More Poop Technology!

I'm a huge fan of Marginal Revolution.  I scan all of Tyler's "Assorted Links" and very occasionally have contributed to the list.  I ran across this story in the Washington Post about using canine DNA to catch poop offenders.

The basic story is that some condos and apartment buildings are requiring dog owners to register their DNA such that if any offending poop is found on the property, it can be properly linked back to the owner who did not clean up such poop.  The author of the article lamented that:

Yes, it has come to this: We live in a society where, rather than speaking to one another and gingerly asking neighbors to clean up their dogs’ messes, we mail a portion of said messes to Tennessee in a small bottle so that, using genetic sequencing and mathematical logarithms, the canine hooligan can be identified. Another case of technology taking the place of human interaction.

I don't know if I fully agree; this feels like the worst possible way to take this.  Also, I think that logarithms don't factor prominently into the equation.  I think this concern is over-wrought.  My thoughts:

• The author laments that we don't talk to each other any more.  This supposes that we can always be around to keep track of other people's business.  Dog walking (and therefore pooping) takes place at all times.  It's silly to think that more than one person will be there to observe.
• This is a fantastic use of technology!  Seriously, a company is making a profit from sequencing DNA found in and separated out of dog poop for ~$65.  This is a much more cost-effective solution than surveillance cameras.  And the costs scale perfectly with the problem (and is ultimately of no cost to the apartment owner or condo associations).
• I find the incentive for dog owners to behave to be perfectly constructed.  The costs that they pay are related to the infraction (identification of the offender).  And non-dog owning residents are not affected at all.
• People truly suck.  It takes this sort of incentive to stop the bad behavior.  That is sad.  And not a commentary on technology, but of people.  The only major repeat offender cited in this story (admittedly anecdotal) is one who avoided the pet registration in the first place. 
• I'm glad that I'm not the one collecting the samples.

Graphene: Where is it?

Fascinating article about graphene.

"It was as if science fiction had become reality" and that was over 10 years ago, and we still struggle to find economic uses of this wonder substance.  Frustrating and wonderful how the world works.

But a reminder to be skeptical about much (most?) amazing breakthroughs in technology that you hear about.  We, as humans, may not know too much about the universe and the world around us, but we have tamed certain areas.  And in those areas we are quite efficient at getting what we want out of it.  New technologies like this have huge hurdles to get over before they become practical for inclusion into our industry and our lives.

What will it take for graphene to make it out of the lab and into our every day lives?

Day 8: Rejected Ideas

As I have been working through the possibilities and ideas for this series of 7 Days, 7 Gadgets, I have had to reject a lot of ideas.  Many were just a bit silly, but quite a few had already been done before.  Here are a few:

• Combined washer/dryer  This would be super useful to just throw a load in and then take out dried clothes.  Space efficient, but not in-line with how most Americans do their laundry - they do a bunch at a time and want it done NOW!  Also, its already been done.
• Floating electronic pool chemical monitor  Already done.  But arguably, not well.
• Automatic wall painting device  Done, but not in a compelling way.  Lots of innovation available.  Frankly, routine use would be a key part of the innovation.  For use to be routine, it'd have to be more cost-efficient or provide some other meaningful advantage (lower insurance rates due to avoidance of people on ladders).
• Many other previous ideas.  I went back through my posts and tagged all that could have qualified.  I really wanted to use some of them, especially for Day 7.

Day 7: Tree Health Monitor

This post was a bit of a cheat.  I ran out of steam for the 7 Days 7 Gadgets series and only posted this on the last day:

DRAFT
Device to measure tree health through bark, ultrasound, laser on leaf and online supplement of leaf down coloration.  Alerts users to fertilize or water trees.

I'm updating now (2014-12-27) with some more thoughts and information, in other words, a complete post.

Genesis of Idea

In suburban America, one of the most important aspects of your property is the trees on that property.  However, as trees grow, numerous negative things can happen to them that make them dangerous or otherwise problematic to have on your property.  Controlling them, by getting somebody to come in and cut them down, is expensive and a giant hassle.  But, trees are beautiful and worth some measure of investment and time.  So, it would be great if people had better tools to monitor the health of their trees and make good choices about fertilizing and watering those trees.

Details

Prior to engaging in any sensing devices, the user of the TreeHealth system would first download and run the TreeHealth app.  The first step is to create a catalog of all of the trees on the property.  Ideally, the user would do this by walking around the property and pressing a button when they are standing next to a unique tree.  Using the GPS coordinates of the phone, the app would map out all of the trees.  If desired, the user could upload a view of their property's plat and walk to the four corners (for calibration) and map the trees on the property relative to the house.  Without knowing of any better means, the tree's height would have to be estimated.  A digital tape measure (like those used for measuring waist size) should be used for trunk circumference measurements (at ~6" off of the ground).  If the owner knew, they could enter the genus and species of the tree.  If they did not, they could use the app and identify it based on tree characteristics (like leaves and bark).  This should provide a first level view of the tree community on the owner's property.

In addition, the owner would be prompted to enter when the tree looks to be budding and the state of the tree shedding its leaves in the fall.  The dates (compared to the overall tree community in the owner's geographical area) could be another indicator of health.

The Gadget

The TreeHealth gadget would be a multi-sensor device that attaches to a phone (or better, a tablet) that can do the following:

• Measure leaf health via infrared sensors: owner would scan six leaves (enough for a valid sampling without harming the tree?).  My (admittedly weak) understanding is that this is useful for gauging overall health. 
• For larger trees, the owner would use something like a 3/8 hole saw blade to cut a shallow round hole through the bark, then place the ultrasonic sensor on that location.  This could measure the integrity of the tree's main trunk and identify any problems with internal rot and overall fluid/sap flow within the tree.  After the measurements, the owner would glue a special plug in the hole, designed to ensure that the tree was not damaged by the test (or by allowing a fungus or something else bad to get into the tree's systems).

Additional App Features

• Leave measurement: place six leaves on a 1x1" lined mat and take pictures of the leaves.  The meta data of the date will be helpful in keeping track.
• Height estimates: put an object of a known size next to the tree and snap a picture from a known distance away from the tree.  Verify it makes sense by using trunk circumference information.
• CO2 tracking: tell the user how much CO2 was sequestered in their yard.  I'm sure that this will make somebody feel good.  Additionally, if there is a known relation to house height and location, the app could estimate electricity saved from cooling during the summer.
• Fertilization and watering reminders.  Based on geographic weather data, alert user if trees should be getting water stressed.  Suggest watering strategies that will maximized absorption and minimize run-off.

I think that the largest value of this approach is in the continuous monitoring from year to year of the trees.  They don't grown super quickly, so we should have to worry about long term engagement from the user.  Not sure how to do this, but it's probably worthwhile to a local landscaping shop that could be selling to the user year after year.

Day 6: Aftermarket HVAC Booster

My house isn't that big, but one segment of it remains materially cooler than the others.  Yes, I've adjusted the dampers, but it still doesn't work well.  The solution: an integrated system of register fan boosters and temperature sensors tied into your smart thermostat.  Key features:

• Compatible with a range of "smart thermostats".  Key output is sending a signal to turn the HVAC fan on.
• Register boosters turn on when the temperature in the room is materially different from the thermostat setting (directionally correct depending on heating or cooling).  The register boosters are aware of the main HVAC system's fan running and are only running when the main fan is running.
• Alternately, allow user to install fans in the duct to provide a similar boost (but have it tied to thermometers in a room or a couple of rooms).

So this is sort of a gadget that appends to the end of your existing HVAC control system.  Not sure how easy this would be to integrate into Nest, but there are definitely some Z-Wave controllers for which this could be easily implemented.

Day 5: Active Chair

Sitting too long and being sedentary is supposed to be bad for your health.  Lets' change that by having our chairs move so that we are forced to reposition ourselves.  Key features:

• Chair setup would require information about user's body, work surface height and any chronic pain.  The user could choose the amount of time between shifting chair positions and the degree of difficulty.  Degree of difficulty could be slowly increased over time.  Setup done via app that communicates with chair via bluetooth.
• Chair would then restrict itself to a range of heights and positions.
• Every 5 minutes or so the chair would adjust itself, forcing the user to shift and potentially engage some of their core muscles to balance
• If the user needed a break, they could request one via the app.  Or turn it off during a phone call.
• Track user sitting behavior.  Beep if user has been sitting too long.

Key problems

• Chair would likely have to be plugged in given the amount of power required to shift a full-grown adult.  Cord could be a hassle.
• Noise, if used in a cubical environment.
• Cost.  Though people do spend a lot on fancy Hermann Miller chairs.

One Step Beyond

• Add in message capability
• Keep track of benefit to user via the app.  Estimate extra calories burned, other health benefits.

Day 4: Trash Can Caddy

My boys are not very reliable with respect to taking the trash cans from the house to the edge of the street and back.  It's not a very hard thing to do, but I get much pushback (we do have a relatively long driveway) whenever I ask them to do it.  What I need is a rugged device that'll do it for me!

The Trash Can Caddy! (red = wheels, orange = control box, blue = support structure)

One Step Beyond

I have a trash can much like this one.  I envision the Trash Can Caddy (TCC) to work like the following:

• The caddy slips under the trash can with wheels on the outside of the can.
• Under normal, resting position, the TCC wheels are not supporting any weight, so that the can remain stationary.  Alternatively, if you have multiple smaller trash cans, this system could be built into one of these caddies.
• When directed (likely timer-based given that most of us have schedule trash delivery), the TCC lifts the front of the can slightly to make its wheels load bearing.
• The TCC travels down the bottom of the driveway using accelerometers and GPS backup (think geo-fencing to ensure the TCC doesn't go out into the roadway) to direct its path.  The user would have to take the can down and back on several training runs to ensure that the TCC knew where and how to go.
• The final spot for the can it determined with high accuracy by using a RFID pad attached to a post that is sitting just off the side of the driveway that the user wants the can to be placed.
• The TCC senses when it's been emptied and makes its way up the driveway about a minute after that's happened.
• The TCC sends you a quick note that it was successfully emptied and returned to it's storage location (also using an RFID pad).

There are a number of issues that could stand in the way of this ambitious product:

• Safety: you'd have an autonomous vehicle roaming your driveway.  It could run somebody over or hit a car.  On the plus side, it'd not need to move fast (maybe 6" per second).  It could use ultrasonic sensors (like cars) and current sensors on its motors and be sensitive to turn off.
• Stability: you really don't want the TCC tipping over on it's way to the road.  Good sensors, software and a control system should help keep things rolling in the right direction.
• Wear and tear: your garbage can is going to get flung up on a truck to be emptied.  The TCC has to be rugged enough to withstand repeated pounding.  Sensors and the control box may need to be located on either side to avoid this problem.
• Battery life: The system doesn't need to be particularly light, so perhaps you can pack a reasonably good size Li battery into this.  That said, trash cans are often stored outside where it can be quite cold.
• Inside storage of cans: Growing up, we used to store our trash cans in the garage.  For this system to work, you may need to include an automatic garage door opener interface.  But that would make it even cooler.  The complication could be tight maneuvering around cars.
• Non-paved driveways: maybe solved by using off-road tires.
• Snow: In a measurable amount of snow, the device would probably not work.  The app could perhaps alert the user when snow is forecasted at their address and force the user to affirmatively say that the path is snow-free.
• Ice: the TCC may just get stuck sometimes.  As long as it doesn't tip over, not the end of the world.  User is notified whenever this happens.

Two Steps Beyond

Here are some, mostly marginally useful thoughts on further improvements:

• Set the accelerometers to be on guard when the can is back at it's home location.  Chirp or alarm if animals are entering.
• Better yet, add a locking mechanism on the top.  Quick one-button unlocking and then automatic relocking, to avoid animal intrusion in the first place.  Much better than the bungie cord system that I'm using now.
• Based on the amount of force required to lift the front of the TCC, measure and track the garbage produced by the household.  Present data in an easily understood way.  Compare to their neighbors and the rest of the TCC users.  Make suggestions on how to reduce.  If you are like me, you can also measure recycling weight and make the user feel good about how much avoided landfill they've offset.