TamaFi V2 is a pocket virtual pet that treats nearby Wi-Fi and Bluetooth activity as its environment. When it goes hunting, the radio activity it finds changes hunger and mood, while it can also choose behaviors such as discovering open networks or taking a rest.
Nearby radio activity is classified as calm, busy, open, noisy, or hostile. Detecting deauthentication or disassociation activity can lower comfort and happiness and trigger a glitch-like facial reaction. The current firmware is read-only and does not store SSIDs or MAC addresses. It was created by CiferTech.
Instead of feeding a virtual pet with a button, this one treats the Wi-Fi around you as its food supply and habitat. Take it somewhere with hostile radio traffic and even the pet gets upset.
A handheld compass has been built to point exclusively toward the nearest Taco Bell. It uses GPS for location and heading data to point toward the destination while counting down the remaining walking distance as the user gets closer. The project was created by hardware maker Tru Narla.
Narla made it as a gift for her Taco Bell-loving fiancé. The prototype still needs calibration work at startup, and she plans to take it outside to see whether it can actually guide her all the way to a restaurant.
A compass can point anywhere, so this one removes almost every possible direction and keeps only Taco Bell. It is less about finding your way than eliminating every destination except tacos.
Matty Benedetto of Unnecessary Inventions built The Buzz Buddy, a miniature digital drinking companion that attaches to a can. Its sip-detection system registers each time the user drinks, making the on-screen character take a matching sip and gradually filling its Buzz Meter.
Over time the character evolves into progressively looser states. Tapping it makes the character dance, while swiping down displays usage statistics.
The problem is not wanting to drink alone, and the solution is not inviting another person but attaching a digital drinking companion to the can. Better yet, it changes along with you sip by sip.
Instead of feeding a virtual pet with a button, this one treats the Wi-Fi around you as its food supply and habitat. Take it somewhere with hostile radio traffic and even the pet gets upset.