I was very excited about the internet of things. And ambient intimacy. All that stuff. That was probably naive of me.
Lots of it failed because of bad ideas.
But some of it failed because execution was really hard back then. Developments with phones and bluetooth and everything have made lots of IOT stuff easier.
And the simple, clever ideas are starting to get built again. Properly. Functionally.
Here's one:
It's called Kettle Companion. Someone, let's say an older relative of yours, gets a little plug adaptor thing that plugs between their kettle lead and the wall. Doesn't get in the way, is unobtrusive, doesn't need switching on and off. It connects to their wifi. But then they don't have to do anything.
Someone else, let's say it's you, gets a little kettle shaped device that plugs into your wall and connects to your wifi. It takes a little bit of setting up but that's it. You can just leave it.
The kettle glows blue at midnight. Then if/when your elderly relative switches their kettle on to make a cuppa it glows green. If they don't boil the kettle before 10AM it goes red and you should probably give them a call and make sure they're OK. And, of course, if it goes green you know someone is up and about. It's a good time to call.
There's some additional nuance but that's basically it.
It's obviously only suitable for someone with a stereotypically British relationship with tea. And it could be seen as surveillance. And it shouldn't be a substitute for an actual relationship, you should still call occasionally anyway. BUT it's nice, it's gentle, it's clever. It works because it's very limited, it sends a very simple signal. Someone in that house has recently boiled a kettle. That's it. No one has to open an app, no one has to decide how they're feeling, no one has to declare their status.