Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Lo-Tek Book Reading (In Bed) Stand
Sometimes, you can get what you want with less zippy forms of technology. Consider the 'book reading stand' which allows hands-free reading even when lying flat on your back.
(Book reading stand in use)
Here's the original formulation of the problem. I am (was) ten years old and I'm lying there reading a large heavy volume. I can't hold it over my head for long (and what if I want a snack?) and if I doze off I'll injure myself with it.
Enter the 'book reading stand' available only in Japan.
(Book reading stand details)
Here's the Google (Beta) translation:
The ultimate weapon in order to read the book with the bed and the futon is this “book-reading stand”...As for the problematical point of book-reading in this case there is two. It is problem of attitude and problem of the illumination. As for the young person the [u] crush in attitude, under the face expanding the book, the case which is read probably is majority group, but when is age is repeated, this attitude gradually becomes difficult... Because with age the distance to which the focus meets gradually becomes long to that, unless the body can be bent more, it stops being able to go... Whether saying, when it tries probably to read with transverse and the looking up, first, the illumination to become difficult to hit, not to support the book with the both hands, because the [te] stops becoming, you become tired very.
Those where these problems are solved entirely are this book-reading stand. This device firmly supports the book and, it applies also the illumination securely from the front.
I particularly like the reference to this device as "the ultimate weapon." Midnight readers rejoice!
Heinlein enthusiasts may recall that he also wrestled with this problem and thought up the reading machine in Stranger in a Strange Land.
Find out more (if you read Japanese) here.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/29/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.' - Nat Schachner, 1937.
Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.' - Paul Ernst, 1936.
US Army IBEX Exoskeleton Walks Troops Out Of Danger
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.' - Iain Banks, 1987.
Terraformer Industries Make Methane
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock...' - Jack Williamson, 1942.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Meta's Horizon Studio's Unique Avatars From Text Prompts
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
VaMEx Biomimetic Mars Robot Inspired By Skink
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
'The remains of the lace took on the rough shape of a brain...'
Did Frank Herbert Predict E-Ink Displays?
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Mooncrete' Lunar Regolith Concrete (LRC)
'And here they began to build...'
China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
Preventing annoying space debris build-up.
Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'
