MIT Technology Testbeds

1
MIT Technology Testbeds
Draft Proposal v.1.2 30 January 2003 (Firstdraft
26 August 2002)Joost Bonsenjpbonsen_at_alum.mit.ed
u 617.930.0415
2
Proposing MIT as Premier Technology Testbed

• An orchestrated MIT-wide Initiative to attract
  Companies Labs deploying latest prototypes
  products in a Tech Testbed
• MIT-generally Sloan students specifically as an
  Early-Adoptor Microcosm
• Allowing MIT faculty to do rigorous social
  science, observing usage patterns, adoption
  rates, social networks, and more
• If not a testbed, at least new product showcase!

3
Proposing Action Over Time
4
Example Technology Testbed Ideas

• Project Mercury Latest wireless technologies
  showcase for MIT Labs
• App Assessment Fast feedback on new
  applications usage patterns
• Premier Digital Infospace Next generation
  libraries, info databases visualization
  environments
• Evocative Architectural Innovations Digital
  Glass, Organic HVAC, Ultra-Reconfigurability,
  Working Elevators

http//www.emperorlinux.com/acc_network.html
http//www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2001/06/0
8/xircom_review.html
http//www.handspring.com/
http//www.futurelooks.com/features/Lifestyle/Wear
able_comps/page1_frame.htm
http//www-5.ibm.com/se/news/archive/images/comput
ers/wearable-pc/wearable-pc-closseup-guy.jpg
5
Being a Tech Testbed

• Deploying latest prototypes, devices, etc AND
  tracking actual usage patterns
• Sourcing devices systems from both MIT Labs and
  corporate partners
• Serving as Neutral Ground for cross-comparison
• Clearly useful for Consumer InfoTech, but not
  limited to it

6
Tech Testbed promises

• We see the Future First
• Part of Comparative Market Research initiative
• Accelerating Educational Innovation
• Possibly part of larger effort to Observe
  Innovation broadly
• Basis for MIT Cross-Campus Collaborations
• Huge PR Buzz for MIT Sloan

7
Existing Efforts Include

• Sloans Virtual Customer Initiative
• Sloan Product Development Marketing Classes
• http//web.mit.edu/15.783j/www/
• MasterCards RFID PaymentCard
• GSCs SafeRide GPS
• MITs New Grad Dorm Equipment
• Newbury Networks Location Enabled Networking
• http//www.newburynetworks.com/
• iCampus-funded Xbox CycleScore
• Harris, Harlev, Heitzeberg
• BCSs Paperless Classroom
• DEMO

8
Early-Adopter Microcosm

• Are MIT Sloan students representative of
  ultimate purchasers?
• Possibly predictive and therefore a method of
  advanced market research?

9
Project Mercury

• Case example of Tech Testbed idea
• A Wireless Project Athena
• Athena was a 100 Million Experiment in mid-80s
• Campus-wide broadband wireless networking
• Latest terminal devices
• PDAs, padPC, wearable computers, watches
• Tracking Social Applications Usage
• Location, Communication, Collaboration, Games
• Multi-MIT Lab Collaboration
• Social Systems Experiment

10
Go Dramatically Beyond Our Boilerplate IT
Infrastructure

• We expect Laptops, Ethernet, WiFi 802.11b
• How about ReallyWiFi 802.11a, quivers of
  computers, wireless power, etc?
• Advanced applications
• Paperless workplace

11
What are some example emerging devices systems?

• Hand-helds
• New peripherals
• Wireless applications

12
Palm iPaq Variants
http//www.palm.com/products/palmm515/3Ddemo/palmm
515_3D.html
http//www.compaq.com/products/handhelds/pocketpc/
13
Wireless iPAQ Applications
http//www.golfps.com/images/ipaq.gif
http//www.digital-doc.com/C2/images/wirele4.jpg
http//www.igisa.com/grafiken/ipaq.jpg
14
Sony clie w/ Camera!
http//www.sonystyle.com/home/item.jsp?hierc9684x
9744x9746itemid34011
15
What are MIT Labs companies working on that
could be deployed?
16
MIT Project Oxygen
http//oxygen.lcs.mit.edu/
17
MIT Media Lab Wearables
http//www.media.mit.edu/wearables/wearfolk-sam-bi
g.jpg
http//www.media.mit.edu/wearables/mithril/index.h
tml
18
Media Lab Smart Nametags
http//web.media.mit.edu/fredm/projects/memetag/m
tsmall.jpg
http//el.www.media.mit.edu/groups/el/papers/mres/
lifelongk/Image26.gif
19
http//www.microopticalcorp.com/
20
Social Net Analysis Facilitation
Dynamic Visualization

• Understanding social relationshiops
• Guiding flows of information
• Real knowledge management
• Orchestrating Serendipity

http//www.netvis.org/
Facilitator Room
http//whitechapel.media.mit.edu/facilitator/intro
duction.html
21
Predictive Microcosms
http//www.cothink.com/Papers/phdthesis.pdf
22
MIT Labs

• LCS / AI Project Oxygen
• http//oxygen.lcs.mit.edu/
• Media Wearable Computing
• http//www.media.mit.edu/wearables/
• House n
• http//architecture.mit.edu/house_n/
• CMS
• http//web.mit.edu/cms/
• eBusiness
• http//ebusiness.mit.edu/
• Auto-ID
• http//www.autoidcenter.org/main.asp

MIT Media Laboratory
23
Company Benefits

• Fast Iteration
• Visibility
• Comparative Market Research

24
Potential Applications

• Where are open meeting rooms?
• Enhanced SloanSpace?
• Wheres SafeRide?
• Making most of Spare Moments.
• Seamless Collaboration
• No-Delay Resources
• Advancing Practice of Fast Iteration

25
Potentially Interested Social Science
Innovation Faculty (?)

• John Hauser / Sloan Marketing, Virtual Customer
  Initiative
• Jonathan Cummings / Sloan Innovation, Social
  Network Analysis
• Henry Jenkins / HASS Comparative Media Studies,
  Games-for-Learning
• Judith Donath / Media Lab, Sociable Spaces
• Steven Eppinger / Sloan Product Design
• Plus all those developing technologies

26
Resources Required

• Premier Industry Collaborators
• Linkage to Sloan Technology Services MIT IS
• Prototype Pre-production equipment donations
• Institutional Commitment
• Alumni Industry Oversight Board
• Operational Funds for administration, support,
  and maintenance

27
Possible Sponsors

• I-Campus Project
• http//swissnet.ai.mit.edu/projects/i-campus/
• Peer Testbeds
• Cambridge-MIT Institute
• Singapore-MIT Alliance
• Industry Consortia
• Government DARPA, NSF
• E.g. CIPD
• Foundations

28
Likely Alums

• Pascal Chenais Project Canard, MessageMachines
• Vanu Bose Vanu Inc software radio
• Bill Warner Wildfire
• Tim Rowe Cambridge Innovations
• Rob Poor Ember
• Yonald Chery Newbury Networks
• Matt Reynolds ThingMagic
• Fred Martin -- SmartTags
• Mike Parduhn, John Muhlner, Paul Strasma, Matt
  Rhoden

http//www.mitwf.org/images/oct23_yc.jpg
29
Shouldnt MIT be the Premier Tech Testbed?
30
Benefits

• (a)     Boosting MIT campus student experience,
  
• (b)     Envisioning the future by experiencing
  it,
• (c)     Basis for cross campus research
  collaboration,
• (d)     Prototype testbed for inventive
  developers to fast iterate the next generation
  artifacts,
• (e)     Experimental anthropology via predictive
  microcosms,
• (f)      Inspiring entrepreneurial new product
  and venture development,
• (g)     Capturing intellectual property for truly
  novel Project-related inventions, and
• (h)     Great PR around this really MIT idea.

31
References

• Project Athena
• http//wwwtech.mit.edu/V119/N19/history_of_athe.19
  f.html
• http//web.mit.edu/newsoffice/tt/1991/feb27/24322.
  html
• Research on Human Subjects
• http//web.mit.edu/policies/14.3.html
• Project Notebook
• http//web.mit.edu/is/np/projects/wireless/
• Cisco/Radiata's 802.11a Promises
• http//www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20000728S0021
• http//www.radiata.com/company/PDF/IEEE-802.11wp.p
  df
• Project Oxygen
• http//oxygen.lcs.mit.edu/
• MIT IS
• http//web.mit.edu/is/
• Wearable Computing
• http//www.media.mit.edu/wearables/
• Product Innovation
• http//web.mit.edu/cipd/
• MIT Sloan Virtual Customer

32
Related Initiatives

• Showcase Sloan
• Hall of Heroes
• Highlighting MITs innovators
• Modern Muddy
• New lights, soundsys, etc
• Cathedral of Creativity
• Lobby 7 plus