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Mother

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Re: Mother

#81

Post by krisoft »

jfoutz wrote: post #43
devindotcom wrote: post #28

I played with this at CES. The "mother" bot is basically just a router. The little things only sense motion, and when I asked the lady said they had no plans to add any other types of sensitivity - temperature, moisture, light, current, etc. Compared with the other 'internet of things' kits out there battling for visibility, this one doesn't seem original or more useful, only visually striking. The tags are also pret…

weird. the webpage says the motion sensors also sense temperature.

That makes sense. The bias which affects the measurements of MEMS based gyroscopes and accelerometers, has a temperature dependent component. Because of this the two sensor is commonly packaged together with temperature sensing elements. Since it's already there on the IMU chip, why not use it?

Re: Mother

#82

Post by bluejellybean »

amirmc wrote: post #70
bluejellybean wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment is fantastic! The trend in pointless analytics is annoying and isn't solving any real problems. All the ‘problems’ Mother solves are not really problems and it doesn’t seem to serve any truly useful purpose. Wakeup times - Already solved by the alarm on your clock. Managing drink consumption - Drink more or less than you currently do. Staying fit/active - Go workout/exercise once a day. Step tracking - O…

To summarise your comment: "Bah, Humbug." More seriously, I think you're being way too dismissive. The same train of logic could apply to any tech advances we've had. Email? Use letters. Smartphones? Use a proper computer. Social networks? Use a paper address book. Do you feel the same about those? Compliance is a big problem for medicine. Motivating people (nay, yourself) to be active is a problem. Keeping track of…

I disagree that the same train of logic could be applied to other big tech advances. The pieces of tech you stated are better than the alternative by leaps and bounds. They all reduce the time (and money) it takes to communicate by huge margins.

For medication, I can only speak from personal experience and I could be completely off base. As far as motivation, my active friends don't use/care about fitness apps and my inactive friends can't be bothered to use the bloody things anyway. Obviously this all comes back to personal experience and I would love to be proved wrong (always interesting seeing a product/service you think is crap get huge) but until it takes off I am skeptical of its actual value

Re: Mother

#83

Post by bluejellybean »

prawn wrote: post #79
bluejellybean wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment is fantastic! The trend in pointless analytics is annoying and isn't solving any real problems. All the ‘problems’ Mother solves are not really problems and it doesn’t seem to serve any truly useful purpose. Wakeup times - Already solved by the alarm on your clock. Managing drink consumption - Drink more or less than you currently do. Staying fit/active - Go workout/exercise once a day. Step tracking - O…

The teeth brushing thing is aimed at parents. Children can be very difficult when it comes to encouraging them to brush their teeth, either forgetting or lying, etc.

The encouragement aspect seems to be the most promising I won't deny that. I hated brushing as a kid, and tricked my parents into thinking I did. Kids are smart, if they don't want to brush and know all they have to do is shake the thing to make it look like they are brushing, they will.

Comes down to playing a more active role in their life instead of just tracking their activities.

Re: Mother

#84

Post by crbnw00ts »

cromwellian wrote: post #11

The way the thing is filmed with the smiley face and lighting up eyes, I could easily imagine a sci-fi horror film being based around it. :) More seriously, the idea of using cheap motion trackers to track usage of things in the home is very interesting. When Google acquires this, it'll make the Nest complaints pale in comparison. :)

> The way the thing is filmed with the smiley face and lighting up eyes, I could easily imagine a sci-fi horror film being based around it. :)

Like this?

http://i.imgur.com/W1s9crO.jpg

In all seriousness, I feel it is only a matter of time before someone dies as a result of their home automation being hacked.

Re: Mother

#86

Post by carls »

This seems to be a herald to the situation described in the poem All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace (1967) by Richard Brautigan.

  I like to think (and 
  the sooner the better!) 
  of a cybernetic meadow
  where mammals and computers
  live together in mutually
  programming harmony
  like pure water
  touching clear sky.

  I like to think
  (right now, please!)
  of a cybernetic forest
  filled with pines and electronics
  where deer stroll peacefully
  past computers
  as if they were flowers
  with spinning blossoms.

  I like to think
  (it has to be!)
  of a cybernetic ecology
  where we are free of our labors
  and joined back to nature,
  returned to our mammal
  brothers and sisters,
  and all watched over
  by machines of loving grace.
And yes, incredibly creepy.

Re: Mother

#88

Post by woofyman »

vertex-four wrote: post #78
woofyman wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll save you money. I'll be Dad. Stop drinking soda and walk more.

A bit snarky, but I get your point, absolutely. These problems are solvable today, and I'm working on them. I was mostly pointing out that the price is completely out of my range, as I see this as "something to help". We both agree that this is unnecessary; but it's at a price point which makes it seem that the creators think it's a necessity. There's a great many more useful things I could buy with £166.

Yeah, sorry for the snark.

Re: Mother

#90

Post by jlgaddis »

devindotcom wrote: post #28

I played with this at CES. The "mother" bot is basically just a router. The little things only sense motion, and when I asked the lady said they had no plans to add any other types of sensitivity - temperature, moisture, light, current, etc. Compared with the other 'internet of things' kits out there battling for visibility, this one doesn't seem original or more useful, only visually striking. The tags are also pret…

> Motion Cookies also contain a thermometer. --https://sen.se/store/cookie/
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