|
|
 |
|
|
[중앙일보(영자)] - The family friend is safe at home ~ 2002.05.17
The family friend is safe at home
by Arnold Stockard
May 17, 2002
One of the promises of the Internet is a seamless world, the end of interruptions caused by time and space.?Since most daily tasks involve communication of one type or the other, usually with the home as command central, appliance manufacturers are developing Internet-capable products that enable the completion of household tasks remotely. Worries about getting back home to start dinner, turn on the washer or turn off the air conditioner are eliminated.
One Korean company has joined this revolution with a product that can ease concern about the care of an important family member -- a pet.
Petwatch, by 3B System, allows a family to feed and monitor a pet through the Internet by cell phone, personal digital assistant or computer.
Petwatch uses currently available technology. The system has three components: a home console, the Web and a PC or handheld computer. The component that is placed in the home comprises an image sensor and a color camera with a wide angle, multifocal lens. It also includes a video compression encoder and video server, which are controlled through an Internet connection. A bay to supply food is built into the console, opened and closed by a separate control unit through the keys on the remote access device.
A Petwatch subscriber attending a World Cup soccer match, for example, would connect to the home console with a mobile device through SKT's wireless network and a wireless application server and call up a view of the area around the home console.
A predefined sound to which the pet has been conditioned can be activated, which beckons the pet to within the viewing area of the camera. The image sensor relays a signal to the camera, which records a still image of the pet. The picture is fed from the video server, through the WAP server and back to the handheld device. On a PC, the commands would be fed and the image returned through a Web server.
Several mobile phone compressed image formats are available in Korea. SIS (simple image service) has been adopted by SKT and KT as a standard and is the primary format for Petwatch. The next step, Petwatch officials say, will be video moving pictures. The availability of 3G communications, which is scheduled to be introduced by KTF next year, will increase video quality.
While voice is not available on the initial model, it is planned for updated versions.
Petwatch officials said a sample product will be released in early June after field tests have been completed.
Lee Ji -hong, a Petwatch executive, said the price of the service is not fixed yet, and discussions are ongoing with SKT to provide the network capabilities. But, he said "use of this system two times a day and at least 15 days a month should cost about 30,000 won a month." Mr. Lee said the cost will decrease as the service gains acceptance.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
