Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Pro-Active Furniture Assembly

Posted by Hemos on from the no-don't-put-it-in-there dept.

Gudlyf writes "Stavros Antifakos, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, has designed "clever" furniture pieces with built-in microprocessors that could relieve the confusion, anger and frustration of putting them together. The idea includes a flat-pack furniture kit whose parts are fitted with cheap microprocessors that monitor what you are doing during assembly and will warn you if you are doing something wrong or dangerous."

5 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds more like the ultimate nagware to me! by Nomad7674 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    How many of us want to hear "Error: Slot A should be inserted into slot B, not into dowel X" every time we try to put together a kitchen cabinet? I know some of my "best" work has included some errors that actually helped the overall design for *MY* use.

    Just my 2 cents

  2. why.. why was i programmed to feel pain? by stratjakt · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I dunno. If the instructions (even if sparse) aren't enough, maybe Ikea isn't the place for you.

    I thought the whole point of DIY or unfinished furniture was to lower the overall price.. This sounds like something gimmicky to jack it up.

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  3. Re:What they really need this for... by SirSlud · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The other option is to stop manufacturing these things in other countries, although you'd be trading the cheapness of labour for the clarity of the manuals ... which do you prefer?

    --
    "Old man yells at systemd"
  4. How about just making assembly easier? by FortKnox · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Instead of inflating the price of the products, how about the companies spend that excess money on making the product easier to assemble?
    Most of the time, its just improving the instruction manual. Instead of hiring a tech company to put all this technology in, how about you just hire a few good writers to make a nice and easy to understand manual?

    Sheesh

    --
    Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
  5. Technology for technology's sake by tmark · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Come on. Furniture that comes flat-packed is almost always so easy to install the instructions rarely even contain WORDS, just pictures. How much work are these microprocessors going to save me if the full installation instructuions consist of 4 or 5 pictures, and the only tool I need is a hex-driver ?