This Week in Sensors 0

I’m not a big Disney fan. We took our three boys to the Magic Kingdom for a single day last year and it was a complete #failure.  They haven’t been indoctrinated into the subculture. Any while my kids showed no interest in “meeting” the characters I recognize that is a bit thing for many kids. At the AllThingsD conference this week, Thomas Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, discussed their previously announced new wristband called MyMagic+. The wristband will give you access to all things Disney including entry into the park, Fast Pass privileges, and access to guest rooms.  It will allow you to pay for items and collect photos taken by cameras within the park.  The Bluetooth-enabled device will also allow the theme park to know how many people are located in each section of the park – presumably to help manage crowds effectively. In the future, the wristband can also send information to those “lovable” characters so they can greet your child by name.

Smell-o-vision is coming to a phone near you with this peripheral.

heart monitoring sensors

computers the size of ants

 

 

A few Recent MEMs Applications 0

I’m a big fan of MEMs and have written frequently about the sensorization of consumer tech.  I recently came across two interesting applications.  The first is Twine and the second is GreenGoose.

Twine is a “wireless sensor block tightly integrated with a cloud-based service.” Twine has WiFi, an internal temperature sensor and accelerometer (for vibration and orientation detection). You can also add additional external sensors. You then set the rules which in turn trigger messages.  When a rule is triggered, a message is sent.  Something like, “WHEN the moisture sensor gets dry THEN  text “the plant needs water.”

 

GreenGoose produces a variety of sensor kits for things like children toothbrushes.  The sensors communicate with a base station which then causes a playful, dancing monkey on the related app to respond.

Google Now 0

Google recently introduced Google Now – an app/service available on android.  Essentially, Google Now attempts to predict the information you want. Standing on a train platform – Google Now will deliver up details on the next departing train.  If you have an appointment across town, Google Now monitors traffic and alerts you when you need to leave so you aren’t late.

Here’s a quick commercial video on the service.

The real estate of mobile devices is an incredibly valuable resource.  Clearly Steve Jobs recognized this when Apple provided new app review guidelines back in the fall of 2010. When users are overrun with choice, making a choice can be difficult at best.  Use-case for mobile devices – and especially phones – is one of bit-sized information/content and speed. Consumers also value recommendations and these recommendations can come in a myriad of forms.  The key is these recommendations have relevancy. Google Now tries to take advantage of known information to offer useful bit-sized information in a quick format.  It takes advantage of the clock, the GPS coordinates, and search history.  In the past I’ve written about the sensorization of consumer tech – and how devices moving forward will integrate more sensing technologies.  Ultimately that should mean more meaningful recommendations with greater relevancy.