Handheld Technology Review Rep ort 2 0 0 1 -0 0 8 -C-0 6 The research described in this report was carried out by: P roject L eader D r S tephen K ajewsk i (QU T) Team Mem bers P aul Tilley, Mr J ohn C rawford (C S IR O ), Todd R em m ers (C S IR O ) P rofessor S wee-E ng C hen, P rofessor D ennis L enard, G raham B rewer, R od G am eson, R ichard K olom y, R ui Martins, W illy S her (U N ) R esearcher Mr A chim W eippert (QU T) P roject A ffiliates Mr G eoff C aldwell (QD MR ) and Mr Mark H aug (QD P W ) Res earch P rogram C: D elivery and M anagem ent of B u ilt A s s ets P roject 2 0 0 1 -0 0 8 -C: P roject Team Integration: Com m u nication, Coordination and D ecis ion S u p p ort CONTENTS CONTENTS _______________________________________________________________ 1 LIST OF TABLES__________________________________________________________ 3 LIST OF FIGURES ________________________________________________________ 3 PREFACE ________________________________________________________________ 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ___________________________________________________ 6 1 INTRODUCTION ______________________________________________________ 9 2 CURRENT STATE OF HANDHELD TECHNOLOGY _______________________ 10 2.1 Hardware Overview: What’s Available in General ____________________________ 10 2.2 Add-ons and Expansions __________________________________________________ 15 2.3 Integrated Phone & PDA: The Current trend ________________________________ 16 2.4 Software: What’s Available in General ______________________________________ 19 2.4.1 Palm OS_______________________________________________________________________ 19 2.4.2 Symbian OS____________________________________________________________________ 20 2.4.3 Windows CE OS ________________________________________________________________ 21 2.4.4 Java __________________________________________________________________________ 23 2.4.5 On-Device Software _____________________________________________________________ 24 2.5 Connectivity: The wireless evolution ________________________________________ 25 2.5.1 Infrared________________________________________________________________________ 25 2.5.2 BlueTooth _____________________________________________________________________ 26 2.5.3 Wireless Fidelity ________________________________________________________________ 27 2.5.4 Global System for Mobile Communications __________________________________________ 28 2.5.5 Code Division Multiple Access ____________________________________________________ 29 2.5.6 Third Generation ________________________________________________________________ 30 2.5.6.1 Enhanced Data GSM Environment _______________________________________________ 30 2.5.6.2 Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service _____________________________________ 31 2.5.6.3 Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) _______________________________ 32 2.6 Device to Device Communication ___________________________________________ 33 2.6.1 Jini ___________________________________________________________________________ 33 2.6.2 ChaiServer _____________________________________________________________________ 33 2.6.3 Inferno ________________________________________________________________________ 33 2.6.4 Universal Plug and Play __________________________________________________________ 34 2.7 Automatic Data Collection ________________________________________________ 34 2.7.1 Speech Technology Software ______________________________________________________ 34 2.7.1.1 Speech Recognition Software____________________________________________________ 34 2.7.1.1.1 Dictation _______________________________________________________________ 34 2.7.1.1.2 Voice Recording _________________________________________________________ 35 2.7.1.1.3 Speech Command ________________________________________________________ 35 2.7.1.1.4 Natural Language Speech Recognition _______________________________________ 35 2.7.1.1.5 Speaker Verification ______________________________________________________ 35 2.7.1.2 Text-to-Speech _______________________________________________________________ 35 2.7.1.3 Interactive Voice Response _____________________________________________________ 35 2.7.2 Bar Code Reading _______________________________________________________________ 37 2.7.3 Radio Frequency Identification_____________________________________________________ 37 2.7.4 Biometric Security_______________________________________________________________ 39 2.8 Digital Cameras _________________________________________________________ 40 3 HANDHELD TECHNOLOGY IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY _________ 43 3.1 Range of Uses in the Construction Industry __________________________________ 43 1 3.2 Queensland Construction Industry _________________________________________ 43 3.2.1 Uptake of Handheld Computing Devices in Queensland, Australia ________________________ 43 3.2.2 Field Inspectors Diary Organiser (FIDO)_____________________________________________ 43 3.2.3 E-Site _________________________________________________________________________ 45 3.3 Benefits or Otherwise of Current Handheld Computers in Construction __________ 46 3.3.1 Case Studies____________________________________________________________________ 46 3.3.2 Home Building Industry __________________________________________________________ 49 3.3.3 Technologies Addressing Current Problems __________________________________________ 49 3.3.3.1 Orientation driven navigation____________________________________________________ 49 3.3.3.2 Near Eye Displays_____________________________________________________________ 50 3.3.4 M-Commerce in Construction______________________________________________________ 50 3.3.4.1 Client/Server _________________________________________________________________ 50 3.3.4.2 Application Service Providers ___________________________________________________ 50 4 THE FUTURE FOR HANDHELD TECHNOLOGY _________________________ 52 4.1 RFID Technologies_______________________________________________________ 52 4.2 Two-Way Human-Computer Interaction ____________________________________ 52 4.3 Future Generations of Mobile Communications: 3G, 4G, 5G…. _________________ 52 4.4 Future Power Options for HandHeld Devices_________________________________ 56 4.4.1 Fuel Cells______________________________________________________________________ 56 4.4.2 Silver Polymer Batteries __________________________________________________________ 56 4.4.3 PhotoVoltaic & Hydrogen Fuel Cells ________________________________________________ 56 4.4.4 Micro-engines __________________________________________________________________ 57 4.5 Keyboard Technologies ___________________________________________________ 57 4.6 Random Movement Printing Technology ____________________________________ 58 4.7 Flexibile Handhelds ______________________________________________________ 58 4.8 Wearable Computers _____________________________________________________ 58 4.8.1 Augmented Memory _____________________________________________________________ 59 4.8.2 Augmented Reality ______________________________________________________________ 59 4.8.3 Intelligent Collectives ____________________________________________________________ 59 4.9 Market Forecasts for Handheld Devices _____________________________________ 60 5 CONCLUSION________________________________________________________ 61 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY______________________________________________________ 62 7 GLOSSARY __________________________________________________________ 64 8 APPENDIX A: HANDHELD HARDWARE COMPARISONS _________________ 68 9 APPENDIX B: AVAILABLE SOFTWARE USED BY HANDELD DEVICES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ______________________________________________ 89 10 APPENDIX D: SOME RELEVANT INTERNET HOT LINKS _______________ 93 11 AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES ____________________________________________ 94 2 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Top five PDA manufacturers as measured by worldwide shipments in 2002 (Thomas, 2003) ______________________________________________________________ 10 Table 2 Add-on capabilities available for Handheld devices. _______________________ 15 Table 3 Comparisons of Main OS System Features (Lukmani, 2002). ________________ 22 Table 4 Operating System on current Handheld devices. __________________________ 23 Table 5 Types of On-Device Software Available for Handheld Devices._______________ 24 Table 6 Wireless Technology Comparisons of Main Features ______________________ 32 Table 7: Currently available Speech Technology software for Handheld devices. _______ 36 Table 8 RFID Tagging Type Specifications (BRE, 2002) __________________________ 38 Table 9 RFID Tagging Type Uses and Benefits or Otherwise (BRE, 2002) ____________ 38 Table 10 Comparison of Handhelds with built-in digital cameras____________________ 40 Table 11 Results of Tests for Hypothetical Construction field activities (Saidi et al, 2002). 46 Table 12 Examples of Tasks Suited and Not-suited for Handheld Devices in Construction (Saidi et al, 2002). ____________________________________________________ 47 Table 13 Responses to Usefulness Survey (Bowden et al, 2002)____________________ 48 Table 14 Forecasted Handheld Shipments Worldwide Excluding Smartphones (EMARKETER, 2002)__________________________________________________ 60 Table 15 Forecasted Handheld Shipments Worldwide Including Smartphones (EMARKETER, 2002)__________________________________________________ 60 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Sony Nexio S160 high end device (http://www.dynamism.com/nexio/index.shtml) 11 Figure 2 Small-end Handheld Devices