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Smart Sofa Recognizes Occupants by Weight

I am Kobayashi writes "According to CNN.com scientists at Trinity College in Dublin have created my dream couch. And yes, I admit to being a couch potato... Apparently the couch can be programmed with a personal greeting (it recognizes you by weight), and the scientists hope that it will one day be able to automatically tune to your favorite television programs, order you take out food, and control other household appliances."

44 of 353 comments (clear)

  1. Hi, Cindy, want the same as last time? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Cindy? Who is Cindy? No, honest honey, I have no idea who Cindy is. What's this couch talking about! ?"

    1. Re:Hi, Cindy, want the same as last time? by linzeal · · Score: 4, Funny

      One day americans will rule the world from their couches thanks to their robot slaves.

    2. Re:Hi, Cindy, want the same as last time? by GreyPoopon · · Score: 4, Funny
      Oh great, a new way for Americans to get fat.

      No, we can't get any fatter. If we do, the couch won't recognize us.

      --

      GreyPoopon
      --
      Why is it I can write insightful comments but can't come up with a clever signature?

    3. Re:Hi, Cindy, want the same as last time? by zero_offset · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh great, a new way for Americans to get fat. Kill your TV and read a book or go exercise for god sake. Reading a book really melts those pounds away. I need to start posting more knee-jerk replies about Big Bad British Teeth.

      --

      Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005

  2. Recognizing by weight by TWX · · Score: 5, Funny

    It won't be able to recognize you by weight if it continues to do absolutely everything for you, like ordering food and changing the channel on the TV without requiring you to get up...

    I wonder if they built an AI into it to intelligently determine who the occupant is by weight gain over time...

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    1. Re:Recognizing by weight by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      changing the channel on the TV without requiring you to get up...

      Most people can already do this. They use this amazing invention called a remote control.
    2. Re:Recognizing by weight by Worminater · · Score: 3, Funny

      What would the formula for that be though...?

      x = fast food, y = fat content, z = time unites, p = metabolizm.

      x * y - p * 3.14^z = weight gain

      now, when this couch starts getting serious use it would look something like...

      32 / .65 - .40 * 3.14^1u = much weight

      Now... The metabolizm would possibly go up as well as the fat content go down if u could also order pr0n through the same means... that would be a new varialbe p0...

    3. Re:Recognizing by weight by canajin56 · · Score: 4, Funny

      3.14? I always knew pi had something to do with weight gain, but I though that was only if you ate it.

      --
      ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
    4. Re:Recognizing by weight by justinstreufert · · Score: 2, Funny

      You "decided it was too risque" and yet I am reading it somehow... ;)

      Justin

      --
      "Why would God give us a waist if we wasn't supposed to rest our pants on it?" - Rev. Roy McDaniels
  3. Great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Science: Pushing the boundaries of sloth, one invention at a time.

    1. Re:Great idea by panaceaa · · Score: 5, Funny

      A bit off-topic, but has anyone noticed that stores always call couches "sofas" and never "couches?" Examples: Ikea, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Crate & Barrel and even Walmart! When recently looking to buy a new couch, I couldn't find a major site that sold "couches."

      I think company's sell "sofas" because "couches" are perceived as things slothy people buy. Lazy people "lounge on the couch" on the weekends. The American culture always uses the word "couch" to describe unmotivated people's television watching habits.

      But in the eyes of marketers, consumers must see sofas as possessions of elegant, worldly people who are out and about. Motivated, outgoing people buy "sofas" to decorate their posh interiors! "No couches for me, sir, I want a sofa!"

  4. I know how it would respond... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...if I sat on it: "Hey, fat ass."

    1. Re:I know how it would respond... by agwis · · Score: 3, Funny

      If I sat on it it would respond:

      "hey, one person at a time please!"

  5. This particular model... by JasonMaggini · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...will be released as the La-Z-Homer 3000.

    1. Re:This particular model... by Throtex · · Score: 5, Funny

      Now with ass-groove memory!

  6. Intelligent couch? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our new sofa overlords.

    1. Re:Intelligent couch? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      I, for one, welcome our repetitive +5 Funny template joke overlords ...

      Wait, no I don't.

  7. AI by grub · · Score: 1, Funny


    couch: 3.2 metric tonnes, hello Cowboy Neil!

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  8. Inaccuracies in weight recognition? by zapp · · Score: 4, Funny

    So say I sit down with my backpack on may lap, it gets me wrong. Or if a kid/cat/dog jumps on my lap.

    Or kids jump on the couch and break it.

    Or 2 kids sit next to each other in the space it takes to fit me, and the TV tunes it to my favorite porn station

    or I lose a few pounds and it tunes me in to my wife's favorite shows...

    This sounds pretty crappy to me :)

    --
    no comment
    1. Re:Inaccuracies in weight recognition? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny
      or I lose a few pounds and it tunes me in to my wife's favorite shows...

      Dude, if losing a few founds gets you to your wife's weight then you seriously need to bulk up or you are definitely closing your eyes when you get your nookie at night.

    2. Re:Inaccuracies in weight recognition? by tessaiga · · Score: 3, Funny
      or I lose a few pounds and it tunes me in to my wife's favorite shows...
      Not to worry, in most households a sofa like this would only last until the first time the wife gained a few pounds and it "recognized" her as you :)

      (Those Garfield comics where Garfield trashes the talking scale don't seem quite so farfetched now ...)

      --
      The bold print giveth, and the fine print taketh away ...
    3. Re:Inaccuracies in weight recognition? by blibbleblobble · · Score: 2, Funny

      Clippy: "It looks as if a cat has just jumped onto your lap. Would you like me to open the catflap?"

  9. Can't Find Remote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Will the sofa tell you if you're sitting on the remote? Half the time I can't find the remote, it's because I'm sitting on it. I am obese.

  10. Now the wife isn't the only one to tell you to los by headbulb · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now the wife isn't the only one to tell you to lose weight.

    Just imagine watching the superbowl, when you pick up a chip. Only to have your couch tell you "Put down the chip chubby."

  11. ummm by bongobongo · · Score: 4, Funny

    i can see potential problems already.

    say i'm sitting on the couch... some loose change falls out of my pocket.... i get up...

    now the couch thinks my leperchaun is sitting there and plays the irish channel all day long. that would be so annoying.

  12. Re:Uh oh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Masturbating, of course.

  13. This is a huge improvement by teamhasnoi · · Score: 5, Funny

    from their prototype that required you to place a 12 ounce, specially modified bluetooth tranciever up your ass.

  14. "Hey Fatass..." by Fnkmaster · · Score: 4, Funny
    Log off of Slashdot and go down to the gym, then maybe I'll let you sit down and watch some tube.


    Great, just what I need.

  15. Here Goes Clippy by robbyjo · · Score: 4, Funny

    So say I sit down with my backpack on may lap, it gets me wrong.

    Clippy: So, you gain 20 pounds in just 2 days. Would you like to:

    [ ] Enroll as sumo wrestler (you are qualified now)

    [ ] Enroll in Taco Gym

    [ ] Cowboyneal!

    [ ] All of above

    --

    --
    Error 500: Internal sig error
  16. I've lost so much weight by dtfinch · · Score: 4, Funny

    Even my furniture says it hardly recognizes me.

  17. hello... by RedTyde · · Score: 2, Funny

    Having a sofa that says "Hello Bob" is all well and good. Right up until it starts saying "Hello Fat Cousin Rita" when you put on a few pounds over the holidays.

  18. Re:Now the wife isn't the only one to tell you to by Flower · · Score: 4, Funny
    Or sit down and find out the wife programmed it to say...
    "Get up and take out the trash like you said you were going to THREE DAYS AGO YOU WORTHLESS BUM!!"

    Or..
    "If I find another porno in the DVD player you're not getting any for a month!"

    Or..
    "Honey, I'm sorry but I'm leaving you for Mandingo. I hope you and your couch have a happy life together YOU LAZY SONOFABITCH!!"

    This could be bad. Very bad...

    --
    I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
  19. Re:Weight fluctuates and people can weigh the same by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 1, Funny

    I was expecting a lot of fat jokes and knee-jerk "this won't work" trolls on this story, but even I didn't expect anyone to work in "The Orwellian Connection." Congrats.

    --

    How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
  20. Heh by NanoGator · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Your honor, I did it because my husband hacked the sofa to say 'whoah, one at a time!' whenever I sat down on it."

    "Judgement in favor of the defendent: Justifiable homicide."

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  21. Re:What if... by tessaiga · · Score: 3, Funny
    What if you weight the same weight as someone else who has the couch programmed? It orders you a pizza and has the fridge throw a beer at you also?
    So let's see ... I sit down on the couch, it serves me beer and pizza, and charges it to someone else?

    And this is a problem how, exactly? :)

    --
    The bold print giveth, and the fine print taketh away ...
  22. Oh great, an electronic wife by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sofa: "Get the hell off me, you fat bastard!"

  23. Ding Dong! the doorbell rings.. by glassesmonkey · · Score: 3, Funny

    ..in from stage left walks the average Joe Husband.

    Cut to frame of just door handle.. hand reaches in from left of frame and turns handle.

    Door opens showing a delivery boy holding a pizza and asking, "Who ordered the large extra-cheese sausage?"

    Cut to close up of husband's face looking puzzled.. then turns to look over shoulder with a stern look of annoyance.

    Cut to full-frame shot of the three-section sofa.

    "COUCH!!!" comes a voice from off screen (ala Hogan's Heroes).. Cue the canned laugher from 80s sitcoms.

  24. lets use weight to recognize terrorists too by frovingslosh · · Score: 2, Funny
    and the scientists hope that it will one day be able to automatically tune to your favorite television programs

    Gee, maybe in just thirty or fourty years these scientists will figure out some way to interface their fantastic wonderful invention into an ordinary TV remote control! Even without the clue of using a biometric like weight to try to distinguish people, did anyone else get the feeling these sientists might not be the cream of the crop?

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
  25. Re:I don't get it. by RajivSLK · · Score: 2, Funny

    It just seems like the solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

    Perfect. They can sell it on late night infomercials.

    Ron: Are you tired of turning on your own TV?
    Bimbo: Oh, Ron I hate that!
    Ron: How many times has this happened to you? [Actor on screen drops remote under the sofa and fumbles around while showing copious amounts of crack]
    Bimbo: Constantly! That is quality time out of your life that you will never get back!
    Ron: Then you need the Lay-Z-Homer 3000*

    and so on...

    *Borrowed from above.

  26. Britany finds out it's time to diet: by rjamestaylor · · Score: 2, Funny
    • Greetings, Anna.
      Would you like a new box of chocolate cream puffs delivered to you now?
      Your reality show from last night is ready to view on the Tivo.
    Ok, that's it! Time to stop kissing Madonna and start kicking ASS!
    --
    -- @rjamestaylor on Ello
  27. Re:Read the article... by jolshefsky · · Score: 4, Funny
    It's in development, and has plans to be used to assist the elderly and those in hospitals.
    Huh huh. You said "ass."
    --
    --- Jason Olshefsky

    Karma: Poser (mostly affected by adding this line long after everyone else did)

  28. Also converts automatically into casket by LazloToth · · Score: 2, Funny



    Detects extended period of inactivity. Comes complete with 8 liters of embalming fluid.

    --


    It's only funny until someone gets hurt. Then, it's hilarious.
  29. Re:That could be embarrasing.. by ptr2void · · Score: 3, Funny

    It would be even more embarassing if the three just sat down and the sofa greeted them "Hi Mike."

  30. ObSimpsons by sharkey · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oh, I wish I had my reaching broom!
    --Homer

    --

    --
    "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.