IoT and natural progress: the most controversial technologies and gadgets
Once the group Yello wrote the song Blender, in which the traveling salesman told about a unique device: a blender, which in the second mode works like a vacuum cleaner. Funny idea, we said. And 20 years later, someone laughs at our smart disco teapot REDMOND SkyKettle . Comments on the product - do not count! They say that tea is brewed well, and remote control is good, but guys, what's next? Automatic toilet paper feeder while baking donuts? Multicooker with a blood test for sugar?
We are sure that “crazy” and “stupid” inventions are important, especially on the Internet of Things (IoT). Without playing in the "smart kettle", do not come up with a "smart kitchen" and generally a smart home. Today let's talk about these "strange devices", some of which were forgotten. And some have prospects, or vice versa, have been lost. And you can make your own conclusions: is the “smart kettle” really a whim, or is it a necessary link in the chain of progress?
There are legends in the world of science and inventions. Here is one of them - the Sluta algorithm. In 1999, the Dutch programmer Jan Slut allegedly created a revolutionary data archiving system that can compress 10 GB of information to 8 kb, without loss of quality. The fact that Slut was working as a TV repairman suggested that the legendary destroyers thought about the next charlatan. No, they say, no algorithm for compressing information to almost zero. It is really hard to believe in this - but Roel Pirer, a professor of computer science and a member of the board of directors of Philips, still believed Slut and invested about $ 1 million in the matter. And then, on the eve of the signing of a large-scale contract with Philips, Slut suddenly died of a heart attack. What is not criminal, but for some reason raises questions and doubts. The compiler of the “brilliant compression program” was never found, although Slut boasted,
No one truly knows whether Slut has come up with a unique compression algorithm, or lied to everyone with three boxes, got a million and died. Obviously, if such a program existed, in 20 years someone would have definitely found a diskette with a compiler. On the other hand, regardless of the “Slut” case, information compression is a very urgent problem. Leading developers are constantly improving compression algorithms and coming up with new ones. And, who knows, if the idea of Sluta was not a fake and was realized - then we would live in a completely different information world.
This section will please those who laugh at the REDMOND SkyKettle disco teapot. A smart disco teapot, guided from a smartphone, brews 100 drinks according to the correct recipes, has a night light mode and color music, and helps you keep children playing with games while you are doing something important.
But if the device is controlled from a smartphone, i.e. strictly speaking, IoT, but it costs 700 dollars and makes no sense? How do you like this?
Juicero juicer for $ 700 is recognized as the most useless invention of 2017 according to Gizmodo . For the whole essence of her work is that the sliced fruits and vegetables are packed in a box and inserted into a juicer, and she squeezes the juice out of the bag under pressure. It turned out that the juice from the package can be simply pressed by hand, but Juicero supports Wi-Fi and is controlled from a smartphone. As a result, the project, in which more than $ 100 million was invested, failed.
However, for the kitchen in general, devices are often invented of varying degrees of absurdity for some unimaginable prices. Such asan electric opener for canned food for 3,000 rubles - it is not clear how often and in large quantities it is necessary to eat canned food so that the purchase of such a rather big device justifies itself. And he even does not connect to Wi-Fi.
But perhaps someone liked the keyboard tablecloth : you can eat and drink and type on it at the same time, without fear of spilling crumbs right on the letters. Although, with the current gadget, when everyone is used to eating, drinking, sleeping and taking a bathroom with a smartphone, such a keyboard looks more like a souvenir, rather than a useful thing to use.
There are developments that are promoted and promoted as massive, but in reality only a certain type of people will be useful. These "niche" developments include smart toothbrushes . Any person is interested in “playing with this thing”: to find out if we are brushing our teeth properly, what is the condition of the gums and oral cavity. But, you see, if a brush costs 9-12 thousand rubles, like Oral-B, you understand: it is easier to visit the dentist every six months, and receive recommendations and treatment from him. After all, brushing your teeth is not such a wisdom to analyze it twice a day using a smartphone application. But such an IoT invention is not useless: most likely, it will find a hot response in the core community (dentists) and also in Japan. After all, the Japanese are famous loversall sorts of medical and hygienic gadgets with built-in analyzers of all that is possible.
These “special” inventions include super-smart combs with a hair condition analysis function, USB pregnancy tests and a computer mouse massager .
It is impossible not to say about the “global mind games”, without which, in our opinion, no inventions are possible at all. Ilon Mask has a lot of followers and haters, and all his actions and ideas cause storms of discussion. But he, in modern terms, is a trend setter. Master of technology and PR at the same time. On the one hand, his idea of colonizing Mars is PR. Because, no matter how flawless in terms of autonomy and beauty, the engineers would not have developed its spacesuit - until the issue of protection from solar radiation during a flight to Mars is resolved, the spacesuit will not save. Maybe the first colonizers will fly to the Red Planet - beautiful and smart. Only under the influence of the received radiation, their brain (and the whole organism) will turn into a jelly, not conducive to effective colonization. Therefore, Musk shows us beautiful photos on Twitter,
On the other hand, Ilon Musk is one of the main instigators and developers in various branches of IoT. And his search for solutions to “global challenges” creates new opportunities in real life. For example, the Mask solar panels were surprisingly durable and will be useful not only on Mars, but also on Earth. Tesla's design is robust, resistant to natural disasters, and at the same time elegant panels. They are already being used as a replacement for shingles - compare the panels on the video (left) and shingles (right).
The widespread use of these panels will help many regions switch to safe and renewable sources of energy . This, not to mention the satellites to provide Internet for the planet, the Boring Company underground highways and Hyperloop high-speed trains.
Undoubtedly, Ilon Musk or Sergey Brin, or Mark Zuckerberg - they are not the only inventors and innovators of our time. And they have miscalculations and mistakes.
But wethey wanted to clarify with their example the idea: for a real research engineer who believes in science and technology, there is not and can not be a ban on fantasy. Therefore, among the inventions, which may now seem to us senseless and ridiculous, there certainly are useless ones. And there are those who either are ahead of their time, or serve as a basis for the development of quite earthly progressive devices and technologies. Therefore, even the funniest trifle is still an inevitable part of the overall progress.
We are sure that “crazy” and “stupid” inventions are important, especially on the Internet of Things (IoT). Without playing in the "smart kettle", do not come up with a "smart kitchen" and generally a smart home. Today let's talk about these "strange devices", some of which were forgotten. And some have prospects, or vice versa, have been lost. And you can make your own conclusions: is the “smart kettle” really a whim, or is it a necessary link in the chain of progress?
Disputed Lost Technologies
There are legends in the world of science and inventions. Here is one of them - the Sluta algorithm. In 1999, the Dutch programmer Jan Slut allegedly created a revolutionary data archiving system that can compress 10 GB of information to 8 kb, without loss of quality. The fact that Slut was working as a TV repairman suggested that the legendary destroyers thought about the next charlatan. No, they say, no algorithm for compressing information to almost zero. It is really hard to believe in this - but Roel Pirer, a professor of computer science and a member of the board of directors of Philips, still believed Slut and invested about $ 1 million in the matter. And then, on the eve of the signing of a large-scale contract with Philips, Slut suddenly died of a heart attack. What is not criminal, but for some reason raises questions and doubts. The compiler of the “brilliant compression program” was never found, although Slut boasted,
No one truly knows whether Slut has come up with a unique compression algorithm, or lied to everyone with three boxes, got a million and died. Obviously, if such a program existed, in 20 years someone would have definitely found a diskette with a compiler. On the other hand, regardless of the “Slut” case, information compression is a very urgent problem. Leading developers are constantly improving compression algorithms and coming up with new ones. And, who knows, if the idea of Sluta was not a fake and was realized - then we would live in a completely different information world.
Controversial living technologies
This section will please those who laugh at the REDMOND SkyKettle disco teapot. A smart disco teapot, guided from a smartphone, brews 100 drinks according to the correct recipes, has a night light mode and color music, and helps you keep children playing with games while you are doing something important.
But if the device is controlled from a smartphone, i.e. strictly speaking, IoT, but it costs 700 dollars and makes no sense? How do you like this?
Juicero juicer for $ 700 is recognized as the most useless invention of 2017 according to Gizmodo . For the whole essence of her work is that the sliced fruits and vegetables are packed in a box and inserted into a juicer, and she squeezes the juice out of the bag under pressure. It turned out that the juice from the package can be simply pressed by hand, but Juicero supports Wi-Fi and is controlled from a smartphone. As a result, the project, in which more than $ 100 million was invested, failed.
However, for the kitchen in general, devices are often invented of varying degrees of absurdity for some unimaginable prices. Such asan electric opener for canned food for 3,000 rubles - it is not clear how often and in large quantities it is necessary to eat canned food so that the purchase of such a rather big device justifies itself. And he even does not connect to Wi-Fi.
But perhaps someone liked the keyboard tablecloth : you can eat and drink and type on it at the same time, without fear of spilling crumbs right on the letters. Although, with the current gadget, when everyone is used to eating, drinking, sleeping and taking a bathroom with a smartphone, such a keyboard looks more like a souvenir, rather than a useful thing to use.
Sensible and slightly strange inventions
There are developments that are promoted and promoted as massive, but in reality only a certain type of people will be useful. These "niche" developments include smart toothbrushes . Any person is interested in “playing with this thing”: to find out if we are brushing our teeth properly, what is the condition of the gums and oral cavity. But, you see, if a brush costs 9-12 thousand rubles, like Oral-B, you understand: it is easier to visit the dentist every six months, and receive recommendations and treatment from him. After all, brushing your teeth is not such a wisdom to analyze it twice a day using a smartphone application. But such an IoT invention is not useless: most likely, it will find a hot response in the core community (dentists) and also in Japan. After all, the Japanese are famous loversall sorts of medical and hygienic gadgets with built-in analyzers of all that is possible.
These “special” inventions include super-smart combs with a hair condition analysis function, USB pregnancy tests and a computer mouse massager .
Guru Ideas and Developments: Ilon Musk
It is impossible not to say about the “global mind games”, without which, in our opinion, no inventions are possible at all. Ilon Mask has a lot of followers and haters, and all his actions and ideas cause storms of discussion. But he, in modern terms, is a trend setter. Master of technology and PR at the same time. On the one hand, his idea of colonizing Mars is PR. Because, no matter how flawless in terms of autonomy and beauty, the engineers would not have developed its spacesuit - until the issue of protection from solar radiation during a flight to Mars is resolved, the spacesuit will not save. Maybe the first colonizers will fly to the Red Planet - beautiful and smart. Only under the influence of the received radiation, their brain (and the whole organism) will turn into a jelly, not conducive to effective colonization. Therefore, Musk shows us beautiful photos on Twitter,
On the other hand, Ilon Musk is one of the main instigators and developers in various branches of IoT. And his search for solutions to “global challenges” creates new opportunities in real life. For example, the Mask solar panels were surprisingly durable and will be useful not only on Mars, but also on Earth. Tesla's design is robust, resistant to natural disasters, and at the same time elegant panels. They are already being used as a replacement for shingles - compare the panels on the video (left) and shingles (right).
The widespread use of these panels will help many regions switch to safe and renewable sources of energy . This, not to mention the satellites to provide Internet for the planet, the Boring Company underground highways and Hyperloop high-speed trains.
Undoubtedly, Ilon Musk or Sergey Brin, or Mark Zuckerberg - they are not the only inventors and innovators of our time. And they have miscalculations and mistakes.
But wethey wanted to clarify with their example the idea: for a real research engineer who believes in science and technology, there is not and can not be a ban on fantasy. Therefore, among the inventions, which may now seem to us senseless and ridiculous, there certainly are useless ones. And there are those who either are ahead of their time, or serve as a basis for the development of quite earthly progressive devices and technologies. Therefore, even the funniest trifle is still an inevitable part of the overall progress.