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Microsoft Research Showcase Explored
prostoalex writes "Every year Microsoft Research scientists show their achievements and developments at Redmond campus. Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports from Techfest, a number of other news resources and blogs are covering it. Read about network-enabled bear that allows parents to communicate with the kids, a mobile phone applications that not only checks, but predicts traffic conditions, and surface computing for digital homes." From the article: "The project isn't fully developed, but the ultimate vision is to have the stuffed animal interact with a child, doing such things as playing games and reading stories. Because the bear is on a network, a parent could also use it to interact with a child remotely -- communicating or even taking snapshots through an embedded camera."
One of the most scary sci-fi short stories I remember reading is about a dystopian society where children are given talking teddy bears at a young age to indoctrinate them. As a result of this conditioning, the populace doesn't act against the dictatorship. A rebellion attempt is made over the course of 20 years by a group who manages to delete some of the "never kill, even in self-defence" moral messages the teddy spouts for one young boy. But the coup fails because the young boy still believes all the rest of the crap, and kills the group instead.
Among the products included a microwave, fridge, coffee maker, toaster, dishwater and washer drier. These all tied into a control panel which could be accessed from a household computer which showed the status of each item.
Lots of companies are working on that. The thought that it is all run by software from a single company is scary. It would be even scarier if that company were Microsoft, given their track record on reliability, safety, and security.
The neatest was the implimentation of RFID with the fridge. Using RFID tags which they believe will be on all products in the next 5 - 10 years you can look up exactly what products are left and get a full inventory.
Again, obvious idea that lots of people have been working on.
This isn't a new concept by any means. Back in the summer of 2001 I had an internship with Whirlpool working on their wired home project. We had a table PC with a web based interface that would allow us to remotely control the fridge, washer/dryer, oven, microwave, etc. It had a "cool" factor to it, but I don't think it ever made it out of R&D just because it wasn't practical at the time.
The best implication I saw was being able to use it in conjunction with an oven that could refrigerate as well as cook, that way you could put whatever in it before you left for work, and then start it remotely from work so it'd be ready when you arrived home.
ce n'est pas un Sig.