Forgetfulness Tags
Absent-minded professors, rejoice! Big Brother IS watching you!This is Sandra Tsing Loh with The Loh Down on Science. Has your daily routine become overwhelming? Are you forgetting the essentials-- wallet, watch, spectacles?? Scientists at the University of Granada in Spain have a solution! First, miniature radio transmitters are deployed throughout your home. The transmitters, known as "tags," can be attached to anything--doors, keys, pill bottles. Every time you touch a tagged object, its transmitter alerts a central computer. Using inductive reasoning, the computer gradually uncovers patterns in your daily routine. Then it monitors your behavior for deviations from that pattern. Let's say almost every time you've opened the front door, you've been holding your keys. Today, though, you reach for the doorknob empty-handed. And--! A little handheld device says: "Dave, have you forgotten your keys?" How useful! That is, if you HAVE forgotten your keys. But suppose you're just answering the doorbell? Or receiving a Fed Ex? And what if you've left the little handheld device in your other pants? Guess they'll be getting back to us on that one. If we can remember where we put the phone!
|