Appliance Technologies

At HP Labs, we imagine a world where every person, place and thing can connect and communicate via the pervasive, open standards of the Web. In this world, Web appliances and e-services are at your service, offering easy access to the Web from almost anywhere. Our research in the area of clients and appliances is focused on providing the platforms and technologies to make this a reality.

Information appliances will change the way we access information and services on the Internet. Today, people typically use a PC to browse the Web but in future, anything from a fridge to a watch could be a Web appliance. These Web appliances must be simple to operate, consistent and predictable, and able to be tailored to individual needs. The supporting technologies such as architectures and standards that allow this to happen need to be developed before these devices become pervasive.

Our researchers are developing portable access devices (PADs) and the underlying technologies behind them - operating systems, graphics, streaming media and low power technologies. Below, you will find an outline of our research activities in this area.

PAD Family Imagine using your wristwatch to order a pizza or wearing a badge that gives you access to services, customized to your environment. We are developing the technologies behind easy-to-use, low cost information appliance platforms that promise this and much more. BadgePAD and SwatchPAD are two examples of our project research in this area.

BadgePAD is a smart badge we developed for use in the work environment. The device looks like a normal security badge that you would clip onto your clothing. But it contains the intelligence to know who you are, where you are and what rooms, services or information you can access. Biometric sensors identify who is using the device and what they are able to retrieve. If the device is mislaid, the finder can only access the information or area applicable to them and not those of the previous user. The biometric sensors provide another advantage: no more passwords and pin numbers. We have built location- and environment-awareness into the badges, giving them the ability to know where there are and what services are appropriate and available based on their location.

Applications for information appliances are endless. In one of the most exciting examples, we are working with Swatch to develop a context-aware watch will allow users to access the Internet wherever they are in the world, be it on a ski slope or an airport lounge.

Supporting Technologies Information appliances won't be easy to use without well-designed supporting technologies. For example, our work on client server graphics aims to solve the problem of having the capability of a workstation with you at all times but not the ties of carrying one around with you. In other words, we are developing thin clients with thick capabilities.

Users browse all kinds of information on the Web, not just data but also audio and increasingly, digital video. Our streaming media technology research is investigating the algorithms and architectures for processing and transmitting these types of information. We are inventing the enabling technologies for next-generation streaming media systems. Similarly, our graphics teams are exploring ways to allow devices to acquire images and 3-D data through the development of algorithms and architectures for 3D graphics hardware and image based rendering.

Appliances have special requirements in terms of software and power capabilities. We are exploring technologies for small operating systems that can run on portable low power devices. We are also developing low power technologies and power control methods. One of the key features of an information appliance is its ability to work anywhere, at any time and receive any information, from text to digital audio and video. Optimizing power, whether for a portable or non-portable device, is therefore extremely important. We are focusing our research on developing algorithms that can increase battery life, enabling appliances to outperform general-purpose platforms such as PDAs, and allowing them to run day and night without costing a fortune.

Media Rendering
Technology innovation plays a critical role in the next chapter of the computing revolution. There are many technical issues that must be overcome to provide users with connected, easy-to-use appliances that provide information, entertainment, and communication services. A key aspect of this revolution requires data to be seamlessly delivered to appliances, regardless of network complexities and appliance capabilities. It also requires that appliances be easy to use by having intuitive, natural interfaces.

• Device limitations
• Network limitations
• Device incompatibilities
• Infrastructure/network incompatibilities

Rendering is the enabling technology that allows information and media to seamlessly flow to users on seemingly incompatible devices through complex network infrastructures. Rendering allows data originally intended for one type of device to be repurposed or transcoded into a format compatible with other devices. For example, repurposing technology can be used to reformat web pages originally designed for computer monitors into formats that are compatible with small displays on handheld devices. Rendering technology also allows high-definition digital television content to be viewed on lower-resolution standard-definition displays and even on media-enabled entertainment appliances. Rendering technology also allows data signals to be transcoded into signals more appropriate for delivery over different network infrastructures. For example, transcoding technology can be used to reformat data signals constructed for high-bandwidth fiber optic links into a format that can transmitted on wireless channels.

We have established a core competency in media rendering technologies. We have 20+ pending and granted patents in this area. Specific video rendering algorithms include transcoding algorithms that allow DVD content to be streamed to portable media-enabled appliances over wireless links and algorithms for error-resilient video streaming over networks. We also have technology that allows digital television content to be transcoded into a format better suited for internet delivery. These algorithms can be used by network nodes in next-generation networks, home media servers, media-enabled appliances, or in content creation and delivery services. In addition, we are currently developing a secure streaming format that allows video to be securely delivered over heterogeneous active networks.

Technologies and Products
Some of the technologies to emerge from our clients and appliances work over the past few years include:

• Graphics accelerator features for FX6, used in HP's Visualize Workstations.
• Advanced texture mapping and lighting methods
• JPEG LS standard that is implemented in a number of HP products including LaserJets and scanners. We are also contributing to the JPEG 2000 standard
• E-music initiative
• Error correction for memory systems
• Swatch web connection technology
• Media Rendering and Transcoding
• Compressed-Domain Processing
• Wireless and Wired Streaming Media Systems
• Error-Resilient Video Coding and Communication.
• Audio technology implemented in HPs Jornada products.