Next Big Thing – invoked computing

The last thing I invoked was a kebab.

I don’t think you know the meaning of that word. ‘Invoked computing’ may sound weird, but it’s really the logical next step of convergence; our never-ending quest to ditch those gadgety encumbrances and squeeze the lot into one future-magic box. Invoked computing is the glorious dénouement, which takes all your gadgets, melts them down and pours the liquid into a kind of Augmented Reality wondertube.

What? No gadgets? At all? Fie on’t!

Ah, you’ve been at those Shakespeare graphic novels again. But fear not, nuncle – for this is liberation. This doozy of a brainbaby from the University of Tokyo means you can leave your phone and laptop at home, and instead use everyday objects to access them over a cloud. You might pick up a banana to make a call, or open a pizza box to tap away on your laptop. It’s a genius idea, with a working prototype too.

No way. A real life bananaphone? How?

A) Nature’s foresight at gifting us with telecoms-ready fruit, and b) electronic magic. Cameras/projectors track you and recognise the gesture of picking up a call, but instead of a phone, it’s a banana you’re holding. Directional speakers project the caller’s voice, as if coming from the fruit. The same goes for the pizza box, with images and keyboard projected on to it too. Don’t burn yourself typing on your Meat Feast, though.

You may also like

Next Big Thing – smart fabric

Sony NEX-FS700 4K camcorder brings super slow-mo

5 actors who could play Steve Jobs in a movie

Fraser Macdonald consulting editor

About

Fraser used to wear a Psion Series 3 palmtop in a shoulder holster. Perhaps he still does.Either way, his lifelong mission - including fourteen years for Stuff - has been to see whether the consumer electronics industry can ever replicate that kind of cyborgian joy.So far: nope. Despite a plan to combine a action camera and Olympus Eye-Trek goggles to become Man Who Sees The Vision Of A Man Three Inches Taller Than Himself.He also likes mountain bikes, motorbikes, cars, helicopters. Still thinks virtual surround is witchcraft. Dislikes jetskis, despite never having been on one.