Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"I feel like I've been very fortunate in that I've stuck like a burr to the dog-leg of the next generation of nerdism. I've been carried into the XXIth century on Bill Gates' pants-cuff."
- William Gibson
 |
| Bambakias Hotel | ||
| A hotel that wants to exist! It just needs a little help. |
This is a remarkable concept that really derives from the idea of smart tape. Imagine a building that sits in pieces, waiting to be built. Now imagine that the construction materials can not only talk, but will cajole passersby into bringing the building into existence.
| This Texan hotel, for instance, was an entirely virtual construction, ones and zeros embedded in a set of chips. And yet, the hotel direly wanted to exist. It would become very beautiful, and it was already very smart. It could sweet-talk itself into physical existence from random piles of raw materials. Oscar lugged the self-declared cornerstone to the corner of the southern wall. "I belong here," the cornerstone declared. "Put mortar on me." Oscar picked up a trowel. "I'm the tool for the mortar," the little trowel squeaked cheerfully. |
| From Distraction,
by Bruce Sterling. Published by Bantam Spectra in 1998 Additional resources -
|
Although I am not aware of any "hotel kits" there are a number of house or cottage kits that you can buy. They are literally a "house in a box!" You get construction blueprints and all the components required to build the structure of the home. This includes exterior and interior doors, windows, siding, flooring, roofing, and walls, all delivered to the plot of land you've chosen. Unfortunately, it requires a certain amount of expertise in actually putting the package together. A neighbor of mine did this with his summer cottage; he and ten guys put the whole thing together in about a week.
Naturally, it would have gone faster if all of the components knew where to go, and would instruct you on what to do. To see how everything talks on the Bambakias Hotel job site, take a look at the entry on Talking Tape.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Distraction
More Ideas
and Technology by Bruce Sterling
Tech news articles related to Distraction
Tech news articles related to works by Bruce Sterling
Bambakias Hotel-related
news articles:
- Arcology Now Universal Constructor
| 3D Printed Dubai Building Is World's Largest |
| Driverless Hotel Rooms Predicted In 1828 |
| Humans Could Take Up A LOT Less Space |
| Oh Yes, We're Building The Rotating Tower In Dubai |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
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.
|
Convincing video shows progress (and limitations).
'The speech patterns you actually hear decode the brainwave matrix which has been fed into your mind by your Babel fish.'
'Against Death doth no simple grow.'
'His legs relaxed with a rattle as he cut off all power below his waist... and ran his eye down the Help Wanted - Robot column...'
'It can be mass-produced only in the orbiting factories.'
'He realized that it was not quite a clear lens.'
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed down the long aisles...'
'Here is the chronoscope... Scansion depends upon a special curved field...'
'It's illegal to hold back information during a psyche test.'
