IBM Corp announced yesterday that it is collaborating on two new projects aimed at developing and testing prototype technology that will expand the bandwidth of the internet and make it better able to run applications that include video and audio images. The Armonk, New Jersey-based company said it has formed the International Center For Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR) in conjunction with Ameritech, Cisco Systems Inc and Northwestern university in Chicago, Illinois. One of the main aims of the center is to develop prototype applications that will enable users to be geographically independent and carry out more their work over the internet, said John Patrick VP of internet technology at IBM. As well as improving the speed of video-based applications, Patrick said IBM and its partners are working on technology for the medical profession, to enable, for example, doctors to remotely read X-rays or collaborate on medical procedures in real time.
And in the business world, it is developing technology to enable companies to conduct real time training sessions for remote employees, as well as instant messaging software for company executives, currently in beta with 85,000 of its employees. At a demonstration yesterday, Patrick said IBM teamed up with the Singapore government to conduct a videoconference over the internet – using the Singapore One high-speed fiber optic backbone – with high-resolution, full screen images and almost real time, no delay responses. At the moment, people have to physically go to where the experts are but with the evolution of the internet…people will be able to stay where they are and collaborate using the web, he said. Patrick said the project will be split between Northwestern’s campus and IBM’s Schaumberg, Illinois-based branch.
Big Blue also plans to open a second site in the Netherlands, in conjunction with the Telematics Institute and Surfnet. Expected to be up and running in the second half of 1999, the site will focus on ways to maximize distributed storage technology (rather than keeping storage in one place) as a way of speeding up the internet’s peformance, said IBM. In addition, Patrick said IBM has set up a satellite office, close to the iCAIR center in Illinois, which will closely monitor the project work and develop services products to wrap around it. So when the techology eventually becomes available and starts to get rolled out across the network, we’ll be able to assist companies by providing training and services, he said.
