Enchanted Objects – The Next Wave of The Web

The Internet of Things has always felt like an impulse-without-logic category. It reminds you of Jeff Goldblum’s quote from “Jurassic Park” on the ethics of making dinosaurs—“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they never stopped to think if they should.” So we can put a chip in literally everything. Should we? And to what end? Nobody seemed to asking the important question of “why” when it comes to IOT.

Like a lot of things, our ability to achieve something often races ahead. Ahead of what? Typically usefullness. But there are things beyond pure utility that stimulate adoption. Things like story.

And that’s where an emerging subset of IOT is getting traction. A subset called “Enchanted Objects”. Simply put, Enchanted Objects are really just connected objects with a magical context. Where technology infuses ordinary things with a bit of magic to create a more satisfying interaction and evoke an emotional response. And nobody is more on the forefront of enchanted objects than David Rose who is head of the “Tangible Media Group” at MIT.

Rose is a pretty interesting guy. Both for the things he creates. And the things he bemoans. Things like cell phones.

“They’re not doing a lot for you unless you’re constantly interacting with them,” he offers. “These devices are like small children—They require constant attention, feedback and interaction.”

Rose’s world is already filled with these objects. Remember “Sting” the sword from “Lord of The Rings” that would glow blue when Orcs are near. Rose has rigged an umbrella with a handle that glows blue when rain is in the forecast. It’s really the frictionless interplay between story and utility. Here are just a few of the other things he’s working on:

-Cutlery and condiments that measure your eating habits.

-A teleporting cabinet. Where you open a very analog hinged wooden door and a screen aut0-skypes a preset destination.

-Talking pill bottles.

-Curtains you open by waving your hands.

-An orb that glows when a stock you own goes up in value.

Part of Rose’s idea is that story and narrative come through substance. Screens are ultimately screens. But there’s something infinitely more satisfying about mixing the modern notion of chip embeds with wood or cork or stone. These substances are age old, so filling them with responsive capacity makes the experience seem all the more magical.

Also interesting is transmedia play or transmedia storytelling.

Typically this transmediation just bounces between screens and more analog technologies tied to them (Like landline telephones). But pair a smartphone with a toy or stuffed animal with a chip in it, and transmedia play seems ripe for innovators to go nuts.