Press Releases

Budapest, June 20, 2007 14:00

Magyar Telekom's research-development laboratory called Kitchen Budapest was officially opened with the presentation of its first projects. KiBu offers a possibility for talented young people selected through a call for bids to create new technological applications and works of art.

Kitchen Budapest (KiBu) is a place which offers infrastructure, money and great freedom for young talents. Engineers, designers and artists work together in   the KiBu   to seek interconnection points between art, sciences and the new media. The laboratory staff selected through a call for bids the promising idea-makers who are provided with undisturbed working conditions and paid scholarships. One of Magyar Telekom's objectives with this project is to promote new initiatives and creative ideas that later might be competitive on the market. This initiative is a good example of how the business world can support the research-development and culture financing role of the state. The creation of Kitchen Budapest was personally greeted by Hungarian-born Canadian media artist Nina Czeglédy.

Innovative projects

More projects selected by the KiBu team were presented on the opening day.

One of them was the mobile application called CityScout that delivers useful information to mobile phones about places of amusement and pubs located nearby. The application does not require GPS to do this because it determines the position of the user on the basis of mobile cells. Anyone could try out and even download to his phone the program at the KiBu opening. KiBu's community touch-screen, an interactive board measuring 2 x 1 meters, was also presented. It can be used to establish interactive connection with projected contents by using hands and fingers, even simultaneously by several people. The screen enables painting, navigation on maps, but its key useful function is creation of new innovative contents through community work.
Visitors could learn about the Talking Kitchen project that amused them with coffee-makers playing music, carrots sighing, wooden spoons working automatically and ice-LEDs.

In addition to the works of talented young people BlueSpot, that was created with the involvement of several KiBu staff, was also presented. This project is a communication system interconnecting 50 geographic points in Budapest. The system adds a new function to mobile phones. It enables contacting other people, whether known or not, who are in the right time at the right place. A device is located at each BlueSpot point (places of amusement, coffee-bars, etc) that is interconnected via internet with the others. Users can enter the BlueSpot at any point through a mobile phone connection. This way any BlueSpot point enables access to the other 49 and the users in the vicinity.

Further information:
www.kitchenbudapest.hu