  I'm Luke Hughes, the research director of the Accenture
Technology Labs in Palo Alto.
Our research team in Palo Alto is looking at a continuum of
applications of sensor technology, which enables us to help build the
foundation for Reality Online. On a broad scale, we start with Smart Dust and
Sensor Aggregation Models, which entail using tiny sensors to collect data and
identify problems or trends in large areas such as a farm field. Then we move
into yield management, or how the farmer can look at the aggregate data and
determine the best time to harvest the crops based on moisture content or even
market price.
Moving along the continuum, you start to see personal
applications of Reality Online. Things like Reality Instant Messaging, which
provides a context for people who are interacting on-line—perhaps a golf match
that a person and her friends could be watching and discussing online at the
same time. Or, even more personal, wearing a Personal Awareness Assistant to
capture information like names and phone numbers and store it for later access.
From my perspective, what we're seeing—and helping create at
the Labs—is a network sensor revolution. Literally, the world will have a
nervous system. And I find that incredibly exciting to see as it takes shape.
I came west for the Internet revolution, and I think history
will look upon this time—and this part of the world—as a source of fundamental
change. Of course, the Silicon Valley area itself has changed over the past
couple of years, but I think we've come to where we need to be. We still have a
healthy exuberance about the possibilities of technology, but people are now
also more aware of the dollars and cents aspect, too.
At Accenture, we've always focused not just on technology,
but how we can use it to make a real difference for our clients. Being where we
are enables us to rub shoulders with people who are both entrepreneurs and
innovators, which is one thing that makes this region unique. As we bring
clients into our Innovation Workshops, they can see how our ideas combine solid
technology research with strategic business applications.
As we bring the physical world on-line, there is one aspect
of the process that informs everything we do, and that's human nature. In all
our research we think about what something could mean to employees, consumers,
patients. That's one advantage of working in the Labs. As a firm, we don't just
screw in the technology and walk away. We work with the client on all the
issues a new technology application may bring up. Our goal is first to help
people accept and then benefit from a solution.
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