Next Big Thing – invoked computing
Soon you'll be able to access your computer via everyday objects - just don't burn yourself typing on your Meat Feast
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.
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Fraser Macdonald
consulting editor 
