Everything goes digital

In the field of information and communication technology, the early years of the 21st century have been shaped by the global networking of millions of computer systems, the extensive use of multimedia applications and the increasing prevalence of virtual, i.e. artificially generated worlds.

Areas of technology have converged to turn personal computers, tablet PCs, mobile phones and smartphones into multimedia mobile terminals – tools which offer almost unlimited communication capabilities and can be used with ease by one and all.

Internet

Billions of people communicate via the internet, and their number continues to grow. The internet has undergone a major transformation from a research network and the quasi-private, non-commercial exchange of information all the way to commercial online services which distribute products and services of all kinds via electronic means.

Cloud computing now enables all kinds of IT infrastructures to be made available via networks in line with user requirements, instead of merely on a “local” basis.

On the one hand intelligent terminals are becoming ever smaller, while on the other, supercomputers and entire computer farms allow dynamic processes to be modelled in the fields of technology, industry and the environment in resource-efficient and time-saving fashion.

Robots

Robots are now being tested and put to real-life use in a wide range of application areas. Indispensable in industry, they can also help in everyday life: they can vacuum-clean, mow lawns, play chess and football and keep buildings under surveillance.

Prototypes and innovations in the fields of microelectronics and peripheral technology over the past decade are on show in special round display cabinets as examples of the digitisation and electronification of our everyday world.

The “Global digital” section of the exhibition addresses the dynamic nature of this global world of data and communications and shows how it has evolved.