From...

August 20, 1999
Web posted at: 12:36 p.m. EDT (1636 GMT)

by Laura Rohde

MESSAGE BOARDS:    Microsoft

LONDON (IDG) -- Gas pumps operated by BP Amoco PLC are getting wired: The company announced this week that it will use a Windows-CE-based system to connect pumps to the Internet.

BP has a three-year deal with Tokhim System, one of the world's largest distributors of fuel-dispensing systems, for what it's calling the high-tech "gas pump of the future."

The "Millennium Dispenser," developed by Radiant Systems, uses the Windows CE operating system to access the Internet for traffic updates, weather reports and advertising. But the communications downlink is primarily seen by the company as a way to service the pumps themselves. For example, the pump can send e-mail requesting preventive maintenance, or monitor the levels of fuel in the pump and report that information back to the corporate offices.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE
	IDG.net home page
Computerworld's home page
Computerworld Year 2000 resource center
Computerworld's online subscription center
Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net
IDG.net's personal news page
Year 2000 World
Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you
Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for IT leaders
Search IDG.net in 12 languages
News Radio
	Computerworld Minute
	Fusion audio primers

"The Internet aspect is getting somewhat overplayed. We're certainly not talking about pumps becoming Web browsers," David Nicholas, a BP spokesman, said. The company certainly doesn't want long lines forming at the pumps while customers surf the Web rather than gassing up and driving off.

The first gas pump is expected to be tested in Japan early next year, with six more pumps planned for the U.S. by the middle of the year. The trials will be on a small scale to determine if customers actually return to use the high-tech pumps. But if the Internet-enabled gas pumps are well received, BP is willing to explore the idea of expanding the consumer Internet services, and thus, the advertising avenues. "It is possible that people will be able to preorder food, like burgers, while they're pumping gas, and then just drive through to pick their orders when their tanks are full," Nicholas said.