KPN has partnered Accenture to develop potential applications of wearable technologies for interactive television viewing and enhanced TV user experience. Both the companies will use KPN’s Interactive TV service, which is built on the Accenture Video Solution software platform to integrate with Google Glass to offer hands-free, voice-controlled interaction, and seamlessly shares TV content between the main TV screen and Google Glass.
Accenture noted that these services are still at conceptualization stage and have yet to be commercialized. Among the innovative use cases being developed is the advanced remote control or companion device, which enables viewers to control TV functions like channel, program, and program preview selection, volume control, pause, and fast forward/rewind, giving viewers a single, platform-independent device to manage and control the TV directly. A second screen service, which allows viewers to access an extra layer of real-time information while watching programs is another such service that enables access to statistics and other results or review event highlights while watching live sports events. Another addition to these services is the ability to store programs in the cloud and watch it on another device while away from the primary TV.
“Accenture’s Technology Vision 2014 shows that companies and consumers are extremely interested in the practical possibilities of connected intelligence and wearables such as this Google Glass proof of concept,” said Tom Loozen, managing director for Accenture’s Communications industry group. “This sort of innovation has enormous potential to offer users real-time access to an extra dimension of personalized functionality and information.”
“We are constantly looking for differentiating services we can offer to our subscribers,” said Diederik Rosenbaum, director TV at KPN. “In the past, we were the first to bring relevant innovative services to the Dutch market like 4G, TV on mobile devices and start-over TV. This concept is the latest idea we are exploring to enrich the TV experience of our customers.”