Technology R&D

Video in print media

The first ever 'video-in-print-media' video will be displayed on a 320x200 pixel screen that is just 2.7mm (0.1 inches) thick. This technology is already developed and will enable the next generation advertising such as playing music when we flip a page and so on.

Touch screen via 'sixth sense'

Researchers from the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT in the US have developed a device based on common 'touch' gestures that does not need an actual touch surface to operate. Dubbed 'Wear ur world' (WUW), the 'sixth sense' hardware combines a mini-video projector, a webcam, a Smartphone and some sensors, with a total cost of about $300 (£215). A display is projected onto any surface in front of the user, who can make gestures in mid-air in order to: draw or write; request a wristwatch display by making a circle on the wrist; dial a number using a keypad displayed on a hand; or take a photo by framing part of a scene using both hands. The system can also process images and recognize certain objects, so it will retrieve information and reviews on a book being held, or display the latest video news for an article on the page of a newspaper. The prototype relies on the user wearing coloured tags on the fingers. It is not clear whether the Smartphone or a remote service is doing the process. This device can trigger a new breed of technologically advanced advertising which will respond to human senses.

E-book reader

The Kindle 2 e-book reader by Amazon is already launched. Users can expect to get four to five days' reading from a single charge. Content can be downloaded using a built-in 3G wireless connection, onto the device's 2GB of flash memory, from 230,000 titles available in the Amazon bookstore. The company claims that electronic books now comprise 10 per cent of its book sales. Advertisers will have a whole new medium and a whole new market to cater to.

MAGNET (My personal Adaptive Global NET)

The Magnet envisages a world where personal systems will be monitoring hundreds - or even thousands - of health and environmental sensors, in addition to all the gadgets that are already part of daily life for many of us. These networks will draw information from the wider world, perhaps by displaying files from your home computer or an internet feed onto your glasses, and will automatically control your environment, possibly by dimming the lights or switching on the air conditioning. This is huge personalized data and this will be used for more individual targeted advertisement on your computer and even on the media. Interactive TV Interactive television allows the user to communicate to the cable service provider via the set top boxes. This is again huge personalized data and will lead towards more individualized marketing. All these technologies mentioned above will lead into something known as Integrated Advertising. For e.g. If you have visited a real estate agent, then all advertisings in the following days will be home and related product based. A report from the media private-equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson sees 2011 as the year the Internet surpasses newspapers as the nation’s biggest advertising medium.