Fujitsu Laboratories of America, Inc.

Fujitsu Unveils Task Computing Technology

Orchestrating Devices, e-Services, and PC Applications Through the Semantic Web

College Park, MD, June 28, 2004 — Fujitsu Laboratories of America, Inc., the U.S.-based research arm of Fujitsu Limited, today unveiled new technology that enables users to easily orchestrate devices, e-services and PC applications to execute complex tasks with just a few clicks or voice commands.

The technology, called Task Computing, presents a framework that allows users to focus on the tasks they want to accomplish using electronic devices, e-services, or applications, rather than on how to accomplish them. In Fujitsu?s Task Computing environment, a middleware layer automatically summons up through the network all of the devices, e-services, and applications available for a given task and enables them to collaborate in executing the task. For example, a user visiting a friend's home can display pictures from her mobile phone on her friend?s TV, or she can get the address for a party from her home computer and print the directions to it on her friend?s printer, all with just a few clicks or voice commands, and without separately preprogramming all of the devices for those tasks. Task Computing therefore enables general-purpose users to exploit the full functionality of device and service-rich environments, such as the office, home, or in-car networks.

Automated device, application and e-service interoperability opens up a whole new world for the consumer," said Dr. Kazuhiro Matsuo, the lab's general manager in charge of this project. "Task Computing takes the complexity out of this process, allowing various sources of functionality to interact with each other, and allowing people to easily execute a wide range of tasks automatically."

The Next Big Thing?
Task Computing uses what is called the Semantic Web, the next iteration of web technologies that describe what services and devices do in a machine-readable language. That language is called OWL, or Web Ontology Language, which is an open standard approved by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Fujitsu's Task Computing middleware uses OWL and OWL-S, an offshoot of OWL for services, to make sense of what data devices and services can exchange and how they can be combined with one another. Of course, users are shielded from all that complexity through simple user interfaces.

To demonstrate the application of its technology, Fujitsu has created a simulated home environment in its lab. There, users can issue commands through a laptop or mobile phone, or voice commands through Microsoft's voice recognition system, and orchestrate a variety of home electronics devices and services to execute tasks, such as sending streaming video from a friend's camera to a plasma display panel, or any of the previously cited examples.

Are We There Yet?

For use in Task Computing, devices need to be network-ready and equipped with a lightweight web server. Some office printers already are. For its demo site in College Park, Fujitsu simply hooked laptops up to a variety of standard digital products, such as VCR's, stereos, projectors and plasma displays. The only additional requirement is that the functionality of each device or e-service be described in OWL-S. That description can be downloaded from a third party if the device manufacturer or e-service provider has not already provided it. OWL-S also includes information about the underlying service protocols, such as WDSL (Web Services Description Language), UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) or Jini, that are associated with a specific e-service or device. These features are expected to be built into many digital consumer products and home appliances within the next few years. Fujitsu's Task Computing middleware can then automatically discover what pathways are available for a task and execute the task with just a few clicks or voice commands.

"Fujitsu's Task Computing environment is an exciting step forward in the integration of Semantic Web and Web Service computing," said James Hendler, a professor at the University of Maryland?s (MIND) Laboratory and a prominent player in the World Wide Web Consortium?s Semantic Web activity. "Fujitsu's use of semantics to combine mobile, pervasive and Web applications shows how the use of Semantic Web languages in service-based computing opens the door to new and exciting applications that neither technology can produce alone."

The software will undergo a short initial trial period with selected researchers from the University of Maryland, the University of California-Irvine, the University of Southampton in the U.K. and Kobe University in Japan. Afterwards, academic researchers, non-profit research groups, and government research agencies are encouraged to download the Task Computing software and combine their own Semantic Web work with this environment. Fujitsu is also working with consumer product companies to help them enable their products for Task Computing. While the lab's demo site focuses on home networking applications, the middleware can also be applied to other environments, such as office or in-car networking. Said Dr. Matsuo, "Now that the OWL standard is in place with the W3C, this field is moving very quickly."

The concepts behind Task Computing can be applied beyond the realm of pervasive computing. Fujitsu researchers are already working on applying these ideas in enterprise computing, with the intention of changing how enterprise applications are built and experienced by users.

For further information on Task Computing and the Semantic Web, see Background Notes on Task Computing below, or visit www.flacp.fujitsulabs.com.

To arrange to see a demonstration at the lab, contact Valerie Andres at (301) 486-0398 or by e-mail at admincp@fla.fujitsu.com.

To view video demonstrations of Task Computing at work, click on the following link: tc.flacp.fujitsulabs.com/video/.

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About Fujitsu Laboratories of America

Fujitsu Laboratories of America, Inc., the U.S.-based research arm of Fujitsu Limited, focuses on advanced research in Internet-based technologies, pervasive computing, LSI technologies, interconnect technologies, computer aided design tools for next generation VLSI circuits, and photonics technology. Fujitsu Laboratories conducts research in an open environment and collaborates on projects with leading academic research institutions and other research groups, participating in technical conferences to promote the free exchange of ideas. As part of Fujitsu's global R&D network, Fujitsu Laboratories of America is dedicated to advancing the frontiers of information technology through collaborations with leading researchers throughout the world.
For more information, please see: www.fla.fujitsu.com

About Fujitsu

Fujitsu is a leading provider of customer-focused IT and communications solutions for the global marketplace. Pace-setting technologies, highly reliable computing and communications platforms, and a worldwide corps of systems and services experts uniquely position Fujitsu to deliver comprehensive solutions that open up infinite possibilities for its customers' success. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.7 trillion yen (US$45 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004.
For more information, please see: www.fujitsu.com

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