On 7 September 2007, Erik Rålenius, President of the Chapter of Information Technology, Student Union at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, gave the following statement of the motivation for this award as teacher of the year:
"Gerald Maguire is a teacher to be followed by his colleagues. His teaching stands for high quality knowledge and he inspires with colorful and enthusiastic examples. Gerald has also worked to improved the quality of our courses and program. We acknowledge Gerald Maguire as our teacher of the year"
quoted from "Random Internet Notes" by Henning Schulzrinne:
"Multicast file distribution for updating electronic student notebook; GPS for location-dependent processing. NCR WaveLAN has 1, need >= 2 spreading codes to allow switching for improved bandwidth, smooth hand-off, different rates through different-length spreading codes, redundancy for error compensation. MINT (mobile internet router) attaches to Ethernet port and has its own processor; SNMP manager for radio (power management); add API for callbacks for bandwidth change (-> application control!), delay, battery about to go, ... desk area wireless networks (around 1 m) for interconnecting equipment; body area network for connecting phone, pager, etc. Body as power source. (06/23/95)"
quoted from "Visions of the Future in New Media" by Gary Gach (Reprinted from American Reporter)
"Besides very specialized speeches ranging from sharing a Website for a class in dream study to one on the role of gender online, there were some strong generalists. (As Howard Gossage, grandfather of generalism, once said, "We don't know who it was discovered water, but we're pretty sure it wasn't a fish.") Gerald "Chip" Maguire, for example, delivered a brilliant keynote speech, "Glimpses of the Future of Computer Networks." Assume all communication will be digital -- the way computers work -- he says.
Now imagine all communication devices as being mobile, and on the Net, for work, for learning, and for home. So, for example, you're in your car on the freeway and you want to know the traffic pattern in the cloverleaf ahead: there's a panel in your car that can show you the exact picture, car-by-car, via the Net.
Maguire went on to demonstrate "heads-up" devices worn like glasses. Animal rights activists might want to leave the room when I report that scientists are experimenting with connecting Net-centric fibers to the eyes of living cats.
Is the future of mobile computing to be implantable walkstations? Well, it's just one of many, many avenues explored by the likes of WebNet, a crossroads of the future."
Another review: "WebNet '96 Conference: Report/Review" - rev. 1/8/97 by Kim Welch
Glimpses of the Future of Computer Networks
Gerald Maguire (Royal Institute of Technology, Teleinformatics, Stockholm, Sweden)More than any other presentation I witnessed, this one left audience members with their eyes glazed over. The current state of technology was used as a watch tower from which to gaze into the future, both immediate and long range. Maguire offered these speculations:
- FAX operator business will drop sharply as affordable, quality printers appear on most desktops.
- Cellular phone Internet access is coming.
- Telecommuters may become the norm someday for those with typical office jobs. Technology will make this possible, but, in the end, going to an office may be more efficient depending on the distractions at home.
- LANs will take over connectivity: there will be no more PBXs.
- VANs (Vehicle Area Networks), DANs (Desk Area Networks), and BANs (Body Area Networks) will enter our lexicon to join WANs (Wide Area Networks) and LANs (Local Area Networks). In a BAN, for instance, pagers, cell phones, laptops, etc., will be networked.
Maguire ended by discussing the possible power sources for BANs. Walking may generate the power for such networks, though he did mention motor cortex implants as well, causing more than a few people to squirm in their seats.
Yet another in Dutch from "net info - magazine voor internet-gebruikers"
Draagbare toepassingen
Toch was de conferentie niet alleen maar serieus. Zo testte Gerald
Maguire van de Royal Institute of Technology in Zweden de
lichtgelovigheid van zijn publiek met zijn speculatieve presentatie
'Technologies for Portable Applacation: Toward the Inplantable
Walkstation'. Hij schetste een surrealistisch beeld met onder andere
chirurgisch geimplanteerde geluidsontvangers en antennes, toetsenbord
datagloves en monitoren bevestigd aan brilmonturen. Als
stroomvoorziening ziet hij batterijen in de toekomst vervangen door
gebruikmaking van 'bodypower'; energie gegenereerd door lopen, ademen,
zweten, etc. Het ging hem bij dit alles niet zozeer om de hoe-vraag
maar meer om 'Wanneer?'. Hij verzekerde zijn toehoorders dat binnen
twintig jaar telefoons, televisies, radio's en PC's alleen nog in
musea te vinden zijn...
article by: Professor Peter Thomas is the Director of the Centre for Personal Information Management at the University of the West of England, Bristol. (version at Peter's site)
"Starner's approach, which is focused on augmenting human abilities by computing technology, clearly contrasts to the work like Normann's, which is largely focused on replacing lost or missing human functionality. Somewhere in the middle is G. Q. (Chip) Maguire, a Professor at The Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. Maguire believes that wearable computers have the same problem of bandwidth as EEG-controlled computers, and that the only way to get a usable human-computer interface is by using direct neural interfaces. Maguire suggests that future computing and communications systems using neural interfaces would allow us to have a system installed inside our head which provides voice communications and an 'eyes-up' windowing system which would create, via computer-controlled stimulation of the brain, information in the form of text and pictures superimposed on our normal vision. All of this would be connected to a wireless Body Area Network (BAN) which provides communications between various personal computing devices.
Maguire's view is that we should enhance our abilities and not only replace lost ones, and the issues are much more about the creation of true cyborgs than Starner's wearable computers. Maguire suggests that people will willingly undergo the surgery that neurocompatible computers require, even though the first users might in fact be those with a disability. However, he also suggests that one of the first groups of able-bodied volunteers would the professional military, where the use of an implanted computing and communication device with new interfaces to weapons, information, and communication systems could be life-critical. The next group might be those involved in information- intensive business who might use these devices to develop an expanded information transfer capability. Initial prototypes for neurally interfaced computers, Maguire predicts, will be around in 5 years, with military systems appearing in 10 years, and wider adoption within 20-30 years. Like Starner, Maguire sees the benefits in terms of persistence and consistency - your on- board computing systems will interface with different computers in the environment to accomplish tasks such as withdrawing cash from an ATM, checking-in at the airport, all without the need to learn new interfaces or speak different languages.
If Maguire's predictions are accurate, and we are only 20 years away from being offered the opportunity to enhance ourselves using neurocompatible interfaces and computers, what are the problems we will need to solve in the meantime? Aside from any moral and ethical objections (of which there are too many to count) taking the concept of the cyborg seriously at a technological level raises many issues. For example, if we have embedded systems in our brains, then ensuring the quality and reliability of both hardware and software becomes critical. As does the issue of upgradability. What happens when there is a new hardware upgrade or a new software release? What happens when a design error is discovered which could lead to life-threatening consequences? What manufacturer would offer unconditional warranties on our neurocompatible systems, and would we need in-patient surgery to replace damaged systems? Would Microsoft BrainDriver be replaced by BrainDriver2095?
"Technology Forecast - Looking Into The Crystal Ball" - from the Scandinavian Interactive Media Event1 - 1997
...
"Gerald Q. Maguire spoke about the necessity of high bandwidth. Already this year he hoped to have access to 51 Mb, but the big change will occur in 1998, when we will begin to see high bandwidth coming to mobile phones, something that he coined Vehicle Area Networks (VAN). We will also start to build user-centered systems, and in the not-to-distant future, mobile multimedia will be available to users at the same price as over the regular phone system. A key driver will be the price of technology, such as base stations (the senders and receivers in the mobile phone system).But there is another problem with high bandwidth communication: our ability to receive information. Today we are able to process information at a rate of approximately 150 kbps, which should be compared to the gigabits that can be delivered to us. This ability to process information will increase with the help of gadgets like glasses with information displayed in front of our eyes, much like in modern fighter aircraft. He also presented the vision of direct neural connection to the information flow, and concluded that everything we know about interaction will change.
Maguire also said the he thought that the much touted smart cards are actually stupid, and that we will see other types of cards in the future.
Occasionally I am ask what my personal interests are. I think the text below summarizes it well.
When I became a professor here at KTH, they had a formal installation ceremony in the city hall in conjunction with the awarding of the year's doctoral degrees. When each of the new professors is introduced Prof. Janne Carlsson, the rector (president) of KTH, says what the person is known for and then tries to tell something "personal" about them. So a couple weeks before the ceremony I got e-mail from either he or his secretary asking if there was something he could say about me. Generally people mention their family, hobbies, and interests. I said I would have to check with my wife first -- so I wrote her a note with my suggested description which she agreed with, but didn't think the rector should say this "true though it was". So when he reaches my name he introduces me and my subject area and then he says:
As for interests other than work:
In addition to work on mobile computation and communication systems, Gerald Q. "Chip" Maguire Jr. has done extensive work on medical imaging, as well as picture archiving and communication - which combines telecommunication with image processing systems. Most of this work has been done in collaboration with his bestest friend (and wife). Their third book on radiation protection for the health sciences is just about to come out.
Chip's real interest is "Bright, Buxom, and Beautiful women" especially those over 40 who love to dance.
His wife said that I shouldn't say this "true though it is".
To prove that I once had more hair - look at the picture from the USENIX facesaver on June 14 1990.
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For information contact maguire@kth.se