Revolution – F15 60-223: Intro to Physical Computing

“Dash Button” by Amazon

jaimechu — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 15:28:56 +0000

Ran out of detergent? Don’t worry the Dash Button is there for you. The Amazon Dash Button, recently released earlier this year, when connected to your WiFi and pressed will automatically send the user the specific brand of what they requested. Imagine a user having a separate button for his/her detergent, mac and cheese, coffee filters, or even diapers. The user would need a separate wall to hold all of these buttons. While one or two of these may be handy, a simple subscription to the user’s favorite product could also do the same and possibly save the user money.

See for yourself if you think it’s worth the buy:

YouTube / amazon – via Iframely

“Song Board” by MA Creative Practice for Narrative Environments

jaimechu — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 15:14:24 +0000

The Song Board is a “multi-sensory interactive installation, located in at the entrance to King’s Cross Station”. With possibly thousands of balls as part of the installation, a user could rotate the ball from yellow to black or from black to yellow and possibly experience a sound or two. Not all of the balls are connected to sound, which makes the experience into somewhat of a treasure hunt. Although this may not change the way any user lives his/her life, it may bring some joy while travelling in a notoriously gloomy city.

View their site here: http://www.songboardlondon.com/

“Nest Thermostat” by Nest Labs

jaimechu — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 14:59:12 +0000

The Nest Thermostat was the very first product that introduced me to the world of the Internet of Things. A product developed by Nest Labs, acquired by Google in 2014 is a smart thermostat that learns about the user’s preferences in terms of their temperature in their home. It also learns when the users are not at home, and reduces the energy consumption to save money. However, this proposes one of the largest problems in smart products, which is security. Imagine if someone hacks into the Nest Thermostat and learns specific times when the user is not home. Things could get disastrous. How can we ensure that the value of these types of products in our home outweigh the safety concerns?

To meet the Nest Thermostat: https://youtu.be/L8TkhHgkBsg

“ATM Machine” by Donald Wetzel

tke — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 06:11:14 +0000

The ATM machine is a great example of an IoT product that has become normal in everyday life. Such an object reminds us how long IoT has truly been around, invented in 1969. A huge reason for the persistence of the ATM Machine is it’s straightforward usefulness. Human labor is reduced and convenience is increased. ATMs continue to be improved upon, with instant check deposit features. Now ATM technology is moving into smartphones, with banking and check deposit available on the phone.

YouTube / ABC News (Australia) – via Iframely