Visionaries at Work: How Strategic Thinkers are Shaping Tomorrow's Tech

In the heart of a repurposed Japanese TV studio, two forward-thinkers from different corners of the globe come together to mould the future of technology at Panasonic TOUGHBOOK.

Tucked away in an old Japanese television studio converted into technology labs, an Englishman and an American are paid to think about the future. Responsible for Strategic Foresight at rugged device manufacturer Panasonic TOUGHBOOK, they are at first glance an unlikely pairing.

John Harris is a Chelsea football club-loving engineer that began his work life as an apprentice lift technician. Lee Johnson is a technology marketing man with a background in mobile software. But together they help shape the future direction of Panasonic TOUGHBOOK, a brand that invented the rugged mobile computing market and has pioneered it for almost 30 years.

“We have the privilege of being corporate day dreamers,” says John modestly. “We can’t predict the future but our role is to anticipate the possibilities, think through the implications for the mobile workforce and make sure we are ready to adapt and capitalise on those technological advances for our customers.”

And Panasonic TOUGHBOOK has a strong track record of getting it right, with mobile technology firsts that include the first rugged devices to the first integrated CD ROMS and the first wireless connectivity in a notebook.

5G future-proofed

The most recent manifestation of this thinking is the 5G capability built into the latest TOUGHBOOK devices. With the rugged notebooks and tablets designed for the hyper mobile worker, often working in extreme weather environments and locations, connectivity at the edge of the network is a major challenge. It’s why Panasonic TOUGHBOOK designs, develops and tests all its antennas for its own devices. This process also includes the modem integration, optimal cable routing and antenna positioning – all equally important to optimise connectivity.

“It’s a huge investment but connectivity is so important to our customers, it was a decision we made very early on to develop our own antennas when adding a WWAN Modem to a device,” explains John.

Lee adds: “It’s fundamental to the way we design our products. Most of the technology industry designs to “just enough” where we design to “just in case”. When you are at the very edge of the network, you can be sure that your TOUGHBOOK device will connect to the network in places that your mobile phone and other laptops wouldn’t. It’s a critical factor if you are in the emergency services or an engineer working on wind farms in far flung places or a road assistance technician looking to locate your next breakdown at night in a storm.”

And that level of connectivity investment takes serious financial and technological commitment. The latest 5G antennas in the TOUGHBOOK devices have to pass 45000 different test use cases just to be approved and certified by the necessary regulatory bodies. Panasonic carries out its own pre-screen checks before it goes to the approved external testing house. However, as a result of this investment, Panasonic customers can rest assured that 5G connectivity for applications such as over the shoulder assistance for technicians in the field and IoT connectivity will be there as and when required.

Universal coverage

Looking further into the future, the duo believe 6G is unlikely to arrive for another 5-10 years as network providers recoup their investment in the latest generation of communications. Following that comes the potential for true universal coverage. Delivering universal geographic coverage – rather than the main population coverage we see today – looks set to be achieved by incorporating Non Terrestrial Networks (NTN), similar to Musk’s Starlink satellite network, into a seamless communication system.

Silicon breakthroughs

Currently the inclusion of ever more network communication technologies, alongside existing ones such as WLAN, Bluetooth, and now 5G, is a design headache for mobile device manufacturers. Each new technology means another type of antenna and communication system added to the device. Moving forward, John and Lee are still hopeful of silicon breakthroughs that would allow software defined radio wireless networks. This would mean manufacturers could equip their devices with a single antenna for all wireless communications with the silicon and software used to seamlessly switch between different types of technology networks. “It’s already used in specialist defence systems today but we still need some silicon advances to enable this method to be used in the mainstream,” explained John.

AI captures attention

Like the rest of the world, the rapid recent developments in AI have also captured their attention. How AI applications will change the way users work with their devices is at the forefront of their minds.

“This technology has the ability to make our devices so much more anticipatory, by being aware of the environment around the user. It reminds me of my first boss, when I was an apprentice lift engineer. He could walk into a machine room, smell the air and tell me that the oil needed changing in the lift gear box,” joked John.

Lee agreed: “We see incredible potential benefits in the way AI could support and assist mobile workers. Important considerations are how this will change the form factor of devices and, of course, the age old challenge of bringing these innovations to market at the right time. History is littered with great technology inventions that failed because they were launched before their time.”

Speed of change is accelerating

Both are also very conscious of the speed of technological advancement and the need to stay alert in a period of rapid advances. “Five years ago, it would have been hard to imagine that I could use Google to instantly translate the Japanese list of ingredients and heating instructions that I buy on my soup from the store next door,” said John. “But I can, and the soup is fantastic, by the way!”

These types of rapid advancement are what inspire the pair to come to work in the morning. The constant curiosity about new technology advances and the challenge of thinking how those advances could benefit our customers and their mobile workers.

“Many of the possibilities we are discussing today may not reach the market until we are retired,” predicted Lee. “But the implications and benefits of those technology advances will last long into the future. It’s a fascinating role.”

Visionaries at Work: How Strategic Thinkers are Shaping Tomorrow's Tech

5G future-proofed

Universal coverage

Silicon breakthroughs

AI captures attention

Speed of change is accelerating

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