These objects that think for themselves!

Press release sOc’ 2003: These objects that think for themselves! Grenoble, France, May 15th to 17th, 2003
Paris, April 10, 2003

CNRS/France Telecom Joint Press Release The "sOc' 2003" or "Smart Objects Conference," co-organized by the CNRS and France Telecom R&D, is the second international conference devoted to "smart objects." It will take place in Grenoble, France, from May 15th to 17th, 2003. The most distinguished specialists and researchers from all over the world – MIT, Berkeley, the CNRS, etc. – will gather together to explore the communication infrastructures and pathways that will have an effect on our daily lives in the future. Visitors will be able to discover the latest developments in the office of the future, the intelligent apartment and participate in discussions on up-and-coming ideas such as "pervasive communication," "ambient intelligence" and even "context-awareness." What is a "smart object"? The concept of smart objects came about in the mid 90's with the convergence of information processing, components, miniaturization and wireless communications. Visionary pioneers imagined many different potential applications, from communicating clothes and smart fridges to ambient environments. This highly creative period made it possible to bring together scientists from different backgrounds who would progressively create new fields and areas of research. What is the purpose of a conference on smart objects? We are living at the dawn of a true revolution in the way that we communicate and interact with our physical environment. These up-and-coming ideas of the past are now the target of priority research, especially at the CNRS. Since that time, new concepts have evolved, meeting the needs of broader user groups. There is a greater understanding of the problems to be solved and industrial applications have multiplied. Thanks to these new ad hoc and mobile communication networks, all physical objects – and, by extension, our everyday environment (office, car, store, etc.) – can be endowed with the capacity to perceive, analyze their environment and interact with other objects, with a local or global information system (the Web, for example) and with one or several users. Among the major research developments to be presented within the framework of sOc' 2003 by the CNRS, Andrzej Duda, researcher at the LSR-IMAG Laboratory, will discuss his latest work on ambient networks. Orphée Cugat of the LEG¹ will present "micro-motors with gas turbine generators," considered to be a new alternative to batteries. The new approach to oculometry developed by Gérard Bailly's team at the ICP² will be presented for the first time at this conference. It will show how we will eventually be able to replace our computer's mouse with our ability to visually pinpoint an object. Key conference objectives During these two and a half days, smart objects will be approached from two complementary angles: What are the new categories of physical objects resulting from technological developments? What will be the socio-cultural impact on end users? These two and a half days of encounters, replete with speeches, displays and round-table discussions, will represent a decisive moment for the future of smart objects. Demonstrations will be made with the aim of illustrating these new concepts within contexts that could be those of our everyday life in several years from now and of making new ideas such as "ambient intelligence" and "context-awareness" more accessible to the layman. This conference, with its broad international and multi-disciplinary scope, will bring together many different laboratories from a variety of research fields (information and communication sciences and technologies, engineering sciences, social sciences and humanities) around the common theme of smart objects. It will also bear witness to the ability of the CNRS and its partner, France Telecom, to find a common ground for a multiplicity of know-how and expertise. Grenoble, the capital of computer science and new technologies in France Grenoble is the ideal venue for this conference, the very symbol of cross-disciplinary culture and a unique center of industry and high level research in various areas of technology (microelectronics, microprocessor systems, networks, embedded software, etc.) and scientific fields (signal processing, man-machine interfaces, ergonomics and uses, etc.) in which these applications present new challenges. Under the auspices of the European Union and the French ministries (Research-Defense-Industry), the sOc’ 2003 is organized by the CNRS and France Telecom R&D, with the support of the Institut National Polytechnique of Grenoble, the Université Joseph Fourier (Grenoble I), the Agence d’Etudes et de Promotion of the Isère department, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Grenoble and the research federations of Grenoble, as well as the financial assistance of local organizations. For more information: program, registration: http://www.grenoble-soc.com/ 1 - Electrical Engineering Laboratory of Grenoble, CNRS – Université Grenoble I – Institut National Polytechnique of Grenoble 2 - Institute of Spoken Communication, CNRS – Université Grenoble I – Institut National Polytechnique of Grenoble Scientific contacts: Patrice Senn, Director of the Smart Objects Laboratory at FTR&D Tel: +33 4 76 76 41 32 – E-Mail: Patrice.senn@francetelecom.com Gérard Bailly, Research Director at the CNRS, French expert on smart objects and assistant director of the ELESA federation Phone: +33 4 76 57 47 11 – E-mail: Bailly@icp.inpg.fr Communication contacts: Armelle Toulemonde, CNRS communications manager, STIC department Tel: +33 1 44 96 53 88 – E-mail: armelle.toutlemonde@cnrs-dir.fr Odile Lantz, Head of communications, INP Grenoble, France Tel: °33 4 76 57 45 11 – E-mail: odile.lantz@inpg.fr Pierre Kermen, Head of communications, Université Joseph Fourier Tel: +33 4 76 51 44 44 - E-mail: kermen@ujf-grenoble.fr Muriel Ilous, CNRS press office Tel: +33 1 44 96 43 09 - E-mail: muriel.ilous@cnrs-dir.fr