrating how it all works at CeBIT 2007 in Hannover.

For example, Ericsson's one-phone concept is showing how companies can cut their costs by almost a third thanks to the use of fewer devices and increased efficiency. Employees now need only one device to enable them to make phone calls and to provide access to the company mailbox, fax or central telephone directory and calendar. And of course, we mustn't forget navigation.

Speech Design uses one number to interlink all telephone systems: Every cell phone is integrated into the company's central telephone system as an extension. New software is used to control the processes and lower costs.

The exhibitor Vertico Software is introducing a server-based Voice-over-IP solution to drive down telephone costs. This is of particular interest to companies that are present throughout the world. There is no need for an administrator to install additional software on workstation computers - a single program in the company's central telephone system ensures that every employee can make international internal calls free of charge.

Ericsson GmbH
www.ericsson.de
Ericsson Pavillon, Stand K05, open-air site between halls 12, 25 und 27
www.speech-design.de
Hall 25, Stand D40 (D104)  

Cutting-edge patient files contain all information on illnesses, blood bottles, X-ray images, and details of medicines and can be called up at the click of a button at any time. And it is the Intel Medical Clinical Assistant that makes it all possible.

This device is a prototype for a wireless tablet PC that tells doctors, nurses, and care nurses about a patient's medical history. You can find this useful device at CeBIT 2007. Pens and notepads can be consigned to the scrapheap - the ability to exchange files using wireless technology makes bureaucratic processes far simpler.

According to manufacturers, the sealed magnesium housing of the PC regulates the device's temperature and is resistant to abrasion and smears, meaning that it can be sprayed with disinfectant and cleaned. The integrated camera can also be used on site to document the patient's condition in images. The RFID system also means that missing dementia patients can be located, as long as they are wearing a wristband with their patient data.

Intel GmbH
www.intel.com
Hall 21 , Stand B45  

The Bremen-based Center for Computing Technologies (TZI) will be demonstrating what work will look like in the future when it exhibits at "Wearable Computing" (mobile, wearable computer systems) as part of CeBIT 2007. The vision for the future is "Computing anytime, anything and anywhere."

Using "Hot Wire", CeBIT visitors can complete a live skills-based exercise that simulates an everyday task. A display affixed to the head and a gesture glove enable visitors to experience how information can be immediately acquired and processed by clothing.

For example, in the nursing sector of the future, electronics integrated into clothing will be able to measure body temperature and fluids. Skilled tradespeople will also be able to use their clothing to access information on site, such as operating instructions, while keeping both hands free for their work.

TZI Technologie-Zentrum Informatik
www.tzi.de, www.wearitatwork.com
Hall 9, Stand B21 (Bremen group pavilion) 

Lost in an unfamiliar city? Whether you're on foot, on a bike, or in the car, it doesn't have to be so. The Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox N100, which can be seen at CeBIT 2007, will help you safely find your way through unfamiliar places. Only 16mm thick and weighing just 110 grams, it is a true flyweight that will also fit into any purse or jacket pocket. Its manufacturers claim it is the smallest and lightest multifunctional PNA on the market. The touchscreen can be used to display preinstalled maps that show you the way and detailed street maps for 37 countries.

Now for a few words on the technology: This mini PNA works using the new Navigon Software MobileNavigator6. There is also address software listing over 200,000 gas stations, parking lots, fast food restaurants, and workshops.

And on a lighter note: The front cover can be changed and you can also custom-design the frame using a range of colors, patterns, text and your own photos at www.looxlikeyou.de. The finished covers are delivered by mail.

Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH
www.fujitsu-siemens.de
Hall 1, Stand G51  

You need to make a new product presentation, none of the hotel's projectors are compatible and you're running out of time - what do you do? Simple - take your own projector with you. NEC will be presenting three new models from its NP projector series (NP40, NP50, NP60) at CeBIT 2007. These true lightweights weigh only 1.6 kg and yet provide intense brightness of up to 3,000 ANSI lumens.

This is possible thanks to a hybrid cooling system that cools the lamps, not with a fan, but by using a pump to apply a jet of air directly to the bulb. The benefit of this is that the system extends the lifespan of lamps by up to 3,000 hours, and has enabled designers to shrink the housing of the NP 60 to 246x72x177 millimeters, making it the smallest projector in the world at a brightness of 3,000 ANSI lumens, according to the manufacturers.

It projects perfect images even in brightly lit rooms. An automatic wall color correction system balances out colored backgrounds and an auto focus system automatically sets image sharpness, although this can also be adjusted manually.

NEC Deutschland GmbH
www.nec.com
Hall 2, Stand B24  

TrekStor is better known for its MP3 players, external hard drives, and USB sticks. But the Lorsch-based company is also making an appearance at CeBIT 2007 with the Lunanova Sound Project.

Lunova aims to help promote artists with major potential by providing them with a platform that allows them to reach a broad audience. To be more precise, anyone interested in the artist can download their music for free at www.lunanova.de. However, as it still costs money to produce music and offer it as a download, TrekStor is covering all the associated project costs.

One of the artists benefiting from this unique style of sponsorship is Mike Leon Grosch, who became famous in Germany through his participation in the TV talent show, "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" (Germany searches for a star). He will be performing his latest hit "Brand New Toy" from 6 p.m. on 17 March at the TrekStor stand party.

TrekStor GmbH & Co. KG
www.trekstor.de
Hall 1, Stand A61  

- Deutsche Messe, Hannover -