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
 |
RoomRender Futuristic Smart Room
RoomRender is an intelligent room system that provides a remarkable degree of control over electronics, appliances and other hardware with verbal commands.
(RoomRender by SGI Japan)
RoomRender uses AmiVoice voice recognition to recognize, analyze and respond to verbal commands. RoomRender also is able to respond to the mood of users. The unique FeelingWall has colored lights that change according to the mood of the people in the room. It interprets emotions based on the intonation and rhythm of voices, adjusting the color and lighting accordingly.
RoomRender lets you control an aroma diffuser, so it also has a fragrance-based response to how you feel. You can walk into the room and announce "I'm tired," and have the room dim the lights, turn off the TV, alter the composition of the lights, turn on some background music and release soothing fragrances.
The system costs about $45,000; SGI Japan, which developed the system, has installed RoomRender in one of its Tokyo meeting rooms earlier this month. It is hoped that the system will find its way into company meeting rooms, hotels, and hospital facilities.
The idea of a smart room has been around for a while. In 1996, a smart room prototype was created in MIT's Media Laboratory. They developed a host of applications, including face recognition, gesture awareness and even some recognition of American Sign Language gestures. The system had an awareness of the number of people in the room and where they congregated.
Another direction was chosen by Carnegie Mellon University students, who created another prototype for meeting rooms, one that would improve interactivity between design teams. Their 2003 Barn design would record and track activity in a meeting room, using RFID tags to record location. Sketches on the room's Thinking Surface would be recorded in a log with participant comments. Participants could also "bookmark" important ideas or moments in the room's record.
Also in 2003, the University of Florida created an "assistive environment" - it's a smart room concept designed particularly for the elderly. It can determine the location of a person in a residence, as well as monitor for spills.
Science fiction fans will recall the wonderful "smart houses" of Ray Bradbury's short stories; take a look at the entry for Happylife Home from his 1951 book of short stories The Illustrated Man.
"They walked down the hall of their soundproofed Happylife Home, which had cost them thirty thousand dollars installed, this house which clothed and fed and rocked them to sleep and played and sang and was good to them." (More)
For an organic solution to making your house feel your emotions, take a look at the genetically engineered float-home from Frank Herbert's 1969 novel Whipping Star.
Find out more about RoomRender, MIT's smart room, the UF assistive environment and CMU's Barn. See also the Smart Home With Cyber Crumbs.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/10/2006)
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 ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Computer ")
Cortex 1 - Today A Warehouse, Tomorrow A Calculator Planet
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...' - Clifford Simak, 1949.
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.' - Isaac Asimov, 1975.
Jetson Orin Nano Super 70 Just $249
'Rayno folded up the microterm and tucked it back inside his jumper.' - Bruce Bethke, 1983.
Automatic Bot Traffic Is 38 Percent Of HTTP Requests
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...' - John Brunner, 1975
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
The New Habitable Zones Include Asimov's Ribbon Worlds
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
Can One Robot Do Many Tasks?
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
Atlas Robot Makes Uncomfortable Movements
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
Boring Company Drills Asimov's Single Vehicle Tunnels
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
Humanoid Robots Tickle The Ivories
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
A Remarkable Coincidence
'There is a philosophical problem of some difficulty here...'
Cortex 1 - Today A Warehouse, Tomorrow A Calculator Planet
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
Perching Ambush Drones
'On the chest of drawers something was perched.'
Leader-Follower Autonomous Vehicle Technology
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
Boring Company Vegas Loop Like Asimov Said
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
Rigid Metallic Clothing From Science Fiction To You
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
Is The Seattle Ultrasonics C-200 A Heinlein Vibroblade?
'It ain't a vibroblade. It's steel. Messy.'
Roborock Saros Z70 Is A Robot Vacuum With An Arm
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
A Beautiful Visualization Of Compact Food
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
Bone-Building Drug Evenity Approved
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
