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In this issue:

  * Sustainability and the Emerging Bioeconomy
  * Six Disruptive Technologies of the Future
  * Survey on Collaborative Work in Virtual Worlds
  * Knowledge Management at the Crossroads
  * VALS(TM) Study of Shoppers
  * Motion-Capture Developments
  * Opportunities for RFID Technology
  * Real Gestures for Virtual Movement
  * Governance of Virtual-Worlds Economies
  * Signals of Change
  * Press: SRIC-BI's CEO in USA Today

	
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(Full text of SRIC-BI publications is available to
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------------------
 New Publications
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Sustainability and the Emerging Bioeconomy

Global warming is a key driver of biofuels regulations,
but considerable uncertainty still exists about whether
new biofuels--relative to conventional fuels--will be able
to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. Current biofuels
such as ethanol from corn are far from ideal. They cost
more than conventional fuels, compete with the food chain
for feedstocks (resulting in higher food prices), and do
little to reduce GHG emissions. Consequently, critics
increasingly question the sustainability of today's first-
generation biofuels, especially their impact on GHG
emissions. The raised doubts will affect the policies and
markets of a bio-based economy and therefore the
opportunities for biocatalysts in this arena.
(March 2008 Biocatalysis Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/BC.shtml

(This publication is part of our Explorer service. To
learn more about Explorer, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer .)

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Six Disruptive Technologies of the Future

In work for the National Intelligence Council's Global
Trends 2025, analysts from SRIC-BI's Scan(TM) and Explorer
services conducted an intensive analysis of 102
technologies likely to enhance or degrade U.S. national
power between now and 2025. Through a sophisticated
winnowing process, the analysts identified 6 technologies
with the greatest disruptive potential: biogerontology,
energy-storage materials, biofuels and bio-based
chemicals, clean coal technologies, service robotics, and
the Internet of Things.
(Disruptive Civil Technologies: Six Technologies with
Potential Impacts on U.S. Interests out to 2025)
http://www.sri.com/sri.html

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Survey on Collaborative Work in Virtual Worlds

In February 2008, SRIC-BI's Virtual-Worlds Consortium
collaborated with three other leading organizations in the
field to conduct an online survey about the current and
potential role of virtual worlds in collaborative work. In
addition to querying respondents about the general issues
surrounding collaboration in virtual worlds, the survey
asked about current and future collaborative work in
Second Life and in virtual worlds that use other
platforms. The consortium has published a report analyzing
respondents' answers and noting the large number of
respondents with business interests in virtual worlds.
(Virtual Worlds and Collaborative Work: Survey Results)
http://www.sric-bi.com/VWC/rptsums/2008-03collabwksurvey.shtml

(This publication is part of our Virtual-Worlds
Consortium [VWC]. To learn more about VWC, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/VWC/ .)

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Knowledge Management at the Crossroads

Top-down corporate initiatives that encourage people to
collaborate and share knowledge often falter because
corporate tools strip away the nuances of personal
communication that people enjoy. Today's centralized
information-technology and knowledge-management teams face
a challenge as a slew of Web 2.0 applications (from blogs
to wikis, social-networking sites, and virtual worlds)
arrive from the ground up and provide alternatives to
traditional knowledge-management approaches. Corporate
staffs need to think about new strategies for knowledge-
management tools and practices.
(March 2008 Knowledge-Management Tools Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/KMT.shtml

(This publication is part of our Explorer service. To
learn more about Explorer, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer .)

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VALS(TM) Study of Shoppers

In the wake of discouraging economic news in the first
quarter of 2008, retail sales have slowed to the extent
that some economic-policy advisors acknowledge that the
government stimulus package may be too little, too late.
In an effort to pinpoint consumers' buying patterns,
VALS(TM) analyzed data from the period leading into the
economic downturn, putting together snapshots of
representative couples within each VALS group and listing
the purchases that the couples have made in the past year.
The results show that some consumer groups reduced their
retail spending well in advance of policy makers'
acknowledgment of a softening economy.
(Let's Go Shopping)
http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS/summaries/2008-03shopping.shtml

(This publication is part of our VALS[TM] service. To
learn more about VALS, see http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS .)

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Motion-Capture Developments

Motion capture, or the process of making a digital
recording of human movements, is the basis for many of
Hollywood's favorite computer-generated movie sequences,
giving artificial characters lifelike movement and appeal.
Motion capture has also enabled some of the world's most
advanced and compelling video games. Traditional methods
involve professional actors who wear colored markers or
motion sensors. New markerless methods use machine vision
to simplify motion capture. These new approaches could not
only find use in the entertainment industry but also play
roles in everyday pervasive-computing applications. New
applications and platforms supporting motion capture are
likely as the technology becomes easier to use, drops in
price, and offers higher quality.
(March 2008 Pervasive Computing Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer/PVC.shtml

(This publication is part of our Explorer service. To
learn more about Explorer, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/Explorer .)

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Opportunities for RFID Technology

Emerging technologies are difficult to gauge because
markets typically haven't achieved critical mass, the
technologies continue to advance, and business models
haven't gelled. Using radio-frequency-identification
(RFID) technology as an example, a recent study suggests a
methodology for identifying and analyzing the factors that
companies need to consider in developing and taking
products to market and implementing the technologies into
business processes. The study examines 12 opportunity
areas for RFID technologies, identifying signposts and
milestones and the ways in which these elements
intermingle in determining the fate of a new technology.
(Opportunities and Their Success Factors for RFID
Technology)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM061.shtml#D08-2568

(This publication is part of our Scan[TM] service. To
learn more about Scan, see http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan .)

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Real Gestures for Virtual Movement

Even the most dedicated virtual-worlds enthusiast cannot
deny that today's virtual-worlds interfaces are poor, with
constrained or out-of-sync gestures and facial
expressions. Various recent developments in user-interface
devices promise to mimic natural motion more closely than
has heretofore been possible. For example, low-cost three-
dimensional motion-capture cameras have potential for the
control of avatars and objects within virtual worlds, and
Nintendo's Wii Remote and similar devices could serve as
handheld virtual-world controllers. Nonetheless, although
natural-motion controllers are technically feasible today,
a variety of commercial issues may prevent their near-term
arrival.
(March 2008 Virtual Worlds Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/VWC/VWviewpoints.shtml

(This publication is part of our Virtual-Worlds
Consortium [VWC]. To learn more about VWC, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/VWC/ .)

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Governance of Virtual-Worlds Economies

The new economies within virtual worlds are becoming more
complex than ever before. Linden Lab recently had to shut
down Second Life's banking operations, Gaia Interactive
set up a Council of Economic Advisors, the U.S. Joint
Economic Committee is taking the time to learn the
complexities of virtual-worlds economies, and Mindark is
issuing its own banking licenses. Although the financial
structures of virtual worlds will eventually stabilize--
likely with greater regulation, tax collection, and a role
for traditional financial-services companies--the next
couple of years are likely to see significant turmoil.
(February 2008 Virtual-Worlds Viewpoints)
http://www.sric-bi.com/VWC/VWviewpoints.shtml

(This publication is part of our Virtual-Worlds
Consortium [VWC]. To learn more about VWC, see
http://www.sric-bi.com/VWC/ .)

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Signals of Change

Global-positioning-system capabilities on cell phones will
become a formidable business-model enabler, providing
location data that sophisticated location-based services
can incorporate into innovative offerings. The latest
issue of Scan(TM) Monthly explores this and other signals
of change, including efforts to bring scientific rigor to
studies of human happiness, growing regional competition
for talent, new uses for DNA as components of synthetic
structures, and the potential for retiring seniors to
bring dramatic change to societies.
(Scan[TM] Monthly, March 2008)
http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan/ScanMonthly/SM061.shtml

(This publication is part of our Scan[TM] service. To
learn more about Scan, see http://www.sric-bi.com/Scan .)



-------
 Press
-------

SRIC-BI's CEO in USA Today

A recent article on climate change in USA Today quotes
Bill Guns, president and CEO of SRIC-BI, on the factors
that motivate people to make personal and lifestyle
changes that will positively affect the environment.
Drawing on VALS(TM) research, Guns cites the importance of
bringing certain groups onboard for programs to reduce
global warming, noting the types of concerns that will
motivate them, such as the desire to leave a better world
to their children.
http://www.sric-bi.com/news.shtml



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