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IDEO redefined good design by creating experiences, not just products. Now it's changing the way companies innovate
Kaiser Permanente, the largest health maintenance organization in the U.S., was developing a long-range growth plan in 2003 that would attract more patients and cut costs. Kaiser has hundreds of medical offices and hospitals and thought it might have to replace many of them with expensive next-generation buildings. It hired IDEO, the Palo Alto (Calif.) design firm, for help. Kaiser execs didn't know it then, but they were about to go on a fascinating journey of self-discovery. That's because of IDEO's novel approach. For starters, Kaiser nurses, doctors, and facilities managers teamed up with IDEO's social scientists, designers, architects, and engineers and observed patients as they made their way through their medical facilities. At times, they played the role of patient themselves.
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Together they came up with some surprising insights. IDEO's architects revealed that patients and family often became annoyed well before seeing a doctor because checking in was a nightmare and waiting rooms were uncomfortable. They also showed that Kaiser's doctors and medical assistants sat too far apart.
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The gizmo-packed exhibition hall at the Society for Information Display's symposium in Seattle is all about extremes, such as monitors that are mondo large or very small, extremely thin, feather-weight, or high-res.
A television sewn into your shirtsleeve. A dashboard screen to monitor the kids in the backseat. A 3-D computer monitor sharp enough to make a hardcore gamer's heart stop -- or help a surgeon start one.
The gizmo-packed exhibition hall at the Society for Information Display's international symposium offers a tantalizing vision of what's to come. This week's meeting was all about extremes -- monitors that are very big or very small, very thin, very light and very, very high-resolution.
Another big focus: making the cutting-edge technology very low cost. While some tech enthusiasts are willing to shell out thousands of dollars for the next new thing, whether and how soon more mainstream versions of these gadgets will appear in your living rooms -- or even clothing -- will depend largely on the price.
Few can afford to pay about $12,000 for a stunningly detailed 3-D computer monitor from SeeReal Technologies GmbH. The screen has two built-in cameras that track eye movement, so the viewer can move about and still see the 3-D display in focus.
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There is no good place to have a car crash - but some places are worse than others. In a foreign country, for instance, trying to explain via cellphone that you are upside down in a ditch when you cannot speak the local language can fatally delay the arrival of the emergency services. If you are conscious at all, that is.
But an answer may be at hand. Researchers funded by the European Commission are beginning tests in January of a system called E-merge that automatically senses when a car has crashed and sends a text message telling emergency services in the local language that the accident has taken place.
The system was developed by ERTICO, a transport research organisation based in Brussels, Belgium. Cars are fitted with a cellphone-sized device attached to the underside of the dashboard which is activated by the same sensor that triggers the airbag in a crash. The device includes a cellphone circuit, a GPS positioning unit, and a microphone and loudspeaker.
It registers the severity of the crash by reading the deceleration data from the airbag's sensor. Using GPS information, it works out which country the car is in, and from this it determines in which language to compose an alert message detailing the precise location of the accident.
The device then automatically makes a call to the local emergency service.
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In the constantly evolv-
ing technological society that
we live in, new discoveries,
inventions and upgrades are
made every day. Technology
keeps getting smaller and
more effective. Some items,
such as the mini hard drive,
make portable devices ca-
pable of storing gigabytes of
information. Other items,
such as new 3-D glasses or
monitors, make looking at the
2-D computer screen exciting
and three-dimensional.
Miniature hard drives
have taken a long stride in the
computer industry lately.
They are available today, and
drives smaller than an inch in
diameter can hold gigabytes
of information. They are be-
ing implemented in cell
phones or other portable de-
vices. Instead of a few mega-
bytes in a cell phone or other
device to store music, games
and phone numbers, users will
now be able to store hundreds
of personal files that they can
access on the go.
Toshiba is manufactur-
ing a .85-inch hard drive,
about the size of a stamp, with
a two-four gigabyte capacity.
Cornice has a one inch hard
drive with two gigabytes of
storage for $70.
Laptop computers are
also an example of new tech-
nology.
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It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's a car? Ever since the day of the Jetsons, the flying car has been a feat taht would mark the brightest time in our civilization. This is closer now than many people may think.
Moller International has developed the first and only feasible personal takeoff and landing vhecile, called M400 Skycar, the world has ever seen. Imagine this cruising at a comfortable 350mph, get up to 28 miles to the gallon and
reach your destination in a fraction
of the time. Though this is only the
next step in a long process, the
Skycar is a great accomplishment
to the advancement of the automobile world.
The technology used in this flying machine is similar to that of
what we have now. The Skycar is
capable of vertical take-off and
landing like a helicopter and will fly to its destination such as that of an airplane. The Skycar also is flown by a computer, with the human only moving controls to the direction that they desire to go, making flying the Skycar easy enouh for the least skilled drivers.
The Skycar offers many advantages that could help resolve many problems brought fort by automobiles. Low noise is a factor that will be positive, especially in high populated areas. the engine also produces little NOx, the most difficult pollutant to eliminate.
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