ICT, ELECTRONICS

Mobile phones sold in 2013 totalled 1.8 billion units, 3.5% up on last year, with smart phones accounting for 53% • Samsung led the way with a market share of 22%, followed by Nokia at 19% and Apple at 8% • Delivery of tablet computers was expected to increase by 38% over last year to 200 million units in 2013 • The production value of flexible displays was estimated to increase to USD 36.8 billion by 2020 • Yields for the global semiconductor industry were anticipated to rise more than 6% in 2013 to over USD 320 billion.

IoT – Uniting the physical and virtual

“Beautiful day” Anna thought to herself, barely awake, feeling the light through her eyelids. She opened her eyes to a room ablaze with sunshine, reflections from the nearby lake, green grass, and blue sky. She sensed a small cloud momentarily hide the sun, but then pass, letting warmth and light fill the room again. The waves on the water and the movement of the leaves and grass in the wind kept the light alive. “What’s up?” she asked. The sun seemed to morph back into a cloud and news headlines appeared on the wall. “More snow?” she thought. “Enough”, she says. “Who’s up? She gazes at some blobs of purple light on the floor towards the living room and, after listening for a while, hears her daughter moving downstairs. Purple is her daughter’s favourite colour, now that pink is no longer “in”. Turning her head she sees a warm blue glow on the desk. “Oh, Peter’s still awake.” She reaches for her phone and asks it to place a call to her husband. Peter’s face appears on the wall. A beautiful Californian sunset fills the room. “Hello Darling. How was the conference?”

FOREST, ENERGY, CHEMISTRY, ENVIRONMENT

At the end of 2012, 14% of the production capacity for electricity in the USA was based on renewable energy, while renewables already account for 56% of all new capacity • Annual global production of paper in 2012 equated to 400 million tonnes, with 23% produced in Europe • Energy costs include 16% paper industry costs, with 56% of paper industry energy formed of bioenergy • Paper fibre in Europe is recycled 3.5 times, while recycling of paper and cardboard packaging reaches 81%.

Paving way for the bioeconomy and sustainability

Mike and Maria are looking for a new house. The virtual agent helps them find a conveniently located house, allowing them to use public transportation when commuting between their home and the office. The agent also provides details of the energy rating and emissions of the building, affecting the level of the Sustainability Promotion Tax that was passed by Parliament a few years earlier to promote energy-efficiency and the use of renewable energy in the country. The house is equipped with electric heating, but the agent provides much information on alternative energy systems, such as heat pumps, wood, and solar and geothermal energy, that could also be used for heating and lighting. There is even a virtual environment created around an exercise bike. The bike also generates the electricity for the system. Further electricity can be stored and used to power other household devices.

WELL-BEING, FOOD, PHARMACEUTICALS

R&D costs in the European pharmaceutical industry were estimated at approximately EUR 30 billion in 2012 • The USA's share of global pharmaceutical sales in 2012 was approximately 41%, with Europe taking 27% • Development costs for a single new chemical or biological component were estimated to be approximately EUR 1.1 billion • Profits for electronic services in the USA's health and well-being markets were expected to grow from the present level of USD 2 billion to USD 8 billion by 2018.

Healtcare and services up, close and personal

The year is 2020, and Leila is a typical 70-year-old. She has lived with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure for the last ten years. With lifestyle changes and medication she has attained a good balance of treatment with her chronic diseases and lost 15 kilos in weight. She feels empowered by the new municipal health care system, which provides patients with tools to monitor their weight, physical activity, sleep, nutritional level, medication, blood pressure and glucose levels. Various embedded sensors enable the collection of data, which is stored in an interoperable database. The service, My Health Timeline, collects information and gives motivating on-line feedback and tips for patients’ health management. Leila can keep in secure contact with her nurses, doctors and support peer group via the service. She contributes 10 euros per month towards the service and the remaining costs are covered by her home town.

MACHINES, VEHICLES, MATERIALS

Sales of cameras for industrial computer vision applications totalled 1.2 million in 2012, with the sales value expected to rise to USD 2 billion by 2018 • Industrial machine-to-machine communications is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 22% to reach USD 18 billion by 2022 • Over 60% of the world's icebreakers are built in Finland, along with approximately 40% of vehicle ferries • Sales of electric vehicles in the USA practically doubled in 2013 – 96,000 vehicles – compared to the previous year.

Eco-efficient machines and resource-efficient production

Peter has had a long career. As an older professional, Peter is a good representative of the ageing Europe. He is still working although he has already turned 65. Peter works for EuroMan, a globally operating manufacturing company headquartered in Italy. It manufactures and sells high-end drilling machines for the mining and excavation industry, and it also provides a range of services from repairs to operation support. Peter can do the service work remotely by controlling maintenance robots from his home or office. They use, for example, remote diagnostics, artificial intelligence based on neural networks, augmented reality, lightweight headmounted displays, and data gloves. Knowledgeable workers, state-of-the art products, effective tools and processes, and a profound understanding of their customers’ business environment have enabled world-class service business that has made EuroMan a market leader in its field – and not only the market leader but also sustainable.

REAL ESTATE, CONSTRUCTION, SERVICES, LOGISTICS

Building renovation accounts for 5.6% of GDP in Finland • Buildings take up 40% of the EU's overall energy consumption. According to an EU directive, all new construction after 31 December 2020 must be virtually zero energy buildings • Services account for 75% of GDP over the entire EU area, while the share of global trade stands at approximately 20% • Transport costs average 4.6% of Finnish company turnover, while 35% of the competitiveness of industrial firms derives from logistics.

Sustainable built environment in a knowledge society

A single guy in his early thirties, Jürgen, travels around with his friends by car. They are on their way to a concert where they are to meet other people. The car is brand new but nevertheless breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, Jürgen and his friends receive full support from their car. The car books them a place on the next InterCity train and provides them with detailed instructions on how to reach the nearest station, conveniently located just a few kilometres north of their current location. The road authorities already know that the car is on the roadside, presumably because of an engine failure. Their system has generated an alarm, indicating that a car has stopped on a dual carriageway where parking is strictly prohibited. There has been a lot of talk about the road authorities’ ability to monitor traffic automatically. Many people are irritated because it also enables automated speed surveillance and route tracking.