mdambruc-Looking Outwards-03

The Tempescope; A Bedside Visual Representation of Weather

Video of The Tempescope

http://www.tempescope.com/

Ken Kawamoto “The Tempescope”

The Tempescope, created by Japanese software engineer Ken Kawamoto in 2015 is a physical display of weather that is wirelessly connected to a computer in real-time to show a visual representation of the world outside – who needs windows? I admire this project because the simulation of weather in a small compact box is amazing to me. It is taking an aspect of life that I used to believe was out of the hands of humans and manipulating it to a size that fits on a bedside table. Kawamoto’s sensibilities have manifested in rain droplets, mist and even personal thunderstorms. Starting as a shampoo bottle prototype, crowdfunding has single-handedly brought the tempescope to consumers. The entire programming of the product is available on GitHub which allows the public to create their own Tempescope if they wish. Kawamoto’s goal for the project was to “always have the sunshine (and occasional tropical thunderstorms) of the Okinawa Isles in the living room”, which I believe he has achieved quite successfully. Kawamoto is very generous in allowing open access to his opensource GitHub of the Tempescope, and I believe it is a response to the overwhelming support he received through crowdfunding.