Get Ready for the Smart Coffee Table
Intelligent tables with touch screens are reaching the consumer market, with all the power of personal computers and more
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger, covering technology and culture. http://elgan.com
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger,... More »
Computers started out as discrete objects to be placed on top of furniture — a PC on the desk, a laptop on the dining room table. An iPad on the kitchen counter. But the destiny of computing devices is to be built into our furniture. The desk itself will become a PC. The dining room table will be usable like a laptop. And the kitchen counter will work a lot like an iPad.
In computer science, the concept of computers built into everything is called ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing, ambient intelligence or, my favorite label: everyware.
The transition to intelligent furniture will also involve a reconsideration of the hierarchy of furniture. For example, the tables throughout your house exist in a functional ranking system. Today the king of tables, of course, is the dining room table. You spend more money on it than other tables, such as bedroom nightstands, the coffee table, the patio table, the workbench in the garage, the desk in your home office and so on. Its quality, appearance and placement are far more important than that of lesser tables.
When the dust settles on the transition to intelligent furniture, however, it's likely that the lowly coffee table will usurp the crown and become the most important (and expensive) table in your house. The reason is that the current location and purpose of a coffee table as a table are peripheral to what's important about your family's life. But the intelligent coffee table of the future may be the central computing device in your home.
In computer science, the concept of computers built into everything is called ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing, ambient intelligence or, my favorite label: everyware.
The transition to intelligent furniture will also involve a reconsideration of the hierarchy of furniture. For example, the tables throughout your house exist in a functional ranking system. Today the king of tables, of course, is the dining room table. You spend more money on it than other tables, such as bedroom nightstands, the coffee table, the patio table, the workbench in the garage, the desk in your home office and so on. Its quality, appearance and placement are far more important than that of lesser tables.
When the dust settles on the transition to intelligent furniture, however, it's likely that the lowly coffee table will usurp the crown and become the most important (and expensive) table in your house. The reason is that the current location and purpose of a coffee table as a table are peripheral to what's important about your family's life. But the intelligent coffee table of the future may be the central computing device in your home.
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| The ultimate coffee table book is itself a coffee table. Have you ever wondered why coffee table books exist? It's a pretty strange literary genre, if you think about it. It's the only category of printed content that's expressly designed to sit on a specific piece of furniture. Wikipedia has a nice entry on the coffee table: "A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for portability." In the relentless drive to turn physical things into virtual ones, the purpose served by the coffee table book will soon be served by the coffee table itself, and for the same reasons. The coffee table as a computer will help you entertain guests and stimulate conversation. It will also control other smart appliances in the house, such as the TV. The best example of this technology is a product from Samsung called the SUR40 with Microsoft PixelSense. Here's a nice video that shows off some of the amazing capabilities of PixelSense. Currently, the SUR40 isn’t sold to consumers; it's sold mostly to bars, casinos and retail stores. Microsoft has made no secret of its intention to make PixelSense tables available for consumers. It's probably just waiting for the prices of electronic components to come down far enough so the tables can sell for less than $3,000 or so. |
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| The coffee table as PC. A company called Mozayo sells a coffee table called the M42-Pro. It’s basically a high-end Microsoft Windows PC with a 42-inch high-definition display as the table surface. It also has a touch interface layer, which enables you to use it without a keyboard or mouse. The Mozayo sits in a wood-grain, dark-stained coffee table. In addition to the touch interface, it comes with a few custom applications. Beyond those customizations, however, it operates very much like today’s PCs, with menus, desktop applications, icons and all the rest. |
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| The smart coffee table of the future will be central. The Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft PixelSense does many of the things that tomorrow’s interactive coffee tables will do, but it’s not ready for the consumer market. The Mozayo M42-Pro is ready for the consumer market, but it can’t really do the things that will make future interactive coffee tables compelling. The next generation of smart coffee tables will look like a combination of the two. (This photo shows one custom variation of the Samsung SUR40, illustrating how people will be drawn to smart coffee tables as a central sources of entertainment and information.) Imagine a coffee table with a smooth, all-glass surface. When you touch it with your hand, it will come alive. Gestures such as swiping up will bring up various options. While the surface of the table is lit, various objects, such as phones, will be recognized by the table, enabling neat tricks. For example, by placing a smart phone on the table, it not only will know who you are but will enable you to selectively spill out digital pictures and videos onto the table. Board games will be replaced by smart board pieces. Presenting future Monopoly items (the little dog, the top hat etc.), the table will turn into an interactive Monopoly board. All the Community Chest cards, money and the rest will be served up on the surface of the coffee table. Draw the letter "K" (for “keyboard”) with your finger, and a keyboard with document will appear on the screen. After writing something, you'll be able to send it via email, post it on Facebook or do any number of other things with it. Another gesture will bring up a TV remote control function or controls for various lights and other items in the house. In short, the interactive coffee table of the future will do just about anything you want it to. And it will cost a lot less than today’s $10,000-plus tables. Ultimately, the reason coffee tables will reign supreme is that you’re going to have a large, flat surface in the middle of your living room surrounded by chairs where people will spend a lot of time anyway. It’s the ideal scenario for a massively powerful computer with a big, beautiful touch screen that can conjure up anything you and your family desire. Ubiquitous computing is coming. You'll have little computers in many of your appliances and furniture pieces, and a big computer with a big screen right there in your living room. Tomorrow's smart coffee table will do absolutely anything. You'll even be able to set your coffee cup on it. (Please use a coaster!) More: Why Your Kitchen Wants Its Own iPad Magic Mirrors Emerge from Fairy Tales |
Ideabook updated on June 19, 2012.
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I think it is a pretty neat idea and of course it had to come to that!
Why didn't I think of that?!
I AM old, but for the kids growing up, this is pretty cool!
They have 'smart boards' in their classrooms now, why not now as tables?
I do still prefer my old scrabble board game, but I like this too.
I recall several years ago there was a trend for a short time to have computers and televisions built into fridges... seems to have gone the way of the dodo. That idea never made sense to me, who wants to stand by their refridgerator watching a TV show...
But how long could anyone over about 35 stay twisted and bent like that? It's way too low! Maybe the "card table" will come back - or a thin (hopefully waterproof) panel that sits on the dining room table and can be covered at mealtime; anything that people can get their knees under. A fantastic opportunity for a great designer. Other considerations: heat, power source.
That says it all - I wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole.
Blue screen anyone?.....
On the bright side, when people put their feet up on the coffee table, you could program it to tell them to get their feet off! I like that!
This table may be better than everyone gathering around a laptop straining to see the little screen. Have you seen Samsung's OLED Display technology-check it out on YouTube. Amazing!
They have been trying to tell us these things are coming for a long time.
How is a giant screen taking up your whole coffee table somehow more convenient or efficient than simply having an iPad or other tablet computer capable of doing all the same features (remote control, email, web browsing). Not to mention, most coffee tables are not positioned in a way to give good viewing angles or a comfortable way of typing. There is no advantage to playing a board game on the coffee table versus a game console.
Are people going to buy pieces of furniture that need to be upgraded or become obsolete?
We have been moving towards making computers smaller and more portable not bigger. Oh and by the way, most people already have a big flat screen in their living room. It is called a television. Perhaps you have heard of it.
Plus, you will want to be updating your device in a few years, and there you are with this large but out-of-date pricey device.
And now you also don't have a table to use as a table. Would I put my drinks or food on this? Let kids, cats or dogs do their thing on it? No. So now I need an actual table.
No upside here. That's probably why Apple isn't designing these ... there is no real good "design" element here.
Also agree with comments re practicality of it, although my cats would probably love sleeping on a nice, warm surface.
The same goes for the computer - why go bigger by putting it into a coffee table? The TV I can see, during commercials you can read your email and do whatever you need or want to do and it's a nice big screen for those that have difficulty seeing things on a small screen. Besides, who wants to sit hunched over looking into a table top?
Perhaps I'm not so lucky, I don't know. I've had to replace 3 computers. The most recent was to replace everything because the wire connections had changed and the pieces that were fine couldn't be hooked up unless I bought some other contraption. To spend that much money on a coffee table to have it go blank and die then be forced to toss it or live with it with a dead screen does not interest me.
With technology going so fast, it will be old and outdated before you know it. Our landfills do not need more added to them. Not-to-mention, not only our landfills, what is our land absorbing with the chemicals from all this stuff? Aren't we supposed to be going green?
Why are these things overtaking our lives? Why have we lost eye-to-eye, ear-to-ear connections with each other? I see people at restaurants, parks, on buses, planes, and cars not visiting but on phones or computers. Kids as well as adults disconnected with their surroundings to have earpieces in and handheld devices with fingers clicking away.
I don't want a computer in my refrigerator, in my coffee table, or anwhere else I live in my house. The office is fine. I want my rooms to be nice rooms with no flashing, blinking, talking technology. Something that will take my guest away from our usual laughs, talks of the day and world events. I certainly don't want to pay a fortune for a piece of furniture to have it break and have to be reminded of what I could have purchased instead.
I want to move forward and enjoy the new technology. I actually don't have much choice, but I want to keep the days of yesterday too. I like talking with people. I like eye contact. And I like expressions. You can learn all kinds of things about the world on your computer, you can find directions to that world, but talking with each other, sharing, and experiencing life, that's learning and living.
Stepping off my soapbox now.
For hotels, hospitals locations where you need to see where you are going and which set of elevators, etc. sign up for semimars, and what if you went on vacation and had to open up a drawing in pdf you could have a nice size to sit down and think about. It would have to be located near concierege that could
watch children not turn it into a full time game board. But as practical use in a high end hotel with teenagers etc. you could all monitor and'jook up later.
I think it has a lot of commercial applications, at home NO
Good point about the power consumption. I heard once years ago that if all the PCs in our country were turned off when not in use, it would save enough electricity to power a town of 30,000 people.
We already have computers in our pockets. This ship has sailed.
The table is your game machine controller and your personal assistant. You have the friends over, and voice call to the local pizza restaurant thru the table. The table keeps track of any coupons, deals and specials, and lets you know, or you just tell the table "pepperoni pizza", and the table places the call using the right coupon. In the meantime, your Xbox/Kinect has been wirelessly sharing preferences from your friend's handhelds, and comparing your choices from your table server. A wicked game of Kinect handball has started while you've been ordering a side of breadsticks.
The table has your preferences, medical history, home maintenance schedule, and syncs your music to your automobile's database. You need to cross town to that appointment, and that map you used on the table goes to your handheld or auto. The appliances and kitchen pantry sync to it as well.
I can keep going...
Right now, these things are being wasted in bars, casinos, and hotels. And the prices could already be a LOT lower. But Microsoft and the powers that be don't have the vision we do. And with the newly announced Surface "tablet", the possibility of seeing a table in the average home has been distanced much much further.