‘TIS THE SEASON FOR THE FORECASTING OF FUTURE FESTIVITY

Christmas 2050 could see artificial turkey, video wallpaper decorations, multi-media mood jewellery and Christmas lunch with relatives who never outstay their welcome!

Ian Pearson, futurologist with BTexact Technologies, BT’s advanced research and technology business, has years of experience foreseeing future technological advancements. The majority of his forecasts are important observations as to how our lives will be changed for better or worse by technology but recently he has turned his attention to a more light-hearted topic – the future of Christmas.

The fundamental meanings and beliefs of Christmas will be unchanged in 2050 but the everyday specifics will be vastly different. Dad will give the house robot the day off and, in the spirit of a traditional Christmas, press the right buttons to create a synthetic turkey for the family meal. The children will open presents, which will be piled under a video wall tree thereby avoiding the problem of having to constantly vacuum up pine needles.

§ The Christmas meal will still consist of turkey but it will be an artificial turkey, as we will then have the knowledge and understanding to replicate turkeys using nanotechnology and have no need for the real thing

§ Family members will be able to attend the meal via video screens so you will be able to avoid guests over staying their welcome but still be able to spend Christmas together

§ Video wallpaper decorations will mean that you will be able to deck your house out with holly or replicate a ‘Dickensian’ style house. Alternatively you could even opt for a beach environment

§ Popular toy gifts in 2050: dolls will be programmed to have realistic human characteristics and behaviour and be able to interact as if they were human. By 2050 we will also have micromechanical construction toys that will be cubic structures made up of differing sizes of cubes and children will be able to manipulate them via the computer into whatever shape they can design. However, all toys of the future will have to adhere to strict ethics rules and have in-built controls which will ensure that they cannot be used for illegal purposes

§ Christmas naps will be monitored and can be tailored to each individual’s needs – interactive technology will allow dream enhancement through emotion detection and thought recognition

§ All these activities are overseen by the Matrix (an all-pervasive network intelligence) that ensures that all technology used operates efficiently and effectively, meaning that it makes all the arrangements and does all the work for you!

Ian Pearson said: “All the technology that I predict in my outlook for the Christmas of the future won’t alter the key elements that make up Christmas in the present day. My predictions are just a means of envisaging how we will use future technology in everyday situations. While our methods of functioning will be very different the example of Christmas in 2050 shows that the technology of the future won’t be severely intrusive - it will only serve to compliment this holiday”.

It seems that although the Christmas details will have been drastically altered by 2050, the basics will still be the same. For a full description of Ian’s Christmas day in 2050 please see xxxxxxxxx

ENDS

About BTexact Technologies

BTexact Technologies, BT’s advanced research and technology business, offers expertise and experience in communications technology and e-business, backed by a team of more than 3,000 technologists and one of the world's largest communications research and development facilities. As the centre of technical expertise for the BT Group, BTexact has established a record of world-first achievement and of successful delivery of projects, large and small. It has also created an intellectual property portfolio of some 14,000 patents based on almost 2,000 inventions, some of which are being converted into valuable new businesses by BTexact's Brightstar incubator.

BTexact helps businesses and organisations inside and outside BT Group gain maximum advantage from communications technology. It creates value and competitive advantage by combining a deep knowledge of networks and networked applications with proven skills in business consulting, change management and innovation. Its services are focused to help customers assess the value and performance of communication technologies and systems, identify potential risks and ensure they gain maximum advantage from investments in communications technologies and applications.

BTexact's employees include many who are world leaders in their specialist fields, working at the forefront of standards development and new technologies in areas including multimedia, IP and data networks, mobile communications, network design and management, and business applications. Services are offered to customers directly or through world-class business partners, which include BT Group businesses such as BT Retail, BT Wholesale and BT Ignite.

BTexact is headquartered at Adastral Park, at one end of the Cambridge-2-Ipswich Hi Tech Corridor, and is a founder member of the Cambridge Network. It has offices and laboratories worldwide including locations across the UK and in Asia, continental Europe, and North America.

For more information about BTexact Technologies, please go to www.btexact.com.

Further information

David Pincott, Pirate Communications, T: 0207 760 7052, Mob: 07866 261198 or email: david@piratecomms.com

Justine Manché, Pirate Communications, T: 0207 760 7053, Mob: 07811 164724 or email: justine@piratecomms.com

Paul Brewer, Pirate Communications, T: 0207 760 7057, Mob: 07812 348222 or email: paul@piratecomms.com