everyday object computers

[Kragen]

Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 13:43:43 -0400 (EDT)

My office is filled with things.  I'm thinking about what some of those
things could do if they were computerized.

The cups on my desk could tell me how much water I'd drunk today, and
when.  Perhaps they could get themself refilled.

There are several items -- staples, paper clips, staple removers,
clips, thumbtacks --- whose only purpose in life is to stick papers
together, or stick them to a bulletin board.  If my papers were smart
enough, they could stick to each other themselves --- or even display
multiple pages on the same sheet without any trouble.

The bulletin board could simply display the contents of the papers on
it, instead of having me pin them to it.  Having much of the surface in
here act as high-resolution display would alleviate a lot of the
problems with this computer screen.

My chair could adjust itself to my shape more accurately; my butt
wouldn't have to hurt after sitting in it all day.  Perhaps it could
adjust to whoever sat in it, assuming it could find their shape.  And
it would be a big help in filling out my timesheet if I knew how much I
sat in the chair.

Paper that was smart enough to stick together on command could serve as
an excellent temporary building material.  It would be very quick to
set up and potentially very strong.

The carpet could let the cleaning people know when it needed to be
cleaned, and potentially do it itself.  Same for the garbage can.

Containers, like drawers, refrigerators, magazine boxes, etc., could
keep track of their contents.  When I lose something, I'll just query a
database.  ;)

Kragen

-- 
<kragen@pobox.com>       Kragen Sitaker     <http://www.pobox.com/~kragen/>
A well designed system must take people into account.  . . .  It's hard to
build a system that provides strong authentication on top of systems that
can be penetrated by knowing someone's mother's maiden name.  -- Schneier