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Hide & seek application. Solution includes: Cisco/Linksys wireless access point; consumer version of the Cisco wireless location appliance; location software; and miniature, low-cost RFID tags affixed or sewn into items with velcro, a loop (keychain style), a clip, or other. Consumers would be able to use their laptop to see a house floorplan of my house and yard (WiFi coverage area) and see the locations of items (frequently misplaced) that have miniature RFID tags. These include PDA, mobile phone, keys, digital camera, purse, TV remote, books, etc.
How did you find out about the contest?
I received an email about the contest while I was on my way to the
airport to go to the Galapagos Islands for a vacation. I spent some time thinking
about my entry while I was on vacation, and submitted it right when I got back
- just a couple of hours before it was due!
Which technologies do you use every day now?
I have a cable broadband connection at home, several computers for
various family members, and a wireless network based on a Linksys router. I
also have a Palm Treo Smartphone.
Which technologies do you think you’ll be using in the
future?
I’m really hoping someone will perfect a mobile book reader in the
near future …so long as it’s flexible like a page and I’m
able to bend it. I think in general smartphones will be faster and
more responsive … and they’ll incorporate flexible screens
which mean I’ll be able to unroll the viewing area to make it bigger.
I’m just expecting more and more convergence really – that same device rolled up in my pocket will have everything on it: voice, real-time video like TV shows and movies, contacts, photos. I'd also be excited if sometime in the next 15 years we could communicate over the network using holograms, for something like an in-person feeling.
What inspired your entry?
I have always wanted a way to press a button on a device and have it
be able to find my keys. I’m a very organized person on
my computer … it’s the physical realm that sometimes challenges
me! It can be very frustrating, not to mention time-wasting, to
lose things. I tend to compensate by buying multiple reading glasses
and sets of keys so that I have a higher chance of finding them when
I need them!
The pet tortoise idea in my entry came when I was thinking about what else I could put an RFID tag on … my dog didn’t make sense, because she comes when I call, but a neighbor of ours once lost their tortoise for a while.
What are you planning to do with the prize?
I’m going to donate it to a charitable organization I regularly support … since the prize giving is taking place in Second Life I don’t need to buy a new outfit!