Smart Hotel Rooms in New York City 131
hc1379 writes "Back in the 90's, Mark Weiser a Xerox PARC scientist envisioned future computing will weave themselves into the background of our everyday life. People will use computing as natural as they use writing instruments. He called it ubiquitous computing (aka pervasive computing). UbiComp was a good research idea, but did not really find its way into the commercial market, at least not in the life time of Mark Weiser, who died in 1999.
One of Harry's blog reports that the Mandarin Oriental in Manhattan has smart hotel rooms that can keep track of guests' preferences and change the room conditions automatically (e.g., adjusting room temperature and lighting conditions based on the guest's preference, and alerting maids when the minibar is running low on soda)."
Re:Computers are great (Score:5, Insightful)
My toaster has a dial on the front, that adjusts from "lighter" to "darker". It's actually very easy to use, and I don't have to log in before toasting my bagel. It's really pretty well "simplified" already. How much simpler do you propose to make it?
The world revolves around you (Score:4, Insightful)
It also makes me think about how we can use products and gadgets to define ourselves. Your room will "match your lifestyle," it says. How much thought do we really need to perfecting our environments and making everything around us customized for our tastes? Everything from the color of your iPod to the way you drink your coffee is supposed to express your personality, and the world is supposed to be exactly the way you like it.
I mean, this is neat in theory, but you're going to pay a lot for the service, I'm sure. (I don't know which rooms have it, but the first reservations their site showed me were between $600 and $700 a night.) The question is, are you paying for the convenience, or how important it makes you feel?
why hotels? (Score:2, Insightful)
the vast majority of people are not repeat visitors to the same hotel...
Re:Stayed in one in Philly Two years ago (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Computers are great (Score:5, Insightful)
Turning a dial is lot simpler than trying to outwit some appliance that thinks it knows what I want.
Re:Computers are great (Score:2, Insightful)
What about RFID? (Score:0, Insightful)
Re:Computers are great (Score:3, Insightful)
"refuse to toast until you set it up"? Why not just fall back to the traditional manual control? If I want "smart" mode, I'll push a button for it.
As for remembering the setting I used last time, that's no good unless it also knows that I'm toasting the same kind of bread as last time. It doesn't allow for the possibility that I might want my toast darker than I did yesterday. Do I have to create a new account for that? Can I even can do that, given that it's using biometrics?
If you're adding electronics to a toaster, give it something that improves the fundamental process. Measure the change in surface reflectivity to detect done-ness, instead of just a time or temperature control. Control humidity by turning on a small fan. Apply different amounts of heat to the top and bottom surfaces of a bagel. Detect when the crumb tray is about to catch on fire and shut off the power. Etc.
Philip K. Dick - Ubiq (Score:4, Insightful)