酒店專業(yè)畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)外文翻譯

Creating Innovative Solutions for Future Hotel Rooms with Intelligent Multimedia and Pervasive Computing By:Nalin K. Sharda Soruce: /content/u20401831m457v22/ Abstract Pervasive computing and intelligent multimedia technologies are becoming increasingly important to the modern way of living. However, many of their potential applications have not been fully realized yet. This chapter explores how innovative applications can be developed to meet the needs of the next generation hotels. Futuristic hotel rooms aim to be more than “home-away-from-home,” and as a consequence, offer tremendous opportunities for developing innovative appli-cations of pervasive computing and intelligent multimedia. Next generation hotels will make increased use of technology products to attract new customers. High end TV screens, changeable room ambiance, biometric guest recognition, and electronic check-in facilities are some of the features already being implemented by some hotels. Entirely futuristic hotels in the sea, the stratosphere or the outer space, are also being proposed. All of these provide many novel opportunities for developing innovative solutions using intelligent multimedia and ubiquitous computing. Introduction This chapter articulates how innovation theory and practice can be applied to cre- ate novel ideas for future hotel rooms and services, using pervasive computing and intelligent multimedia. Consistent innovation has become the hallmark of most successful business areas. Hotels and hotel rooms offer a great opportunity for being innovative and creative in providing new technology-based facilities to make the guests stay easy, comfortable and enjoyable. N.K. Sharda () Computer Science, Victoria University, PO Box 14428, Melbourne, Victoria 8001, Australiacombine these with intelligent multimedia to create features that will make these next generation hotels more technically superior providing seamless experience of high-end multimedia applications. Some of the specic objectives of the chapter include: To investigate theories of innovation and their practical implementation models. To study some of the futuristic hotel room ideas presented in the literature. To articulate technology needs for the hotel rooms of the future. To present innovative ideas for hotels and hotel rooms of the future using perva- sive computing and intelligent multimedia. Chapter Layout Section 6.1 introduced the motivations, aims and objects for this chapter. Section 6.2 presents theoretical models of innovation and some practical implementation methodologies. Section 6.3 presents some concept hotel rooms and how these use computing and multimedia technologies. Section 6.4 presents some futuristic hotels and their technology needs. Section 6.5 presents some innovative ideas for hotel rooms of the future. Creativity and Innovation We all have some understanding of what creativity and innovation are; however, most technologists have had little or no training in methods or enhancing their creativity, and in developing innovative solutions. Most people think that these come naturally to some people, while others cannot be creative. In fact, most of us can be creative and innovative if we use some systematic methodology 3. In the following sections we investigate how creativity and innovation can be enhanced and pursued systematically. Creativity Generally the term creativity is applied to more artistic endeavours, e.g., different tiating between technical and creative writing; however, creativity can be used to develop innovative solutions for technical problems as well. Chris Stevens denes creativity as “the ability to generate and use insight”; and this description applies to technical areas, just as well it does to artistic areas. Everyone is capable of being creative; however, most people do not exploit their full creative potential, as they do not have a clear understanding and models to guide and sustain the ow of their “ creative juices Attending to somatics : “Working with the somatic aspects of communication and commitment. Ascending the ladder of competence. Connecting with people. Producing trust. Developing an open and inviting “presence.” Blending with concerns, energies and styles of others *12+.” These somatic indicators, i.e., those based on body characteristics, can breakdown due to: “Inability to read and respond to body language, gesture, etc. Inability to connect and blend. Failure to recognize and overcome ones own conditioned tendencies, to appreciate differing levels of skill and their criteria or to engage in regular practice in the other practice areas.” It is important to note that innovations are not always based on existing needs; some innovative ideas create new needs, while others meet an existing need better than the competing product, giving the organization a competitive advantage. We can extend a long-held belief that “need is the mother of invention,” by adding that “competition is the father of innovation,” i.e., competition spurs along innovation. Thus, to create innovative products and systems for hotels of the future, one needs to combine the theoretical models of innovation presented in the preceding section, with the guest needs and futuristic possibilities, giving hotels a competitive advantage. 6.3 Concept Hotels of the Future Over the recent years, the hotel industry has been busy thinking and dreaming of ideas that will be used in the hotels of the future. Some of these ideas have already been implemented, while others are just concepts. Nonetheless, these are presented here as possible triggers for creating innovative applications of intelligent multimedia and pervasive computing suitable for hotels of the future. 6.3.1 Hiltons Room of the Future Hilton hotels “Room of the Future” is housed in the Hilton University near Los Angeles International irport, furnished with many next-generation products to cater for business activities, enhanced comfort and entertainment. Some of the facilities included are just the latest technology, while others aim to be futuristic, including: Wall-mounted, 42-in. at-screen HDTV Panasonic plasma television connected to a Technics receiver with surround-sound Bose speakers Philips DVD/CD player Second, smaller at-screen LCD monitor next to the Jacuzzi bathtub Motion-detection lights that activate when guests enter the room Biometric room safe that uses a thumbprint as the lock and key. 6.4 Out-of-this-World Hotels Who says that a hotel has to stand on a solid foundation? Ideas have been mooted to build hotels in the oceans, in the wilderness, in the stratosphere and even in the outer space. As these hotels are only concepts yet, and will be build by the time computing technology has advanced much further, these hotels will be an excellent “ sand-box” to try new ideas for enhancing guest services with ubiquitous computing and intelligent multimedia. 6.4.1 Foldable Hotel Pods Valhouli presents a novel concept for hotels of the future with designs that include undersea and space resorts These foldable hotel pods (Fig. 6.3) could even be moved from one location to another. In the “Future Holiday Forum,” a report entitled “2024: A Holiday Odyssey” predicted that in the future hotels will be a foldable pod that can be easily relocated to remote locations . Guests will be able to choose the images they want to project on the walls, changing the ambiance to their personal choice. When a desti- nation falls out of fashion, whether due to demand or terrorism, the pod can simply be folded up and moved. An added advantage of these pod hotels is that they will have minimal impact on the environment and will not require roads to get there, as helicopters can be used to bring in the guests.These inconveniences provide a fertile ground for innovations using intelligent multimedia, wireless communications and pervasive computing to develop innovative solutions. Some such ideas include Handheld computers for curb-side check-in Mini-bars that know your likes and dislikes Thermostats that adjust the temperature based on guest presence in the room Digital movies and other multimedia on demand Biometric scanners for tighter security Electronics that alter everything from the rmness of the mattress to the art on the walls based on guests preferences Together, these features would aim to deliver a personalized experience to the guest. “ One product making it easy to accommodate guests personal preferences is the TM Bartech e-fridge it has sensors that detect when a beverage has been re- moved. The front desk is alerted, your bill is updated and room service knows what to replace in the morning. The e-fridge can also be programmed to change drink prices throughout the day, lowering them during happy hour. In the future, hotel guests could nd their minibars stocked only with their favourite drinks and preferences gleaned from past selection. Already cards that use radio frequency identication (RFID) technology have been developed. These can not only open the room doors, but can also be linked to pay for dinner. The challenge is make them do more, e.g., luggage transfer: “Place the card in your bag and when the luggage comes off the conveyor belt, the airline can retrieve it, scan it and send it straight to your hotel .” Furthermore, it can contain a biometric record letting the guest check in easily not only at the hotel, but also on a plane, as being trialed at Londons Heathrow Airport for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic frequent travelers. Imagine: simply by looking at the check-in gates the guests can pass through. Using handheld devices such as mobile phones and PDAs for check-in is possible now; however, these are not yet being used widely. Motion detectors can avoid annoying mid-shower knocks at the door by telling housekeeping that the guest is in. However, new technologies require innovative deployment and economies of scale to work in their favour before they are adopted widely. 6.4.2 Resort Hotels in the Stratosphere Who does not dream of ying with arms spread out like wings? While such ideas can come true only in imagination or dreams, we can certainly build living spaces that will hover around in the stratosphere. Geoff Manaugh introduces a ying hotel proposed by Wimberley Allison Tong & Goo (WATG), an architectural rm based in London *16+. WATG has challenged the old ideas about how to design new resorts and where to place them. In a recent com- petition co-sponsored by WATG, entitled “Hospitality Transformed: Resort Hotels in 2055,” architecture students around the world presented futuristic ideas ranging from “environmentally sensitive resorts in pristine remote locations to highly so- phisticated technological wonders in dense urban settings.WATG has also partnered with Worldwide Aeros Corp, the Aeroscraft manu- facturer and world leader in manufacturing of the FAA-certied lighter-than-air vehicles, to design the interiors of a new generation of airborne cruise ships .” 6.4.3 Space Hotels Space tourism is coming. The Genesis module (Fig. 6.4) launched on 12 July 2006 using the Russian Dnepr (SS-18) rocket is a tangible step in the ongoing development of the space tourism 18. The most important aspect of this mission is that it shows that the space tourism industry is not only developing vehicles for suborbital and eventually orbital ight, but also that future space tourists will have a place tostay when they get up there. Having an experimental module in orbit is essential in order to show investors that this industry is going to be in business for a long time to come.Future space tourists may not be content with a short ride into orbit inside a cramped capsule. A “space hotel” is the minimum needed to attract space tourists beyond some adventurers. One of the essential facilities will be windows for viewing the Earth. Cramped space and weight limitations will stretch the technology at all levels. Therefore, wireless ubiquitous computing will be required for multimedia and other communication applications. These space hotels will include technology such as dosimeters to record the cumulative radiation received by the traveler, and microphones, and cameras to record the antics of items sent by people using Bigelows “Fly Your Stuff” programme. The company is hoping that this will catch on and generate some cash ow even before paying hotel guests make the trip. 6.4.4 Fanciful Hotels David Neilsen presents a number of ideas for fanciful hotels; some already made, some under construction and some just fanciful ideas. Some of these hotels do not use technology as their attraction, while others will rely on technical gizmos to attract guests 19. With the amorphous nature of most such hotels, they will be fer- tile ground for the use of wireless ubiquitous computing and intelligent multimedia systems. ” LHotel Machet, Paris, France LHotel Machet is the worlds rst hotel to be made out of Paper Mache. It includes “ readable walls in multiple languages, an all-mache pastry shop and free paste for the kids! Hotel will be equipped with wheels for use as a oat in local parades and comes with a smiling, waving “Princess Paper” in the lobby .” Tinker-Toys Hotel, Wichita, Kansas Hutch Duggle wanted to tap into peoples nostalgia for “Tinker-Toys!.” He conceived of the worlds rst hotel made entirely with tinker toys. According to him: “ Bring your whole family! No matter the size, weve got a room for them! Heck, if needed, you can adjust your room yourself! Its Tinker-Toys! .” Hotel-O, Sydney, Australia Hotel-O is made entirely out of Jell-O. “Special features include Bill Cosby per- manently sitting in the lobby and cost-efcient re escape exits you simply walk through the walls. Guests desiring true privacy may want to ask for the darke avoured rooms .” Disneys Pyramid on Ice, Cairo, Egypt Disney does theme parks bigger and better than anyone else. They announced plans to build “Disneys Pyramid on Ice!” outside of Cairo, Egypt. “Special features include ice-skating bellboys dressed as your favorite Disney characters, monorail service to The Sphinx and David Blaine frozen for your enjoyment in the lobby. Opens 6 June 2001, melts itself closed 3 h later +.” Did it really? Invisible Hotel, Central Park, New York Sam Smilky announced his plans for the worlds rst invisible hotel in the middle of Central Park, New York *19+. “They told me I was crazy, but I had a dream,” said Sam. It is meant to be an entirely invisible 3-story luxury hotel accommodating over 100 guests. “People will walk by, and think youre lying on the ground, but thats only because they wont be able to see the luxurious accommodations surrounding you!” said Smilky, “Plus Im making it out of walls you can walk right through! As if theyre not even there! How much would you pay for that? *19+.” Now that is a fanciful idea, but one full of opportunities for innovative solutions using ubiquitous computing. 6.4.5 Technology Needs of Hotel Room of the Future Despite the technology upgrades of the recent past, most hotel rooms are still using wires for various functions. “All too often travelers nd themselves crawling around on their hotel room oor looking for telephone jacks, waiting ages for room service, stumbling in the dark during late-night trips to the bathroom or puzzling for hours over setting the alarm on the clock radio .” 6.5 Innovative Ideas for Hotel Rooms This section explores how some of the ideas proposed by the hotel industry can be combined with intelligent multimedia and pervasive computing systems. 6.5.1 Intelligent Systems in Future Hotels Glen Hiemstra of predicts that the future hotel rooms will make extensive use of robotics, nanotechnology and biometric recognition, including These inconveniences provide a fertile ground for innovations using intelligent multimedia, wireless communications and pervasive computing to develop innovative solutions. Some such ideas include Handheld computers for curb-side check-in Mini-bars that know your likes and dislikes Thermostats that adjust the temperature based on guest presence in the room Digital movies and other multimedia on demand Biometric scanners for tighter security Electronics that alter everything from the rmness of the mattress to the art on the walls based on guests preferences Together, these features would aim to deliver a personalized experience to the guest. “ One product making it easy to accommodate guests personal preferences is the TM Bartech e-fridge : it has sensors that detect when a beverage has been re- moved. The front desk is alerted, your bill is updated and room service knows what to replace in the morning. The e-fridge can also be programmed to change drink prices throughout the day, lowering them during happy hour. In the future, hotel guests could nd their minibars stocked only with their favourite drinks and preferences gleaned from past selections.” Already cards that use radio frequency identication (RFID) technology have been developed. These can not only open the room doors, but can also be linked to pay for dinner. The challenge is make them do more, e.g., luggage transfer: “Place the card in your bag and when the luggage comes off the conveyor belt, the airline can retrieve it, scan it and send it straight to your hotel .” Furthermore, it can contain a biometric record letting the guest check in easily not only at the hotel, but also on a plane, as being trialed at Londons Heathrow Airport for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic frequent travelers. Imagine: simply by looking at the check-in gates the guests can pass through. Using handheld