Mr Chip is driving to his office in London in his new car. His car is packed with electronics which now account for about a quarter of the car's cost and a whole system of distributed processors is making sure he gets to the office as quickly, comfortably and safely as possible. The electronics control the engine, the suspension and the brakes, and they are processing satellite signals so that the car knows exactly where it is - at any time: there are even separate processors monitoring each tyre.
The car tells him that he has a telephone call from a colleague in Hong Kong who needs some market data urgently. Without taking his hands from the wheel, Mr Chip calls up the data on his in-car PC, adds a few comments and tells the computer to e-mail the figures to his colleague.
Mr Chip approaches his office car park. The terminal at the entrance recognises his car and guides it to its parking space. As Mr Chip enters the building, the security controller identifies him via the contactless smartcard in his wallet and calls an elevator to take him to his office on the seventh floor.
When he reaches his desk, his computer switches itself on and loads the files he was working on the previous day.
But today Mr Chip is going to work on a different project analysing the rocketing shipments of digital consumer products. He tells the computer which files he needs and sets off for the coffee machine, smiling at the thought that computers can still make mistakes, even if they are only minor ones.
The coffee machine recognises Mr Chip and asks him if he wants his usual espresso with one sugar. A minute later, his Brazilian colleague approaches and the machine asks him the same question in Portuguese.
Mr Chip and his colleague talk for a few minutes about tonight's World Cup match until a message on his pocket computer tells Mr Chip that the first batch of chips for his next big product have just tested perfectly at ST's plant in Singapore.
In the elevator back to his office, Mr Chip calls the factory to congratulate the ST team, then calls his boss, who is in a taxi in Berlin on his way to visit a top customer.
By the time he reaches his office, he has made two more calls to colleagues in other countries.
As he approaches his desk, his smartcard reactivates his computer and the screen fills with the latest market figures: 40 million set-top boxes, 15 million digital still cameras, 10 million digital video cameras...
After a productive day at the office, Mr Chip is driving home, relaxing to his favourite music.
He speaks to the car's infotainment system, asking it to increase the ventilation slightly.
His boss calls him from his taxi back to the airport and they plan a round of golf for the weekend.
His wife calls to say she is slightly delayed at the office - can he take the children to their piano lesson?
He calls his house and tells his children that he will be home in nine minutes (the car's navigation system has diverted him around an accident between two old-fashioned cars not fitted with anti-collision systems), then asks the kitchen robot to delay the evening meal by 15 minutes so that it will be ready when his wife gets home.
The car reminds him that he is running short of fuel so he pulls in at the next filling station. While he is using his smartcard to pay for the petrol, he also pays his electricity bill and buys some more shares in ST.
Back on the road, he passes an 'antique' public telephone kiosk and tries to remember how long it has been since he last used one.
He thinks of all the time he used to waste feeding paper into fax machines and leaving messages on telephone answering machines. Migrating birds are perched on the telephone wire that runs alongside the road, resting before continuing their journey. Mr Chip smiles: it's good to know that even in these days of global wireless communications, wires still have their uses.
Information provided by AGAtronics. For further information about STMicroelectronics products, contact AGAtronics on (011) 789 1065.
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