European R&D advances ‘internet of things,’ hastens our Phildickian future

Why can’t our refrigerator fire off an urgent email when the milk has gone lumpy? And the toilet paper dispensers warn us it’s empty – before we sit down? And when will our microwaves run BitTorrent? EUREKA, the European R&D network, knows how badly you crave networked objects, and rather than mock you, it’s moving to help. To that end, it has developed small, inexpensive, battery-powered sensors able to link everything from consumer electronics to environmental monitors to factory robots – creating the much-anticipated “Internet of Things.” But unlike the over-hyped RFID , it’s technology you’d actually use. Instead of knowing whether your keys are indeed on the RFID reader, the network could gently remind you that you left them in your car, which is now 100 miles away with someone else at the wheel, but, luckily for you, low on gas. Gaze into the so-called future of things with EUREKA’s press release, conveniently embedded after the jump. Continue reading European R&D advances ‘internet of things,’ hastens our Phildickian future European R&D advances ‘internet of things,’ hastens our Phildickian future originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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