Tissue Box
When it comes to smart devices we tend to think of a limited set of
options. The odds are good that you are thinking about your phone. Maybe
you are thinking about the smart clothing that is becoming more and
more popular as technology gets smaller. But did you ever picture your
tissue box?
Research coming out of the research at Penn State shows that people
just might be right for some people. The researchers see this as part
of a growing trend in smart objects. S. Shyam Sundar, Distinguished
Professor of Communications
and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory, said the
following about the trend in the release, "Smart objects will become
more and more a part of our daily
lives. We believe
the next phase is that objects will start talking and interacting with
humans, and our goal is to figure out the best ways for objects to
communicate with humans."
The research showed that people are open to items like tissue
boxes talking to them. When the researchers taped people interacting
with a talking tissue box, placed on a lab desk the results were largely
favorable. The tissue box was programmed to say "Here, take a tissue,"
when someone sneezed near the box. It was also able to say things like
"Bless You" and "Take
care!"
Source: EurekaAlert
Image: Morgue File
