The Aging Consumer - Future by Semcon # 3 2013

futurebysemcon#32013
“Thefeelingof
goingreallyfast
isaddictive”
ANN-CHARLOTTE EKLUND
AFTER
WORK
name Ann-Charlotte Eklund.
at work Project Manager in the pharmaceutical and
medical technology industry.
after work Roller derby training.
current challengeTo get better at tackling harder!
TEXT:MAGNUSCARLSSONPHOTO:MATTIASBARDÅ
About me
“I work a lot and spend a lot of my free time playing roller
derby.Both training and getting involved in the voluntary
aspect of the association.I’m 31 and live in Södermalm in
Stockholm.”
About my job
“I work as a project management consultant at a large
pharmaceutical company.There I manage investment
projects within tablet manufacture.I have been at Sem-
con since 2009 and am very happy in what I do.”
About roller derby
“About a year ago a friend told me that she had
joined a roller derby team.It’s a full contact sport
on roller skates,and it’s just girls playing.I follo-
wed along and gave it a try and became hooked
and bought skates from a girl there immedia-
tely.The adrenaline rush,the game and the
feeling of going really fast is addictive.”
What I’ve learnt from roller derby
“For me,roller derby has been a great way to
switch off from my job - a good complement
to the daily grind at work.I also benefit at
work from meeting many different kinds
of people at roller derby.And as I’m a
project manager at work,I think it’s inte-
resting to go in and see how projects are
run in an association where everyone
works as a volunteer.There are many
similarities with my job but at the
same time it’s completely different.”
ABOUT: ROLLER DERBY
Roller derby is a full-contact
sport played on old-fashioned
roller skates.The sport develo-
ped in the USA in the 1920s and
in recent years has spread as
an underground movement to
many countries over the world.
Roller derby is based on five
players on each team on an
oval indoor track trying to win
points through one player,the
“jammer”,trying to run around
the opposition,called“blockers”.
+
HOWKATHERINE
KUCHENBECKERWANTS
TOFOOLOURSENSES
POWERPAC
–AREVOLUTION
INFUELCELLS
KENTUCKYMAKES
ASSAABLOY’SELECTRONIC
KEYSCHEAPER
A MAGAZINE ABOUT THE ART
OF CREATING THE FUTURE
#3 2013
THE
GOLDEN
YEARS
TOMORROW’S 60-YEAR-OLDS
WILL BE STRONGER BOTH
PHYSICALLY AND FINANCIALLY.
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT SOCIETY
– AND HOW CAN WE PREPARE?

2 FUTURE BY SEMCON 3.2013
CONTENTS #3.2013ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE OF FUTURE BY SEMCON
36Thekeytoupdatedmanuals
WhenAssaAbloywasstreamliningitsmanualsfortheir
electroniclocks,theychosetoworkwithSemcon,whose
proprietarysoftwaresavesbothtimeandmoney.

FUTURE BY SEMCON 3.2013 3
32MEETSEMCON’S
SHARPESTMINDS
InSemconBrainsyoucanmeetDaniel
Carlsson,whoensuresthateverything
fromplasterstopacemakerswork
properly,PederAlm,aspecialistin
embeddedsystems,andZsófiaDali,
whoworksine-learning.
16ASAFERFUTURE
WITHHANDGESTURES
Usinggestureshasbecomeanatural
waytocontrolourmobiles.Semcon
investigateshowwecanusegesturesto
controlthingssuchasperipheralsin acar.
Website: www.semcon.com Letters: Future by Semcon, Semcon AB, 417 80 Göteborg, Sweden. Change of address: future@semcon.com
Publisher: Anders Atterling. Tel: +46 (0)70-447 28 19, email: anders.atterling@semcon.com Semcon project manager: Madeleine Andersson.
Tel: +46 (0)76-569 83 31, e-mail: madeleine.andersson@semcon.com Editorial production: Spoon, spoon.se. Editor: Björn Jansson. Designer:
Mathias Lövström. Repro: Spoon. Printing: Trydells Tryckeri, Laholm. Translation: Cannon Språkkonsult AB. ISSN: 1650-9072.
EDITORIAL
Preparing for the future
24SEMCONMAKING
ENERGYSUPPLYSAFER
WhenABBinLudvikabuildspower
supplysystemsforoilrigstheyask
Semconforhelp.ConsultantLennie
Edman-Terningisinchargeoftestingof
thecontrolsystems.
28INTRODUCINGTOUCH
TOTHECOMPUTERWORLD
KatherineKuchenbeckerisoneofthemain
researchfiguresinhaptictechnology-a
technologythatfeedsbacktooursenseof
touch,andcanmakeusbelievethatweare
feelingthingsthatdon’texist.
MARKUS GRANLUND, CEO,SEMCON
W
ithin 40 years, the structure
of the earth’s population will
be quite different from how it
looks today. The older people of
the community will be more numerous, healthi-
er and financially stronger. When there is such a
fundamental change in society, we have to keep
up with the technological developments which
follow.
In this edition of Future by Semcon we go
in-depth with the latest population projec-
tions and analyze what the effect may be - for
us, for the world and its people in general. With
this knowledge, we will be well-prepared in a
future that we are ourselves creating. We also
visit Osstell, a company that ensures dental
implants succeed to a greater extent thanks to a
world-leading measuring technique.
In this issue, we also visit Assa Abloy and
talk about how we are helping them streamline
their operations. We also get a glimpse of how
the fuel cells of the future are evolving and learn
more about how testing works so as not to en-
counter any surprises when a whole oil platform
has to be supplied with energy.
Haptic researcher Katherine Kuchenbecker
talks about how in the future we will be able
to touch and interact with things that are not
there. As usual, we also meet some of Sem-
con’s experts, who offer a glimpse into
how they create products and solutions
for the future. 1

PEOPLE #3.2013PEOPLE IN THIS ISSUE OF FUTURE BY SEMCON
All industries need to take action to deal with – and benefit
from – the changing population structure. Here’s what some of the
people involved in this issue of the Future by Semcon are saying.
katherinekuchenbecker,associateprofessorof
mechanicalengineeringandappliedmechanicsand
computerandinformationscienceattheuniversityof
pennsylvania
What significancecanhapticshavefortheelderly?
“Thebiggest area,I think,isphysical therapyandrehabilitation-forexampleusingMi-
crosoft Kinect 360.Inmylaboratorywehavestudiedcost-effectivesolutionsfor tactile
feedback,whichisadministeredin thearmoranyotherbodypart inneedofrehabili-
tation.It couldhelppatientsregainabetterfeelingofcoordinationafterastroke.”
danielcarlsson,seniorqualityandproject
manager,semcon
Whichproductsdoyouthinkwillappearandwhichwilldisappear
within40years?
“Thewheelchairwilldisappear.Inafewdecades’time,Ibelieve therewill
besolutionsallowinganyone towalk.Whenit comes tonewproducts,
I’mhopefulabout artificialeyes.Visionis theability tohandlelarge
amountsofdata.Therearealready tools that allowanyone tohear,andI
think that ouraimshouldbe that everyoneshouldalsobeable tosee.”
34
PAGE
28
PAGE
pederalm,teammanagerandproductdeveloper
withinembeddedsystems,semcon
Howcanembeddedsystemsbedesignedtoincludetheelderlyinabetterway?
“I think theelderlycurrentlyfeel that theycan’t keepup- that theywillbe
overtakenby technology.Societyhasundergonea technologicalrevolution,and
therehasbeenagapformanypeopleover50 today.I think therewillbemore,
similarchanges,and thechallengeis then toconsider theneedsof theolder
generation,without compromisingon technicaldevelopment.”
32
PAGE

andersbjörklund,headof
medicaldevices,semcon
What isthebiggest challengefacing
medicaldevices?
“It’sacombinationofincreasedregu-
latoryrequirements,focusoncareat
homeandmore technologicalcontent
inproducts.User-friendliness,software
andappswhichwillbeintegratedinto
orwithproducts.Thequestionofhow
personalintegrityshouldbehandled
andweighedupagainst healthbenefits
isachallenge.”
zsófiadali,technicalwriterande-learning
consultant,semcon
What doesthefutureofe-learninglooklike?
“Likeanaturalpart ofeverydaylife.Technologyhas takenaquantum
leapandwehave thelatest glasses,whichreadour thoughtsand
project theinformationweneedonto thenearest surface.Education
technologywilladapt to thesurroundingsandwewilllearn things
everywhere.We’lljust have tolookaround.It’llbesuper-cool!”
anderspetersson,operationalmanager,osstell
What rolewilltechnologyplayinourdentalhealthin2050?
“Teethweardownanddonot re-formlikeother tissues.Aslifeexpectan-
cyincreases,sodoes thedemandfor teeth-anddentalimplants-which
last.Treatment methodswillbequickerandsafer.Innearly40years’
time,most peoplewillbeable toreceivestableimplantsandgohome
andeat immediatelyaftersurgery.Technologywillmake treatment more
preciseandlifeeasierforboth thepatient and thedentist.”
12
PAGE
10
PAGE
35
PAGE

Theworld’spopulation
isagingandthesechanges
arehappeningveryquickly.This
meansmajorchallengesforthose
whowanttosucceedinthefuture.
Thekeyisinadaptingproducts
fortheover-60s–butwithout
makingitsoobviousthatother
customersarescaredoff.
TEXT MARCUS OLSSON

FOCUS:
THE AGING CONSUMER
The overhead lighting in the supermarket
shines brightly.There is plenty of seating in
the aisles and all the goods on the shelves are at
our fingertips.No customer needs to stretch to
reach anything.There is no music being played:
there is a slow tempo and a quiet atmosphere
in the store.The staff take time,speak slowly
and inform customers in a friendly and simple
manner.If there is no-one nearby,it’s easy to
follow the clear signs.The year is 2050,and the
world and its societies have changed.

WITHIN 40 years, there will
be over two billion
people over 60. This will be over one-fifth of
the total population of more than nine billion.
This group of people is growing five times
quicker than the rest of the population. Now
- in the 2050s - they are also even healthier
and stronger, both physically and financially.
These changes will have an impact on every
industry on the planet.
“The interesting thing will be in seeing how
demographic changes reshape the business
landscape and pretty much every custom-
er market, from retail to the production and
development of customer products,”says Ajit
Kambil.
He is head of global research at Deloitte, a
multinational auditing firm, and works with
many of the world’s largest companies. Kam-
bil was behind the research report‘Wealth
with Wisdom: Serving the Needs of Aging
Consumers,’a demographic study of the aging
consumer. Thousands of people were inter-
viewed for the report.
“We note that the world has never expe-
rienced such a large demographic change in
such a short time. We looked at the numbers
and research from economic, psychological,
biological and social perspectives,”says Kam-
bil, at Deloitte’s headquarters. He continues:
“In the past you didn’t have to think so
much about the older part of the population.
They didn’t live as long. Neither were their
lives as independent. Many of the needs of my
grandparents were looked after by their im-
mediate family. If I look at myself, I’ll probably
live more independently when I’m older than
they did during the last part of their lives.”
In 2050, there will be more people over
60 than there will be young people under
16, according to a UN report. This has never
happened before in history. A reduced birth
rate in many countries and better food and
Populationgrowth
Worldpopulationin2013:7.2billion
Estimatedpopulationin2050:9.6billion
SOURCE: UN
PHOTO: 123RF

medicines are among the reasons. But the
cost of medical care, elderly care and pensions
will increase exponentially. As more people
continue working for longer, it will be more
difficult for young people to enter the labour
market. This also means lower tax revenues.
Dick Stroud has written a number of books
about the aging consumer. His company
20plus30 Consulting helps companies market
and sell products to the older generation.
“Decision makers at every possible level
and position in the community have to cre-
ate awareness, whether they are politicians,
officials or business leaders. When building
or planning something, you have to have a
particular type of end user in mind. However,
those taking the decisions rarely think of the
elderly, but instead about younger people.”
THERE IS A gap between reality and how most
organizations make their decisions. Many
large organizations and authorities are several
steps behind in this development, according
to Stroud.
“It’s not that they can’t read the bottom
line - rather that they are wondering where
to start. But the fact is that once an informed
decision has been made, the path to the goal
will be much simpler and straighter. Many
things become more obvious. You just have
to first get past the static friction and make
things start moving.”
Britt Östlund is professor of welfare tech-
nology at Lund University. She advocates a
new approach to older people.
“There is a lot of discussion about the
T
hemedical technologymarket is
growingsteadily.Demographic
developmentsareleading toa
genuinefocusonlifescienceingeneral
andmedicaldevicesinparticular.The
West nolongerhasanagepyramid,with
alot ofyoungpeopleandfewoldpeople.
Instead,therearealot ofpeopleaged
between35and65.Therest of theworld
isnowfollowing.
“Ifyouareborninadeveloping
country,youwilllargelysurvivediseases
whichpreviouslycausedhighinfant
mortalitysuchasmalaria. Instead,peo-
plenowadayslive toanagewhenother
diseasessuchascancerbecomemore
common,requiringsignificantlymore,
long-termcare,”saysAndersBjörklund.
BjörklundisinchargeofallofSem-
con’smedical technologyservices.This
requiresaholisticapproach,combining
experienceinindustrialdesignand
Aquestionof
lifeexpectancy
andquality
AndersBjörklundandhisexpertsatmed-
icaldevicesletprovenindustrialdesign
shapethefutureofmedicaldevices.
TEXT JOHAN JARNEVING PHOTO LARS ARDARVE
TECHNOLOGY FOR AN AGING POPULATION
FOCUS:
THE AGING CONSUMER

existence of many more older people and the
fact that this will cost society a lot of money.
Many people are wondering how we will be
able to solve all the future problems. This ap-
proach is based on seeing an elderly person as
a frail individual needing help with different
things. Certainly, many people will need help,
but one new aspect is that we will live longer
and healthier lives - and more of us will live
longer,”Östlund says, continuing:
“The dominant approach toward the elderly
today is a medical one - it is a downhill strug-
gle, you fall ill and start to feel pain. Many
don’t look at the person as a whole. Instead,
you have to see the elderly as active individ-
uals - even when they are ill or have disabil-
ities.”
Dick Stroud is focusing on how physiologi-
cal changes affect the older consumer.
“Companies today know little about how
the physiology of the aging process affects
the buyer. Frequently, no thought is given to
marketing, presenting, selling and supporting
products for older people. Impaired vision,
hearing, feel and ability to learn affects how
we act as consumers. The aspect which gets
the least attention is the importance of the
aging brain. By which I don’t mean the links
to various diseases, but what happens to all
of us over time. The vast majority of us are
aware that eyesight deteriorates with age, but
certain companies just think: ’well then, we’ll
have to use a larger font on our website.’“
AJIT KAMBIL AT Deloitte thinks similarly.
“One thing may be to remove distracting
stimuli. What we found in our research was
that many environments - such as shopping
- are too loud. Many consumers don’t like it,
but music is still played in most shops and
shopping malls. What companies and stores
do not realize is that this particularly dis-
tracts the elderly from doing what they came
there to do - buy things.”
In the future, retail itself will be complete-
ly changed, thinks Kambil. It is important to
consider how to teach the customer about a
product’s features and functionality.
“You have act more slowly than with a
younger customer. It’s best to start with a
engineeringwithknowledgeof theregu-
lationswithin theindustry.
“Medical device is in a class of its own
with its specific legal requirements
and we are a valuable guide to our
customers.Internationally,it’s a real
jungle with different rules and quality
systems,even if the EU and the US
are quite similar.Complexity is also a
contributing factor in more companies
outsourcing development work to ex-
ternal experts.”
WITH MEDICAL ADVANCES, weareget-
tingolder,but wealsoneedmorecare.
Non-infectiousdiseasessuchasAlzheim-
er’s,canceranddiabetesaffect morepeo-
ple:80%ofuswilldiefrom thesekind
ofdiseases.Meanwhile,healthcareand
aidsareimprovingso that morepeople
canbothsurviveandliveaworthwhile
lifewith thesediseases.
“The trendwithinmedicaldevicesis
towardsdesignanduser-friendliness.
Asweget older,wemayfindit difficult
tomovebut willstillbeable tocope.You
canusesuchaidsafterastroke,but can
alsogoaround townwithout needing to
go tohospital.”
THE OTHER CLEAR trendiswithin theop-
portunities that ITprovides.Wearejust
at thestart of theconnectedsociety.
“We’realready talkingabout proto-
typeswhichwillmakeaquickdiagnosis
everymorningandget anindicationof
someone’sgeneralcondition.Theprod-
uctslookmorelikeasmartphonewith
a touchscreenanddifferent appsrather
thananold-fashionedbloodpressure
monitor.Sinceweworkwithotherindus-
tries,suchasautomotiveandenergy,we
cancross-pollinateknowledgeandlearn
acrossborders.”
Using thesamelogicaswith thedevel-
opment ofcomputers,when technology
advancesproductsbecomesmallerand
smarter.Electronicsandsoftwarecanbe
integratedintoother typesofmedical
device.
“Itwon’tbelongbeforewe’remonitor-
ingandreportingoursymptomsonline
throughapps,smartphonesandother
technologicalsolutions,”saysBjörklund1
THEEXPERT
AndersBjörklund
Title: Head of Medical Devices
at Semcon.
Lifeexpectancy
isincreasing
According to theUNreport“World
PopulationProspects:The2012Revision”,
averagelifeexpectancyworldwidewill
risefrom thecurrent 70years to76years
byaround2050.By2100,it maybeas
highas82years,andinmoredeveloped
countries89.
SOURCE: UN
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL WHEELCHAIR
Semconwashiredby thecompanyEtac todevelopaman-
ufacturingset-upforawheelchairaimedat theover-70s.
Etac’skeywordswere“warmandhuman.”
Theresult isaproduct withfewercomponentsandmore
multi-functionalfeatures.Thewheelchairusesmanypartscast
inaluminium,givingalighterframeandamoreenergy-and
cost-effectivemanufacturingprocess.

similar product that the customer already
has, and then progressively increase knowl-
edge of the new product, but relatively slowly.
Vendors of the future will need to spend more
time on individual customers.”
The 60-year-olds of 2050 were born in
1990.They will be more used to technology
than elderly people are today.
However, both Stroud and Kambil see prob-
lems in how today’s product developers work
when developing new products and services.
Currently, it is the elderly who are forced to
adapt to the products - and not vice versa.
“A great number of things we have around
us are anything but user-friendly,”says Kam-
bil.”Just look at the different types of med-
ication bottles. You have to press down and
A
titaniumscrewwhichgoesinto
thejawboneinorder tokeepan
artificialcrowninplace.When
ProfessorPer-IngvarBrånemarkdevel-
oped thismethod-osseointegration-in
the1960s,tomanypeopleit must have
seemedlikesciencefiction.Nowit is
commonplaceinmost partsof theworld
and theimplant isimprovingqualityof
lifefor thousandsofpeople.Anddevelop-
ment iscontinuing.
Amajorstep tosimplify the treatment
andincreaseprecisionwas takenin the
early2000s.Themedical technology
companyOsstell thenstarteddeveloping
ameasuringinstrument tocheck the
stabilityof the titaniumscrew.
“What wecallaSmartpegisattached
to theimplant and thensends themeas-
uringinstrument anelectromagnetic
pulseandmeasures theoscillations(fre-
quency).We thenconvert it toourown
Tactiledesign
forsaferdental
implants
Adentalimplantwhichfitsperfectlyfrom
thestartimprovesapatient’squalityoflife
andgivesthedentistabetteropportunity
toevaluatehis/herwork.Osstell’sworld-
leadingmeasuringinstrumentensures
thatmoreimplantsaresuccessful.
TEXT JOHAN JARNEVING PHOTO LARS ARDARVE
scale,ISQ(Implant StabilityQuotient),
where100isrocksolidand1iscomplete-
lyloose.Thisinformationiscrucial to
obtainanobjectiveviewof theimplant’s
ability tobearloads,”saysAndersPeters-
son,COOandco-founderofOsstell.
The technologyisextremelyadvanced
andhasascientificbasis.Now themajor
challengeforOsstellis toreachout to
moreof theworld’sdentists.
“Worldwide,around170000den-
tistsworkwithimplants.Out of these,
perhaps100000workregularlywith
the technology.Thiscompared to the
10000instrumentswehavesoldsince
launch.Westillhavealot ofdentists to
convince,”saysPetersson.
IN DECEMBER 2012, theKoreanimplant
manufacturerMegaGenhadaproposal
forOsstell:Canyoudevelopaunique
designofyourinstrument forus?Could
it befinishedby thesummer?
Osstelland theimplant industryhave
interestsincommon,soOsstell’sman-
agement immediatelysaw thepotential
of theproject.Collaborationisanatural
wayofincreasingawarenessofOsstell’s
technology.AndersPeterssongot Sem-
coninvolvedandsoon thefirst concept
proposalwasdevelopedand theproject
wasinfullswing.
“Withaschedulewhichwasbothclear
anddemanding,workingmethodically
becameevenmoreimportantforus.We
approachedthegoalstep-by-step.From
conceptandprototypestodesign,testing
andproduction.Nowwe’vedoneit.Large-
lythankstotheextensiveexperienceof
theteamandearlydialoguewithsuppli-
ers.Theclosecollaborationbetweenus
andOsstellshouldn’tbeunderestimated,”
saysJeffSmith,Semconprojectmanager.
FOR UNDERSTANDABLE REASONS,
therearegreat demandsondocumen-
tationandriskanalysiswithmedical
devices.Withadedicatedqualityengi-
neerin theworkinggroup,Semconcould
incorporate thisworkinto therapidprod-
uct development.Theresult isextensive
documentationwhichOsstellcanutilize
infutureprojects.
DENTAL HEALTH
This was the result when Semcon
redesigned Osstell’s world-leading
instrument.
COMFORTABLE KITCHEN APPLIANCES
Semconhasbeeninvolvedinproducinganumberofproductsfor
Ikea’s365series.Theseincludeaballoonwhiskandaspatula,
bothusingeasy-to-gripmaterialsanddesign.Anaging
generationhasbeen takenintoaccount - theutensils
shouldbeaseasy tousefora15-year-oldasfora70-year-
old.Theedgeof thehandleof theballoonwhiskalso
means that it islesslikely toslipdownin thepan
and thespatulacomeswithanextra-widebase
whichmakesit easier tofryfoodsuchasfishor
pancakes.
FOCUS:
THE AGING
CONSUMER

turn the cap to open them. This isn’t easy for
someone with arthritis or rheumatism. Many
companies today aren’t thinking of 80- or
90-year-olds when designing new products,
but some are increasingly seeing this category
as a potential market.
Dick Stroud:
“I live in London and some time ago visited
one of its finest hotels, which had just under-
gone a complete renovation. It was obvious
that no one had considered that future guests
would be older. It wouldn’t have cost more
to do it the right way from the start, i.e. more
suitable for older customers. It’s small things
such as seats being too high, or bad overhead
lighting. People of all ages have to squint at
the menu’s small lettering when ordering
something to eat. In other words, it’s not just
about designing for older people, but for any-
one who can benefit from it.”
Ajit Kambil takes the travel industry as
another example.
“I travel a lot myself for work and every
time I’m on an aeroplane I think the same
thing. All of the luggage hatches are above
head height. Lifting heavy bags up high is
quite difficult for many older people.”
BACK TO THE FUTURE. In 2050, there will be
more models of car, with increased options
and roomier interiors.
Carl Wellborn is a project manager and en-
gineer at General Motors’R&D department.
Besides theextensiveformalrequire-
ments,therewereacoupleofclear tech-
nicalrequirements.Theproduct had to
haveachargingstationandcertaincon-
nectivity.Otherwise,Semcon’sdesigners
andengineershadafreehand.
Thedesignconcept isalsobasedona
naturalorganicshapewhichfitscom-
fortablyin thehand.Thesmoothdisplay
doesn’t just giveaspotlessimpression:
it isalsoahygienicfeature that makesit
easier towipe thedevice.
TITANIUM IMPLANTS MAY haveseemed
futuristicwhen theywereintroducedin
the1960s,but will theybeneededat all
in the2060s?By that time,toothdecay
shouldbeeradicatedandeveryone’s
teethshouldbeingoodcondition.
“Well,weshouldn’t forget that there
arelargedifferencesbetweencountries.
InmanypartsofSouthAmerica,Asia
andAfrica,bad teetharewidespread
andit will takealong time to turn things
around there,”saysPetersson.
“Yes,andwearealsogettingolder,and
withage theneedfordentalimplants
increases,”saysSvensson.
Theimplant market hasbeengrowing
steadilysince the1960sand thereisno
signofreduceddemandin thefuture.
On thecontrary,withmoresophisticat-
ed technologyandimprovedmethods,
this treatment canbenefit morepeople,
especiallyindevelopingcountries.
Throughsimilarcollaborationsas that
withMegaGen,Osstelliswellonits
way tonewmarkets,moredentistsand
ultimatelymoresatisfiedpatientswith
stableimplants.1
AndersPetersson
Operationalmanager
andco-founder,Osstell
JonasSvensson
Project Manager,
MedicalDevices,
Semcon

“We are working on a lot of things that I
can’t talk about in detail. But the aging con-
sumer will have a significant impact on our
work and the products and services we devel-
op,”he says.
“The biggest challenges are not actually
technical but psychological. We have inter-
viewed thousands of people and our results
say that the thing most people are worried
about is being less free. Having reduced ac-
cess to services and products that they have
used when younger - they fear that their lives
will become less mobile.”
This creates challenges for every car man-
ufacturer.
“Getting into and out of a car becomes
more difficult when you are older. Most-
ly because the user has changed physically,
rather than cars being made differently today
than previously. It’s mostly about a way of
thinking. When you’re younger, you don’t
even have to think about getting in and out.
When you are older, your body reminds you.
When we develop a model, we have to think
about our customers to ensure that this
does not become a problem. We are looking
for solutions where aging does not inter-
fere with the experience and use of the car.
It should be just as easy to get in and out as
always. Driving a car should be simple and
flexible.”
SMALL CHANGES MAKE a big difference.
“We have already made it easier to get in and
out of many of our models. One challenge is
in maintaining the same high safety and crash
tolerance as before. Another is that most peo-
ple still do not want a car explicitly designed
for the elderly or for people with physical
disabilities. We are working to integrate those
smart solutions which will make the car more
accessible to older people, but without scaring
away others who might be interested in it. It
is about finding small smart features which
won’t completely change the look and feel of
the vehicle. There are solutions for those who
really need them and will be helped by them.
But everyone using the product will benefit
from the improvements that have been made.
It is about making cars that are more“ag-
ing-friendly”- but without making this too
obvious.
Dick Stroud believes that one of the main
tricks for capturing the aging consumer is
to start early. There are fewer than 40 years
left until 2050.Companies cannot afford to
make mistakes. Stroud uses Heineken as an
example. The brewer is trying to reach older
customers by tailoring and marketing beers
targeted at the ages of 60, 65, 70 and 75.
“The paradox is that even if you need a
product specifically designed for a 60 year old,
you don’t want to buy it. I am 63 years old my-
self and don’t want to be reminded that all my
senses are impaired and that a company feels
sorry for me because of it. This paradox is one
P
etterDahlqvist isaninteraction
designerat Semcon.Inhiscurrent
assignment,heisatVolvoTrucks,
whereheworksonHMI-human-ma-
chineinterface- theuserinterface that
links theuser to theproduct.Petterbe-
lieves that hisindustryisfacingamajor
challengein thefuture,when theneeds
ofanincreasinglyelderlyclientelehave
tobemet.
“Today’sproductsfor theelderlyoften
havelargebuttons,ahighervolumeand
aneasily-recognizableinterface.Theyare
adaptedfordisabilitieswhichare typical
in theelderly,suchasimpairedvisionand
hearing,but alsofor thefact that the
Elderlypeopleofthe
futuremoreusedto
technology
As theworldpopulationdramaticallyin-
creases–and thegroupofpeopleover60
is thefastest-growing–PetterDahlqvist
believes that adaptingproductsforolder
peoplewilllookradicallydifferent in the
future.
TEXT JOHANNA LAGERFORS PHOTO LARS ARDARVE
A CUSTOMIZED FUTURE
UNIQUE HEARING AID
OticonMedicalwanted todevelopauniquehearingaidwithout
compromisingoneither toleranceorquality.Moreover,it had tobe
user-friendlyandintuitive,andavailableinbothright-andleft-ear
versions.Semconwashiredfordesignwork,surfacedesignand
alsosomeplasticmodelling.Theresult was thePontoPro
Power-anergonomicproduct whichalsohasanorganic
feel.Compared to thecompetition,thePontoProPower
isadesignrevolutionin themarket,andcannowboast
tobeboth theworld’sfirst fullydigitalandprogram-
mablebone-anchoredhearingaid,andhasbeen
awarded theinternationaliFDesignAward.
FOCUS:
THE AGING
CONSUMER

of the biggest challenges for companies.”
Others who need to increase the pace of
development are major organizations in both
public and private sectors. The medical in-
dustry will grow exponentially because of the
large increase in elderly people. Many insti-
tutions are slow in introducing technological
innovations within their businesses, in part
because of the costs involved.
“There are many tools just waiting to be de-
ployed. If you visit a hospital in the UK today,
much of the equipment is incredibly primitive
compared to what is already on the market.”
THE MODERN TECHNOLOGY used in each and
every person’s home could be transformed
from gaming and entertainment tools into as-
sistive technology within care for the elderly
and sick.
“A lot of things are happening on the tech-
nological side right now. There are devices
which allow you to manage and control pro-
grams on a screen just by using hand move-
ments. For many older people, this is a very
positive feature.”
Dick Stroud thinks the focus is wrong and
elderlyareless tech-savvy thanyounger
users,”hesays.
In thefuture,Petterbelieves that
themarket willlookdifferent,not just
because therewillbemoreandmore
elderlypeople,but alsobecause their
ability toembracenew technologywill
bedifferent then.
“Theoldergenerationsof thefuture
willhaveacompletelydifferent experi-
enceof technology than today’selderly.
It willbenaturalfor them touse tech-
nologyforahugevarietyofpurposesin
everydaylife-not just forerrandsand
obligations,”hesays.
HMIhasgreat importance tohow
user-friendlyaproduct is,andhowit is
perceivedby thecustomer.
“It’sfunworkingininteractiondesign
becausewhat youdoissoimportant
to theuserexperience.What wedois
visible to theconsumer.”
Todoagoodjobit is thereforeimpor-
tant toknow the target audienceand
theneeds that theyhave.Duringhis
designengineering training,Dahlqvist
wrotea thesisabout developinghospital
equipment aimedat theelderlyand the
disabled.
“Theworkwasmoreaboutphysical
ergonomicsthanHMI,but theseprelimi-
narystudiesincreasedmyunderstanding
ofolderusersandtheirneeds,”hesays.
Ifthetechnologygapbetweenthe
youngandtheolddecreasesinthefuture,
itwillbeeasiertoproduceproductsfor
wideraudiences.Thefoundationsofin-
teractiondesign-suchassimplicity,clear
structuresandrecognition-areimpor-
tantnomatterwhatagetheusersare.
“Weareallpeopleandactuallyhave
afairlysimilarunderstandingand the
sameneeds.However,toreduce the
riskofscaringawayolderpeoplewitha
complicatedproduct,oryoungerpeople
withsomethingoverlysimple,in the
futureyoucanimagineofferingsettings
allowing theuser tocustomize theinter-
face to thedesiredlevelofdifficulty,”says
Dahlqvist 1
THESPECIALIST
PetterDahlqvist
Title: Interaction Designer,Semcon
“THEPARADOXISTHATEVENIFYOUNEEDA
PRODUCTSPECIFICALLYDESIGNEDFORA
60-YEAR-OLD,YOUDON’TWANTTOBUYIT.”
Dick Stroud, business strategist

is surprised that none of the major companies
have tried to get to grips with the growing
market in the area where care for the elderly
and sick meets modern technology.
“A lot of energy is put into sexy technolo-
gy and design rather than discovering tools
to help the elderly. If you look at wheel-
chairs, toilet seats and jars today, so much
of the foundation of what is designed now
is almost 50 years old. This is one thing that
may change when the focus shifts to the older
generation.”
Few companies have so far taken future
changes genuinely seriously. But there are
exceptions.
“Apple has succeeded. They were certainly
not originally thinking of older people, but
they succeed because they have a funda-
G
estureConcept is thecollec-
tivenamefor thecompany’s
researchandproduct develop-
ment within thesector.
“Wehavereceivedinquiriesfromcus-
tomerswhowant toworkwithgestures,
and thisisourconcept withwhichwe
explainhowwesee thecapabilitiesand
limitationsofgestures,”saysAnders
Sundin.“It’sawayofdemonstrating the
potentialof“inairgestures”andwhat
it candoforadriver.Thiscaninclude
Howgestureswill
makeeveryday
technologysimpler
Gesture-controlledsystemswillbea
commonfeatureofmanypeople’severy-
daylives.Semcon’sworkonfuturesolu-
tionsisextremelyadvanced.
“Thepotentialfordevelopmentis
enormous,”saysAndersSundin,headof
HumanFactorsatSemcon.
TEXT MARCUS OLSSON PHOTO SEMCON
MOTION CONTROL
reducing theriskofdrivingoff theroad.
Youshouldn’t have tolookforabutton
in thecarorfeelwithyourhand-you
shouldbeable tomakeagesturealmost
anywherein thecar.Thiswillreduce the
riskofvisualdistraction.”
GESTURES ARE UNLIKELY tocompletely
replace thebuttonscommonin today’s
cars.
“No,not right now,anyway.Maybe
in thelong-term.But it’sbest tohavea
physicalback-upinmost cases.Certain
basicfunctions that peopleareused to
willremain.It’s themost natural thing
touse theindicatorleverand thiswill
probablystayandnot bereplacedbya
wave.Thegestureswillbewhere theyare
useful,not where theyhamper.”
In-airgesturescancontrol thesmall
simple things,suchasacupholderap-
pearingwhenahandmotioninstructsit
todoso,oracardooropeningautomat-
icallywhen thedriverisinacertainposi-
tionandgesticulatesinacertainway.
Semcon’sGestureActionBased
Infotainment (GABI)isaconcept for
controlling theinfotainment system
through“gestures”using the touch
screenona tablet.It hasbeendeveloped
throughresearchbySemconexpertsin
interactiondesign.
GABIactsasanoverlayinwhich the
drivercancontrol themainfunctionsof
thesystemwithout having tolookaway
from theroad,nomatterwherein the
systemyouare.
“Themost commonfunctionscanbe
operatedbysimplegestureswithout
causingvisualdistraction.It canalso
beusedbydifferent typesofdrivers.
Anelderlydrivershouldn’t have to
lookforfeaturesinseveralmenusand
press things theyarenot used to.Not
allelderlypeoplehaveasmart phone,
either.Thereisoftenabarrierpreventing
olderpeoplefromusingnew technology
availableincars.Thisismoreofanarea
foryoungerpeoplewhoalreadyconnect
theirphonesand tabletsin thecar.”
Semconhasexpertsinareassuchas
ergonomics,interactivedesign,acoustics
andcognitivescience.Theyrealise that
gestureshavehugepotentialin the
future.In thecarsof thefuture,muchof
thiswillbestandard.
“Thisimprovessafety.That’s the
most important thing.It’salsoaunique
sellingpoint.Thisissomethingwhich
improves theexperienceandcouldlead
toincreasedsales.Theuserexperienceis
what willdeterminewhetheryoubuya
carornot in thefuture.Gesturesareone
aspect whichwillmakeit feelcomforta-
bleandenjoyable tobuyanewcar.”
In thefuture,reactions tostressor
SELECTA
TheFerraracoffeemachinereceivedattentionat several
tradeshowsandhadfavourablereviews.Semconwashired
forafeasibilitystudy,designworkand technicalsupport
- thegoalwas that thecoffeemachineshouldbeusedby
everyone-youngandold.Furthermore,it had toadapt
todifferent customerneeds.It isacoffeemachinewitha
dualbrewerwhichbrewsbothwithandwithout pressure
so that theusercanchooseanythingfrom traditional
Swedishfreshlybrewedcoffee(without pres-
sure) toaperfect espresso(with
pressure).
FOCUS:
THE AGING
CONSUMER

mental philosophy that works. This in-
cludes everything from their clean and bright
homepage to how they design their stores,
showcase their products and, finally, to how
user-friendly their products are. They think
about the whole customer experience. If you
optimize the customer experience, you will
also be able to reach the older consumer.
AT KEARNEY IS a global management consultan-
cy firm. They have also carried out studies on
the aging consumer, and have found a number
of successful examples. Mike Moriarty is one
of the partners and also co-author of the re-
port“Understanding the Needs and Conse-
quences of The Ageing Consumer”.
“We may live productive lives until we are
over 100. Some research says that we may live
dangercouldbeused todevelopfuture
safetysystemsincars.Sensorswillbe
able toreadbodylanguage,sudden
movementsandevenfacialexpressions.
“Igenuinelybelievein theseactive
safetysystems,whereyoucancapture
theintent of thedriver.Youhelp thecar
toact,”saysSundin.
Forexample,ifyouhave tostop
suddenly thesystemwillquicklydetect
thesuddenmovement ofyourfoot to
thebrake,or that youhaveresponded
inaway that youwouldn’t normally
otherwise.
BUT THERE ARE Challenges.Newfea-
turesincarsmustn’t becomeasourceof
distraction,saysSundin.Thedriver’sfirst
priorityis todrive thecarsafely.
“Youshouldn’t beallowed toinfluence
thecarundulywithagesture-ifyou
scratchyourear,forexample.Controlling
unintentionalgesturesisachallenge.
Anotherislearning thegestures,es-
peciallyif theyarealot of them.It will
always takeacertainamount of time to
learn- that’sprobablyinevitable.Soit’s
important tohavesupport instructions
whichyoucan thenopt out ofafter
learning.Youneedsomesort ofguidance
- at least thefirst timeyouuse thisnew
typeofinteractivity.”
AnotherSemconproject isSEMar-
beta,asupport toolcontrolledbyhand
gesturesanda touchscreen.SEMarbeta
isanapplicationwhichmakesuseof
smartphones’and tablets’camerasand
touchscreens.
“Thepoint is tobridgeculturaland
languagebarrierswhenyouneedhelpin
different situations.Incertainsituations
-forexample,ifyouaresickat homeor
if thecarhasbrokendowninanawk-
wardplace- talkingon thephoneisnot
enough,”Sundinsays,continuing:
“Usingasmartphoneor tablet,you
shouldbeable todemonstrateusing
gesturesinorder toget help.With
SEMarbetayoucandrawandvideo,and
the“help”-whichcanbeanythingfrom
ahospital toagaragedependingon the
situation-canguideyouandshowyou
what todo.It hasgreat potentialinareas
andsituationswhere thereisinsufficient
support right now.Thisispart of the
future,preciselybecauseit’ssointuitive.
Wehaveusedgesturesfor thousands
ofyears.Theyhavealwaysbeen there to
helpusguideandexplain.It’sjust that
previously therehaven’t beenanygood
toolsfor this.
Thenext development stageisare-
searchproject togetherwithcustomers
andpartnersinSwitzerland.1
“IT’SREALLYQUITEFASCINATINGTHAT
WEDON’THAVEBETTERPACKAGINGAND
LABELLINGOFFOODPRODUCTSEVEN
THOUGHTHEYHAVEBEENINSHOPSFOR
OVER150YEARS.”
Mike Moriarty, partner, AT Kearney
SEETHEVIDEOONYOUTUBE
Semcon’sGestureConcept explainedin
about threeminutes.

as long as 300 years, but this is so far ahead
that it is difficult to truly grasp. But there
are consequences. The companies that are
quickest to take advantage of this will be the
winners of the future. Currently, dealers are
at the forefront while the manufacturers are
waiting to see what the dealers do.”
Moriarty also thinks that there is a huge
potential market in the over-60s.
“There are many examples of developing
areas. It’s really quite fascinating that we
don’t have better packaging and labelling of
food products even though they have been
in the shops for over 150 years. We will see
continued improvement there. The American
company Bumble Bee is one company to have
had a rethink. They have created new plastic
packaging instead of the cumbersome cans
which we have become used to.”
Retail companies have also started change
programmes. They are building stores which
are inclusive for all of society’s age groups and
generations.
“It is a fact that an improvement for a
65-year-old is usually also an improvement
for younger people. A 30-year-old mother
will also appreciate plenty of space between
shelves and seating to rest from time to time.”
The american company Walmart has in-
vested in clearer signs and better lighting.
ALARM CONTROL
Ascomwanted todevelopanewhandset forbed-rid-
denpatientsandaskedSemcon tohelp.Semcon
studiedhowpatientsuse-andexperience- their
handsets,andproducedaset offourdifferent units,
designedfordifferent target groupswithdifferent
requirements.It wasveryimportant that it should
beunderstoodequallywellbychildrenandadultsof
different ages.Moreover,it wasrobust,easy togripandeasy
towash.Semcondesigned thehandset anddelivereda
form-specificCADsystem.Theresult isanergo-
nomicdevice that canbereliedonin
everysituation.
Theworld’slargest
economiesin2050
By2050,Chinawillhavelongsince
overtaken theUSas theworld’slargest
economy.Then,30%ofChinesepeople
areexpected tobe60yearsoldorolder.
1.China(2)
2.USA(1)
3.India(10)
4.Japan(3)
5.Germany(4)
Current positioninbrackets.
SOURCES: CNN, UNAND HSBC
“ITISAFACTTHATANIMPROVEMENTFORA65-YEAR-OLDIS
USUALLYALSOANIMPROVEMENTFORYOUNGERPEOPLE.A
30-YEAR-OLDMOTHERWILLALSOAPPRECIATEPLENTYOF
SPACEBETWEENSHELVESANDSEATINGTORESTONFROM
TIMETOTIME.”
Mike Moriarty, partner, AT Kearney
FOCUS:
THE AGING
CONSUMER

“I can name many more companies, such
as Walgreens in the US and Alliance Boots
in the UK. L’Oreal is also a company invest-
ing in order to reach an older client group.
They have thousands of scientists work-
ing on developing products for the elderly.
They have also invested in the marketing
of their products, using older people in
their advertising. In the US, Diane Keaton
is the face of the company, and she’s almost
70 years old.”
THE BIG CORPORATIONS’initiatives have an im-
pact on society as a whole, thinks Moriarty.
“What they do matters. Changes to their
shops inspire and more or less force author-
ities to make changes. This is about entire
cities emerging and how authorities approach
urban development. This will lead to our
cities adapting in order to be more accessible
and open to an aging population.”
EXPERTS ALREADY KNOW a lot about the future
and life in 2050 - and how companies need to
think in order to achieve success.
“I hope we will have a more realistic and
positive image of an aging person as an ex-
perienced individual,”says Britt Östlund.
“Then I hope that we will have developed
methods to make the technology work in
practice. If we are to succeed in creating
products or services, we have to ask what it
means to live a modern older life. Then you
can’t come out with stereotypes such as that
everyone is equal.”
Ajit Kambil is sure that the focus will shift
from capturing 20-year-old consumers to at-
tracting them over a 60-year-period.
“The most important question to ask your-
self is how to develop a product that an older
person would want to buy and use. You have
to be aware that an older person will perceive
a product in a completely different way from
the other younger customer groups that it is
also aimed at.”
photo: 123RF

THE SOLUTIONHOW SEMCON SOLVED THE CUSTOMER’S PROBLEM
ASSIGNMENT: Elos Fixturlaser gave Semcon an assignment
to develop the next generation of axel alignment systems for a
variety of clients from wind power to the paper industry. The
task was to further improve the quality and user experience to
new levels.
SOLUTION: Since Semcon also designed the previous
version, the challenge was to retain what worked and
continue developing its user-friendliness, robustness and
interface. Meanwhile, Semcon wanted to create a design that
demonstrated the same straightness and sharpness provided
by the system. During the largely brand-oriented development
work, Semcon provided industrial design, engineering,
production support, interface design and images for marketing.
RESULTS: Using a user-friendly touchscreen, a new interface
and two laser-based measuring devices, the Fixturlaser NXA
Pro is more effective than ever. At the same time, the device
is as easy to use as a smartphone. With animated 3D graphics,
colour-coded measurement results and an icon-based user
interface, Semcon and Fixturlaser have taken a big step into the
future of axel alignment systems.
TEXT OLLE RÅDE PHOTOS FIXTURLASER
Ontrackwithlasers

CLARITY
Clearlymarkedmovingand
stationarylaserdevices
reduce theriskoferrorwhen
connecting thesystem.
QUICK START
Themeasurement area
which thelaserbeamhits
hasahighcontrast tofind
thecorrect default settings
quickly.
STABLE
Materialsanddesignwhich
exuderobustnesscombined
withqualityandprecision.
FLEXIBLE
Thinnerlaserdevicesenable
measurementsinnarrower
spaces thanpreviously.
CLEAR INTERFACE
Ananimated3Dinterface
enhancesclarityandsimplifies
themanagement ofadvanced
measurements.Theactualpo-
sitionof themotorandmea-
surement unitsisdisplayedon
theinterfacebyusingagyro.
ALWAYS READY
Abatteryindicatormeans that youcaneasily
ensure thesystem’sbatteriesarechargedbe-
fore takingameasurement.Thisisdonewith
the touchofabuttonwithout having toboot
up thesystem,saving timeandreducing the
riskofdisruptingcomplexmeasurements.
EASYADJUSTMENT
Clamps toensureheight
adjustment of thelaser
unitsinrelation toeach
otherisquickandeasy.

Powercell’sPowerpack
isinhere.
AndreasBodén
Development manager,
Powercell
Robert Eliasson
Account manager,
Semcon

Fuelcellsforgreenelectricityaremovingfromthelabto
everydaylifeatafastpace.Powercellisoneoftheplayers
drivingthisdevelopment.Theyhavebeencollaboratingwith
Semconsince2008inanexchangeofskillswherethewhole
provedtobegreaterthantheindividualparts.
TEXTJOHAN JARNEVING PHOTO ANNA SIGVARDSSON
I
n a secluded industrial area in Göte-
borg, the energy source of the future
is taking shape. Here, the energy
technology company Powercell is de-
veloping its own patented technology
for the environmentally-friendly and
energy-efficient generation of electricity from
fuel cells.
Their latest innovation is called Powerpac –
a minor revolution which transforms ordinary
diesel into hydrogen gas, which then powers
a fuel cell.
The technique is based on a combination
of diesel reforming which transforms diesel
into hydrogen and a fuel cell which converts
hydrogen into electricity using air.
THE RESULT IS a quiet, clean and cost-effective
way to provide cell-phone towers in the desert
with electricity, for example. The technolo-
gy can also be used to power air conditioners
and refrigerators in trucks, reducing unneces-
sary engine use. Powerpac is also suitable in
a number of other fields where the clean and
efficient generation of electricity is important.
Powerpac was demonstrated to the press
and the market earlier this year and is now
ready for the next stage: field testing and in-
dustrialization.
Semcon has worked closely together with
Powercell for some time, from the pure
research stage to the present, when the tech-
nology is mature enough to begin optimi-
zation for industrial manufacturing. It is a
collaboration that both parties have learned
a lot from.
POWERCELL HAS IN-DEPTH expertise in fuel cells
and has thus served as a kind of school for
Semcon. For its part, Semcon has all the tech-
nical consultancy skills Powercell needs in
their own organization.
“I see Powercell as a‘preferred customer’.
Our knowledge develops their processes while
we ourselves develop in a new and strategical-
ly important area. A successful cross-fertili-
zation of skills,”says Robert Eliasson, account
manager at Semcon.
Semcon has supported Powercell through the
various stages of development. Construction
(both mechanical and electronic), prototyping,
visualization, control engineering and indus-
trial design are some of the specialist services
that Semcon has brought to the project.
Andreas Bodén is development manager at
Powercell. He is happy to emphasize how the
different specialists have worked together to
achieve this success.
“We complement each other and have
great confidence in each other’s expertise.
We all speak the same language, which is
especially important when pressed for time,”
he says.
There is a certain scope to the collabora-
tion between Powercell and Semcon. So far
they have only scratched the surface, and
new projects are constantly arising during
the course of the development. For Semcon,
the collaboration goes hand in hand with
strategic investment in energy efficiency in
transport. It is a textbook example of a strong
partnership: shared expertise and a shared
commitment to the future.
POWERCELL IS AT an advanced stage of devel-
opment and has several research projects in
the pipeline. When President Obama visited
Sweden in September, eco-technology in
general and fuel cells in particular were one of
the themes of his schedule. Powercell’s S1 fuel
cell was another of the innovations which the
president looked at more closely during his
visit to KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
THE WORLD IS waiting for fuel cells - and Pow-
ercell is going to get us there faster than we
think.
FUEL CELLS
OFTHE FUTURE

Statoil’sTrollAplatformintheNorthSea
supplieslargepartsofEuropewithenergy.But
toworkitneedsitsownpowersupply,ajob
whereSemconisresponsibleforthetesting.
TEXTOLA LILJEDAHL PHOTOS KRISTOFER SKOG & ABB
SAFE
ELECTRICITY
ATSEA

I
n the middle of the North Sea, among
waves and icy winds, stands the Troll
A oil platform, ultimate proof that
man has succeeded in mastering the
fifth element. With a height that
overshadows the Eiffel Tower, the
platform, when it was towed 38 nautical
miles in 1995, became the largest building
ever moved.
The opening ceremony took place, ap-
propriately enough, on 17 May - Norway’s
national day.
The name Troll A comes from the gas
and oil field Troll located on the Nor-
wegian continental shelf. Troll accounts
for about 40% of all gas reserves on the
Norwegian continental shelf and is one of
the cornerstones of Norwegian gas pro-
duction.
ONE OF MANY challenges with oil rigs is
energy supply. Statoil, which owns and
operates Troll A, has chosen to use two
HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) links
from ABB for this purpose. ABB is a world
leader in HVDC transmission technology,
which transfers power with lower losses
compared to the conventional alternating
technique. The first agreement between
ABB and Statoil dates from 2002.
With new environmental directives and
a continued strong demand for exports,
Statoil faces new challenges. It is overseas,
mainly to Germany, Belgium and France,
where the gas is exported.
“Norway uses virtually no gas itself, but
the Norwegian government has contracts
to deliver a certain quantity of gas every
month to Europe,”says Jarno Väkiparta,
project manager at ABB. He continues:
“There is always natural pressure in the
reservoir when you start to extract gas
from the sea. After a while the pressure
decreases. In this case, we then employ
two compressors, which were delivered by
ABB in 2005.”
The compressors ensured that Statoil
could maintain desired production capac-
ity - at least until the end of 2010. Now,
work is starting once again on upgrading
performance, something that can be done
in several ways.
SOME OF THE options evaluated involved
powering compressors with gas turbine
turbines or diesel engines. Both meth-
ods would involve emissions. The HVDC
alternative is different and transfers envi-
ronmentally-friendly hydroelectric power
from the mainland.
With the fact that emission standards
have become tougher in the Norwegian
oil and gas industry, in the end the HVDC

links were chosen. ABB thus received a new
order from Statoil worth about 270 mil-
lion US dollars, which comprises two new
compressor drive systems which will help
increase the flow in the pipeline. ABB will
deliver two high-voltage DC transmission
systems, as well as an HVDC converter and
submarine cables to ensure a reliable power
transmission from land to the platform.
SEMCON HAS BEEN chosen to work on the test-
ing of the control systems on the HVDC links
Troll 3 and Troll 4.
“The project is taking place both here in
Ludvika, where all the components are con-
nected to a simulator, and then on site, where
we have to get what works in theory to work
in practice,”says Lennie Edman-Terning,
commissioning specialist at Semcon, who has
been responsible for the testing.
First, tests will be done in Ludvika. New
testing then will be performed on site in
Norway and 38 nautical miles offshore.
“It’s only there that we’ll know for sure
whether all the studies and all the parame-
ters in the simulation environment have been
correct, or if we need to adjust the control
equipment settings to get everything to run
smoothly,”says Edman-Terning.
He says that this is a unique project, just
like every HVDC project. Each customer
has their own unique needs, and technology
moves so fast that there is another form of
control system on the new link compared to
the ten-year-old one.
“It’s very different to the automotive in-
dustry, where I come from. Everyone has their
own subjective opinion about a car - how it
should be, feel and act. But no one has any
opinion about what an HVDC system should
look like as very few apart from us working on
them know what it is about.”
Jarno Väkiparta stresses the importance of
Lennie’s work, both in Ludvika and Norway.
“Right now a module and a land station
are being built on two different sites. One in
Kollsnes and one in Haugesund, where Lennie
will be responsible for the commissioning of
the control and protection system.”
IN THE SUMMER 2014 the module will be trans-
ported from the mainland to the Troll A plat-
form and by 2015 everything will be finished
and in operation. 1
About: HVDC
HVDC technology is available in two variants,
HVDC Classic and HVDC Light.HVDC Classic
was first used when Asea built the Gotland link
in 1954.HVDC Light was developed by ABB in
the 1990s,and is the technology used in the
work onTroll 3 andTroll 4.HVDC Light offers
numerous environmental benefits,such as
“invisible”power lines,neutral magnetic fields,
oil-free cables and compact converter stations.
JarnoVäkiparta
Project Manager,ABB
LennieEdman-Terning
Commissioningspecialist,Semcon

BREADMAKER
OBH NORDICA INOX 6544
“It’s fun to bake bread properly,but
when you don’t have much time a
breadmaker is a great alternative.You
put all the ingredients in the bowl and
set the time when you want it to be
ready.And then you wake up to the
smell of freshly-baked bread in the
morning.A great luxury! One loaf is
enough for breakfast for the whole
family at home,plus it’s really easy to
clean and you don’t get flour all over
the kitchen.”
SOFHIA JOSBORG
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTOR,
SEMCON
INTERESTS: Yoga,dance and
playing with my kids.
LAST GADGET PURCHASED: A
stand-on board for the pram,
for children.
GADGETS
I LIKE
ICE-CREAM MACHINE
PHILIPS HR2304
“I love ice-cream,and with my ice-cream
machine I can make my favourite recipes
and experiment with new ones.It’s used a
lot,especially in the summer,which is also
appreciated by my children,and our neigh-
bours,and our neighbours’children ...It’s a
real source of happiness!”
MOBILE PHONE AND
HEADPHONES
IPHONE 5
“Just like many other
people,it’s the gadget
I use most every day.
I listen a lot to music
and radio,and watch
documentaries and se-
ries.Before I went on
maternity leave I com-
muted for three hours
a day.The mobile has
saved many rainy
days on the train.”
FOTO:PÄRPERSSON
TRAINERS
NIKE AIR MAX 90
“I have a weakness for smart
trainers - either in bright
colours or a more classic
white.These are stylish
and your feet feel good -
you can easily take long
walks in them.”
“It’s really fun to ride off-road,
I like to go fast.”
BICYCLE
NISHIKI XC5 CROSSHYBRID
“With a good,fast bike I can get
where I like in town,but it also
works on trails in the woods – it’s
really fun to ride off-road,I like to
go fast.It’s also an eco-friendly
way of getting about,and I get fit-
ter into the bargain.”

Q&A KATHERINE KUCHENBECKER
HAPTICS EXPERT
Today, with the help of technology,
we can now see and hear what’s
happening on the other side of the
world. Now, haptics expert
KatherineKuchenbecker wants to
add another sense to the equation
and make it possible to use touch
over long distances.
atherine Kuchenbecker has
always been a hands-on kind
of person. But as a leading
authority in the exciting and
still relatively new research
area of haptics, the things
she touches may not actu-
ally be there. Or it might
be a robot that is doing the
touching for her. Kuchen-
becker, who is Associate
Professor of Mechanical En-
gineering and Applied Mechanics and Comput-
er and Information Science at the University of
Pennsylvania, researches the design and control
of systems that fool our sense of touch, making it
possible to feel virtual objects or far-off environ-
ments as though they were right in front of us.
Fooling our sense of touch in this way, through
the use of electromechanical sensors, actuators
and high-speed computer control, has many
interesting applications, from personal robots
and tablet computers to robot-assisted surgery
and stroke rehabilitation. Kuchenbecker spoke
to Future to discuss why robots need a sense
touch, how she can take a physical snapshot of –
and then recreate virtually – an object’s surface,
and when we can expect to feel the keys on our
smartphone screens.
What is so interesting to you about our sense of
touch?
What intrigues me about the sense of touch is
that we know much less about it than vision or
hearing, which are the other two main senses that
we use to interact with our surroundings. The
sense of touch is fundamental to human interac-
tion with the world, and you can’t turn it off. As
a mechanical engineer, someone who was always
fascinated by how things move and how things
work, I am captivated by haptics because that is
where the physical world encounters an intel-
ligent agent, be it a human, a robot, or another
organism. From a family perspective, my father is
TEXT DAVID WILES
PHOTOS DAVE MOSER
K

Katherine Kuchenbecker
Position:Associate Professor of Mechanical
Engineering and Applied Mechanics and Com-
puter and Information Science at the University
of Pennsylvania
Hobbies: Scuba diving and dancing
What was the last book you read,and what
did you think of it? Mistaken Identity by Lisa
Scottoline.I had fun trying to figure out the sto-
ry’s twists and turns,and,as with Scottoline’s
other books,I liked learning more about the city
where I live – Philadelphia!
What haptics-enhanced device are you most
looking forward to having in your everyday
life? I’d love a haptic interface that lets me pet
my cat,Toby,when I’m traveling.

a surgeon and works with his hands every day
to try to save people’s lives, and my moth-
er is a professor of research psychology, a
scholar who studies humans; haptics is a nice
intersection between those two, with a bit of
technology mixed in.
How would you explain haptics to the uniniti-
ated?
Haptics centres on touch interaction. When
you manipulate everyday objects, you feel
forces, contacts, vibrations, and temperature
changes on your hand. We want to endow
human-computer interfaces with the same
richness of haptic sensation. As a haptics en-
gineer, I am developing devices and software
that fool the human sense of touch so that the
user can interact with virtual objects or ob-
jects that are distant and feel as though there
is really something there – even though it is
just a computer program.
Some of our other haptics research focuses
on a robot touching real objects. We want to
make the robot good with its hands so that it
can clean up your kitchen or feed your cat and
do all the things we would love a helper to do.
Doing those tasks requires the robot to have
a very good sense of touch, just as it would
need a very good sense of vision and an ability
to hear and process sounds.
Why is this an important field of research?
The sense of touch is so important for
everyday human interactions. I think it is easy
to underestimate the value of high-quality
haptic feedback. The sense of touch is a pri-
vate and salient and easy-to-interpret chan-
nel for receiving information. As more inter-
actions are mediated by technology, I think we
need to think about creating interfaces that
deliver haptic sensations to humans, because
that is the kind of environment that humans
are naturally adapted to: physical objects that
provide forces and contact sensations instead
of virtual objects that may only be visual ele-
ments on a screen.
How do you capture how an object feels?
Many researchers have worked on this
problem of how to create synthetic haptic
feedback to give the user the compelling il-
lusion that they are touching something that
isn’t there. What we have done differently is
to make a device like a touch-based camera
that can record real data during interactions
with objects. While a standard camera can
record everything the eye might see, we cre-
ate instruments that can record everything a
Q&A KATHERINE KUCHENBECKER
HAPTICS EXPERT

human hand would feel. Our haptic record-
ing device can measure exactly how much
force you’re applying and which direction
you are pushing on things. We know exactly
where the tool is in space and what its ori-
entation is, and then we can measure the
high-frequency vibrations, the shaking back
and forth, the subtle shock that occurs at the
start of contact. Even though your fingers
are not in direct contact with the surface
when using a tool like this, you are able to
understand its roughness and its texture and
what the surface is made of. Then we have
created a set of software algorithms to ana-
lyse the data and process it and turn it into
a compact representation of the surface so
that you can touch a virtual version through
one of our custom haptic interfaces.
Howdoestheuserexperiencehaptictechnology?
Just the other day I felt the very first ver-
sion of our texture models on a 3-D object.
My students made a sphere that you cannot
see but you can reach out and touch through
a small device that sits on the desk. You
hold a stylus in your hand, and as you drag
across the surface you can feel these da-
ta-driven surface texture models. They were
able to make it feel like a blanket or a piece
of cork or a piece of metal – we have 100
different textures! The way it works is that
when you hold the tool still, you just feel
the stiffness of the surface, but then as you
drag it along you feel two things: you feel
friction, the resistance to the motion of the
tool along the surface, and you feel the tex-
ture, the quick changes in vibration, the back
and forth shaking of the virtual tool tip as it
travels across the little ridges and valleys of
the surface. Those three forces together give
you a very compelling illusion that you’re
touching a real surface.
So that involves using a tool.What about in-
teracting with the virtual world with our bare
hands?
I’m really interested in moving into direct
finger interactions with surfaces. It is really
challenging to recreate touch sensations for a
human to feel, so now we are focused on giv-
ing a robot better touch intelligence. We put a
pair of fingertip sensors on a humanoid robot
called Graspy and taught him how to touch
objects and then describe them with adjec-
tives that a human might use:‘this feels fluffy
and soft’or‘this is rough and unpleasant’.
Where is the haptics field going?
I can imagine what we are going to be doing
next month, and somewhat imagine what we
will be doing next year. But beyond that, it
is hard to say. Now we are seeing a lot more
push towards tactile interfaces, towards
bare-finger interaction, towards creating tem-
perature feedback. And we could be heading
towards a lot of interesting wearable hap-
tic interfaces and mobile devices; as you are
walking around the city you could be getting
haptic clues telling you which direction you
ought to turn.
What about mobile applications?
In the mobile field there is some very cool
research. One approach is to change the coef-
ficient of friction between your finger and the
screen. They do this by vibrating the screen
very quickly, which makes your finger skate
across the screen very easily. And when they
stop, the glass feels rather sticky. So they can
modify how easy it is for your finger to slide
across the screen over time and over space
to give you the illusion that you are touching
something rough or maybe make the buttons
sticky so your finger stays on the buttons
and glides in other areas. Disney Research is
working on electrically attracting your finger
to the screen so it is harder for it to move.
There is a lot of work that can and is being
done in this area. But I would say that direct
haptic feedback on mobile devices is still a
ways off because it is tough to integrate such
technologies into tiny packages. 1
“Thesenseoftouchis
fundamentaltohuman
interactionwiththeworld,
andyoucan’tturnitoff.”
KatherineKuchenbecker,Hapticsexpert
Whichareaswouldstand
to makemostfromhaptics?
1
MEDICAL TRAINING AND SKILL
ASSESSMENT FOR SURGEONS:
I see great potential for haptics in medical
simulation and training.In my own lab we have
been studying how providing haptic tool vibration
feedback during robotic surgery training benefits
residents,and we have been able to show that
it does seem to really help them learn to do a
procedure faster.When will all surgical trainees
be using a haptic simulator? Possibly within five
years,but it’s hard to say.
2
MOBILE DEVICES/TABLETS:
We have so many screen-mediated interac-
tions,and there is so little haptic feedback
there now because it is a tough technological
problem.The richness of your phone’s haptic sensa-
tions falls well short of its richness of graphical and
audio feedback.It is about space and power con-
sumption and getting the hardware and software
to react fast enough and to present a rich array
of haptic signals.Samsung is heavily investing in
haptic technologies and they see this as an area
where they could beat Apple.I think we will see a
slow evolution.
3
GAMING:
I love theWii and the Kinect.With the
Wiimote when I hit that virtual tennis
ball,I do feel something and I do hear a sound that
increases the illusion that I just hit a tennis ball.
But there is a lot of potential for haptic technology
to make gaming systems even more compelling.
It is all about immersiveness.It needs to improve,
and it will.

TEXT JOHANNA LAGERFORS & JOHAN JARNEVING
PHOTOS MIKAEL GÖTHAGE, ANDERS DEROS & ISTVAN LABADY
SEMCON
BRAINS
The quality expert
“IF A COMPANY carriesout its
qualityworkinasensibleway,then
it becomessuccessful.Thisviewhas
alwaysbeenreflectedinmywork.”
So says Daniel Carlsson, who
has an M.Sc. in chemical technol-
ogy and whose main field of ex-
pertise is quality assurance within
medical device.
During the35assignmentshe
hashadasaconsultant,Danielhas
workedwithpacemakers,hearing
aids,dentalproducts,imagingequip-
ment,andanaesthesiamachines,
amongothers.“Helping thecustom-
erwithexactlywhat I’mgoodat is
agreat responsibility.Forme,the
challengeis tosee thingsfromboth
thecustomer’sand theenduser’s
perspective.”
Agreat dealofqualityworkin
medicaldeviceisabout riskmini-
mization-creatingmachinesand
aids that aresafeforpatients.For
anumberofyears,therehasalso
beenadirective that dictatesall
medicaldeviceproductsshouldbe
user-friendly.
“Itsimplifiesdoctors’workand
minimizestheriskoferror.Historically
therehavebeenaccidentswhere
healthcareprofessionalsinstressful
situationshaveturnedaswitchupin-
steadofdown.Suchthingsshouldn’t
beallowedtohappen,”hesays.
Recently,hevisitedthedentist,who
scrapedofftartarwithanewdevice
whichwaslessunpleasantthanusual.
“It made a big difference for
me as a patient, and I try to take
such experiences with me to
work. Product development which
focuses on the customer’s needs
inspires me,”he says.
Healso thinks that riskmitiga-
tionleads toopportunitiesfornew
innovations.
“Whenyouhavetoconsiderrisks
usersmaybeexposedto,itcreates
newsolutions.Sometimesbrandnew
featuresemerge-anexamplefrom
theautomotiveindustrythatevery-
onecanrelatetoiswhentheairbag
wasinventedtominimizetheriskof
crashinjuriesforpassengers.Today,
airbagsarestandardinallcars.”
daniel carlsson, senior quality and project manager, semcon sweden

FUTURE BY SEMCON 3.20103 33FUTURE BY SEMCON 3.2013 33
BEHINDTHESCENES
WITHSEMCONBRAINS
Want toknowmoreabout Daniel,his
workandthechallengeshehasfacedat
Semcon?Seethefilmat semcon.com.

“I WENT INTO embeddedsystemsbe-
causeI thinkit’smorefun toworkona
combinationofhardwareandsoftware.”
ThisiswhatPederAlm,anengineer
whoworksasaproductdeveloperat
SemconEmbedded&Electronicsin
Göteborg,thinks.
Here,customers are helped to devel-
op competitive products by offering
specialist expertise in a range of areas,
such as software,hardware,architec-
ture and dynamic control systems.
An increased need for connectivity
and flexible products places great
demands on technological develop-
ment.His job is usually to programme
the systems of new products after the
designer has decided which features
should be in the menus.It has given
him a passion for products with dis-
plays,he says.
“Ilikevisualthings-workingwith
whatyoucansee.Sometimesit’sabout
makingiteasiertogetconstructivefeed-
backfromtheusersoftheproduct.”
Almappreciatesthevarietythatcomes
withtheconsultantrole-thathesome-
timesworksatSemconandsometimes
onsitewiththecustomer.
“Mostofthetimeyouchangeassign-
menteveryyearortwo,whichmeans
thatyouarealwaysfairlynewandthus
tryalittleharder,”hesays.
Hereceivedhismostrecentassign-
ment thankstoaformerclientcalling
withanassignmentforhisnewemploy-
er.Hiscontactnetworkisgrowingover
time,creatingmoreandmoreopportuni-
tiesforinterestingassignments.
Heworkspart timeasteammanager,
whichhethinksisgoodasitallowshim
tocontinuewiththetechnicalaspects.
Heisresponsibleforpersonnelmatters
butnotforsales.
“Thearrangementisgreatforme.AsI
haven’tbeenamanagerbeforeandam
notatrainedsalesperson,it’snicetobe
abletotakeonestepatatime.”
The expert in embedded systems
peder alm, team manager and product developer within embedded systems, semcon sweden
SEMCON
BRAINS

FUTURE BY SEMCON 3.20103 35FUTURE BY SEMCON 3.2013 35
IT’S EASY TO tell that ZsófiaDalihasfound the
right career.Sheisdrivenbya truepassionfor
lifelonglearningandhasakeeninterest inde-
sign-characteristics that come to theforefront
inherroleasdeveloperofSemcone-learning
solutions.
“It’sallabout knowledge transferandcom-
munication.Alearningprocesswhichisnot
affectedby thesubject orindustry.My taskis to
sift through theinformation,pickout themost
important partsandpresent it invariousinter-
activeinterfaces.Thelearnershouldbeenticed
toclick throughandlearnmore.”
Shehasadegreein teachingandhasworked
one-learninginmultinationalorganizations.
Shehasbeenat Semconfornearly twoyears
andsees thegrowingpotentialofe-learning.
“Development isinitsinfancy.Manystill
haveaninaccurateviewofcomplex technolo-
gyandcooldesign that wehave toovercome.
Goode-learningisbasedonsimplicityand
technology that worksfor theuser.
E-learninghas theadvantageofnot being
dependent on timetablesandclassrooms.
Learningbecomescompletelyflexible,andwith
theright toolscanbebothentertainingand
effective.That iswhat Zsófiaandhercolleagues
makesureof.
Therearecurrently threepeoplein the
e-learning teaminBudapest,but theywill
surelyneedreinforcementsin thefuture.Then,
shewants tocontinue todevelopherspecialist
skillsand takeamorestrategicrole,creating
storyboardsandshaping theeducational
process.Anobviousambitionforsomeone
workinginlifelonglearning.
The e-learning expert
ZSÓFIA dali, technical writer and
e-learning consultant, semcon hungary

Eightlanguages,sevensubsidiariesindifferent
countriesandaproductwhichadministerstensof
thousandsofkeysandlockcylinders.Theseweresome
ofthechallengeswhenSemcontookonthetaskof
creatingabetterandsmartermanualfortheCLIQlock
systemforASSAABLOY.
TEXT JOHAN LARSSON PHOTOS KRISTOFER SAMUELSSON
7 MANUALS
8 LANGUAGES


JohanHäggbom
Project Manager,ASSAABLOY
SharedTechnologies.
PetterDahlman
InformationEngineer,
Semcon.

T
he cliq locking system developed
by Assa Abloy consists of, among
other things, an electronic lock
cylinder which can be put into
standard door locks, padlocks
and other standard locks. In the
cylinder is a circuit that is activated when
an electronic key is inserted into the lock.
Within the key, conditions and permissions
are stored which determine if the lock can
be opened or not. Keys and cylinders are ad-
ministered by the central software CLIQ Web
Manager. The system makes it easy to control
which individuals have access to open differ-
ent locks, and at what times. It also makes it
possible to see who has come and gone in one
place, as well as dealing with lost keys.
Although the system’s uses are easy to
understand, the administration can be very
complex when the system is used in real life.
This was something that became clear when
Semcon’s Petter Dahlman began work on de-
veloping the new software manual.
“Some customers have very large systems
with tens of thousands of keys and cylinders.
And these have to be administered and loaded
with different permissions for different users.
Incredibly advanced features configure this. It
was a challenge for us first to understand how
it works and then describe it to others,”says
Dahlman.
THIS MEANS THAT the system manual is ex-
tremely comprehensive. In addition to this
is the fact that CLIQ is sold in a number of
different markets around the world by Assa
Abloy’s local subsidiaries. Because the stand-
ards for locks are different, the lock cylinders
and keys vary depending on the country. This
means that the manual needs to be translated
into various languages but also that the actual
mechanics have different features and appear-
ances. The subsidiaries also have their own
brands and graphical profiles, which require
additional customization.
PREVIOUSLY EVERY SUBSIDIARY created its own
manual. But this took time and cost money.
The companies wanted to avoid this work and
“It was a challenge for us
first to understand how it
works and then describe it
to others.”
Petter Dahlman, information engineer, Semcon
About: CLIQ
CLIQ is an electronic lock system with
cylinders which fits in ordinary locks.
Information is stored in the keys regarding
the conditions and permissions that de-
termine if the lock can be opened or not.
Keys and cylinders are administrated by an
online tool.The cylinder does not need its
own power source - this comes from the
key.Therefore,the system is suitable for
geographically-dispersed installations and
where you cannot have or do not want a
battery or other power source in the lock.

appealed to the development unit Assa Abloy
Shared Technologies to find a central solu-
tion. Semcon was selected for the assignment
to structure the information and find a way
to create customized manuals for different
markets efficiently.
“Semcon also carries out technical con-
sultancy for Assa Abloy, and that was one
of the reasons we chose Semcon for this
assignment. Semcon staff have a technical
understanding that has impressed us. It’s
not just about understanding how to struc-
ture the information but also understanding
the product. Because it’s a complex system,”
says Johan Häggbom, project manager at Assa
Abloy Shared Technologies.
Semcon’s Petter Dahlman first received five
local manuals from different subsidiaries.
His first task was to coordinate the infor-
mation so that it could be managed by Assa
Abloy centrally from Stockholm. It turned out
that the manuals were not only in different
languages, but there were also significant dif-
ferences in quality and what information that
was included.
“At the start, we had to rewrite a lot. Then
we had to make it understandable and tailor
it for different audiences who need different
types of information,”says Dahlman.
When it came to writing the contents of
the manual, Dahlman had help from his Sem-
con colleague Sophia Faitt.
BEFORE THE CONTENT of the manual was fin-
ished, Dahlman structured the information
using a‘topic-based’method. This means that
you divide the content into smaller pieces ac-
cording to specific topics. Each text deals with
just one subject and should be understanda-
ble on its own, i.e. regardless of the context in
which it is presented. This topic-based way
of writing makes it possible to reuse materi-
al and to present information in a variety of
ways without it being strange to the reader.
For example, if a company wants to have a
manual that only caters to a certain type of
user, it is easy to create a version that con-
tains only the necessary parts. You can, for
example, produce a“Getting Started”guide
PetterDahlman
InformationEngineer,
Semcon.
JohanHäggbom
Project Manager,ASSAABLOY
SharedTechnologies.

About: Kentucky
Kentucky is an information management
system developed by Semcon.The system
is used by customers who need to manage
large amounts of information in many
different forms and versions.The content
is stored as XML,which means that text
and style information as fonts,colours and
images are stored separately.This makes it
easy to publish content in different versions
with different appearances depending on
the purpose.Kentucky also manages mul-
tiple versions or translations of the same
content,for example.
with the most basic features, or a manual
which excludes features which the customer
hasn’t bought. This approach also means that
in the future it will be easy to create a web-
based help site or a mobile app, among other
things.
“The challenge is to think of different
formats and units right from the start. If you
think in the right way from the start it gets
easier at the end,”says Dahlman.
To manage the contents of the manual, the
XML-based information management tool,
Kentucky, is used. This was developed by
Semcon for situations where companies have
a lot of information that has to be adapted
in a lot of different ways for different needs.
With Kentucky, every unit saves informa-
tion in just one place, but it can then be used
in different contexts. It is easy to reuse the
information and you just need to update it in
one place when there are changes. The system
is already used with around fifteen other
customers.
WITH THE NEW set-up, subsidiaries don’t have
to produce their own manuals. They tell us
instead what information they want, in which
language and how it should look, and then
Semcon generates a custom manual. There are
many advantages to this.
“Local companies get a manual at a lower
cost in terms of both time and money. But
they also get more complete and more accu-
rate information,”says Dahlman.
“We developed the product and are now
also updating the manual. We can deliver
everything at the same time. Moreover, there
is only one source of information and there-
fore no risk that it is different in different
versions of the manual,”says Urban Well-
holm, director of product innovation at Assa
Abloy, who commissioned the project.
“Now, local companies can get a working
manual as soon as a new version of the prod-
uct is ready,”says Johan Häggbom.
Kentucky keeps track of languages, chang-
es, and version control. The tool also keeps
track of what has already been translated and
so does not need to be translated again in an
updated version. This leads to cost-effective
translations.
THE NEXT STEP in the project is adding more
languages. Currently the manual is in eight
languages. However, the target is 20.
“20 languages and seven companies gives
you 140 possible combinations of language
and profile. That’s when Kentucky really
comes into its own,”says Petter Dahlman.
Another step is making information available
in other forms such as the internet or a mobile
app. Everyone involved can also see that, even if
nothing is agreed right now, the same approach
could be used for other Assa Abloy products.
“The project has deliberately been an evalua-
tion on our part to see how it worked. And we
are extremely satisfied,”says Häggbom. 1
“Now, local companies can
get a working manual as
soon as a new version of
the product is ready.”
Johan Häggbom, project manager, Assa Abloy Shared Technologies

The Sonic Movement reimagines what
vehicles could sound like. The project is a
result of close-knit collaboration between
engineers, designers and sound artists.
WORDS LINATÖRNQUIST PHOTO LUKE CASEY
N
ew technologies can give
rise to entirely new pro-
blems. But they can also
bring urgency to solving old
problems in new ways.
“With the emergence of
electric vehicles, we wanted to think about
how vehicles can interact differently with
their environment,”says Fernando Ocaña, cre-
ative director at Semcon’s design department.
Together with hybrid designer James Brooks
he initiated Sonic Movement, a Semcon colla-
boration with US music/art duo Holly Hern-
don and Mat Dryhurst, which aims to work
out how car sounds can be reimagined.
In the past, the problem with vehicle
sounds – such as motors and sirens – is that
they have often been far too loud. But today,
electric cars are being criticised as a hazard
to pedestrians for being too quiet. And the
project is, in part, a reaction to new law under
discussion in the US that may legislate for
what sounds electric vehicles should make, in
an effort to increase traffic safety.
“Our fear was that once something beco-
mes implemented it becomes impossible to
change. If a big car company introduces the
sound of a V8 engine into an electric vehicle
or adds an annoying bleeping sound, almost
immediately you’ll find that it sets legisla-
tion,”says James Brooks.“But the project was
also a way to start working with something
that resonates on a cultural level and an opp-
ortunity to work with someone like Holly
who understands sound in a completely dif-
ferent way.”
For sound artist Holly Herndon the project
presented a different type of challenge from
the way she normally works:“The project
is not only about personal expression, it is
about safety codes and reimagining what the
future sounds like,”she says.“I wanted to
THE NEW SOUND
OF OUR CITIEScreate something that sounded like the future
but with human elements – not a 1960’s ver-
sion of the future.”
THE PROJECT TEAM drew on Semcon’s broad ex-
pertise and includes, among others, inhouse
sound engineers and sound designers. Their
rethink of vehicle sounds has prompted inte-
rest from the automotive industry, tech firms
and coverage in the BBC after the premiere at
IAA motor show in Frankfurt. These positive
reactions to the project are a testament to
that fact that the project fills a need the auto
industry has not been addressing.
“It makes sense to people that we could
change the way our cars sound – and ultima-
tely the way our cities sound,”says Fernando
Ocaña. ”It shows the strength of research
based on a more exploratory approach and it
is a way of working we plan to replicate with
other projects.”
“In the end,”James Brooks fills in,“we’re
just raising questions. We’re laying out con-
cepts. As a passer-by, why do I have to hear
the horn of a car far away? Why can’t that
be a sound that is directed with directional
speakers towards the person in front? New
technologies are opening up new possibilities
to solve those issues.”1
Listen to theresult ofSemconsinnovative
soundcollaboration:SonicMovement.

SEMCON UPDATEWHAT’S HAPPENING IN SEMCON’S WORLD
THE BANGALORE OFFICE hasrecentlyrunapro-
ject with the theme“Yournext generationwill
thankyou.”Thegoalis toraiseawarenessofhow
peopleaffect theenvironment andwhat wecan
doso that ourchildrenandgrandchildrencan
haveahighqualityoflife.
Aspart of theproject Semconhashelped
schoolchildren toplant trees.Thisisbothasym-
bolicandconcreteexampleofwhat wecanalldo
forourenvironment.
“Ourschoolsare thebest place tostart a
project like this,wherewecandirectlyeducate
thechildren,”saysKishoreKumarGattu,Acting
ManagingDirector,SemconIndia.
Activitiesincludeanessaycontest on the topic
ofpollution,a’GoGreen’drawingcompetition
andadebateon themajorrolewhichplantsand
treesplay.
Oneof theissuesdiscussedwas that“wesave
upforourstudiesandculturalexperiences-why
not forcleanair,water,fuelsourcesandcropsfor
futuregenerations?”
“Everyoneagreedthatweneedtoreduceemis-
sions,thatdrinkingwaterisrunningout,that the
airwebreatheismakingussickandthat thereis
lesslandforustogrowfood,”saysKishore.
It wasallverymuchappreciatedbyboth
studentsand teachers,andit openedup the
opportunity tocontinuewithsome typeofpro-
grammein thefuture.
At Semconweweremotivatedby theactivity
andhope toimplement moreCSRinitiativesin
thefuture.
GreeninitiativefromSemconIndia
PHOTO: SEMCON

SemconexpandsinnorthernSweden
WhenSemcon’sLuleåofficeopened,it becameSemcon’snorthernmost operation.
“WiththeLuleåofficewearestrengtheningourpositioninthenorthofSweden,an
attractiveareainwhichwewant tocontinuetoincreaseourbusinessandpresence,”
saysOlofChristensson,PresidentofbusinessareaDesign&Development.“Ourinitialfo-
cusisondeliveringservicestocustomersprimarilyintheenergy,processingandmining
sectors.”
JensBergisresponsibleforLuleåoperations,whicharecontinuallyexpanding.This
means that Semconnowhas46officesspreadacrossninecountries.
DeLavalandSemconformapartnership
DeLaval,whichworksprimarilywithmilkproduction technicalsolutions,hasonce
againcontractedSemcon tobeitsexclusiveproviderofaftermarket services.
“DeLavalisactivearound theworldandweneedapartnerwhichislarger than
most Swedishconsultingcompanies.Thefact that Semconisaglobally-estab-
lishedcompanywasakeyfactorin thedecision,”saysThomasFunck,managerat
DeLavalBASharedSupport Services.
TheSemconsitesinvolvedin theworkarelocatedinSweden,theUKand
Hungary.
FocusontheenvironmentattheIAAfairinFrankfurt
WHEN THE ANNUAL IAA fairwas
heldinFrankfurt,Semconwas
thereofcourse.SonicMovement
(readmoreonpage41)receiveda
lot ofattention,asdid thefocuson
rechargeablehybridenginesand
electriccars.
“Wewereclose tooneof the
mainentrances,whichmeant that
manyof thevisitorswalkedbyand
wereable tostopat ourboothand
interact withusandlookat our
information,”saysJohanDarsbo,
BusinessDevelopment Directorat
AutomotiveR&D.
Inaddition,wewere treated toa
glimpseintowhat theautomotive
industrywillofferin thefuture
-largerinfotainment systems
withlargerscreensofferingmore
real-timeinformation.
PHOTO:SEMCONPHOTO:DELAVAL
PHOTO:123RF

The Aging Consumer - Future by Semcon # 3 2013

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