Hello Lamp post, say something more
October 11, 2013
An interesting internet of things project going in the UK and some ideas on how to expand it.
There is a fun filled project going on in Bristol, UK where you can send an SMS to a physical object like a street lamp post, a post box or a bus shelter in the city and it will respond back. You have to send an SMS to a number with the code printed on the object. And you will receive a reply back by SMS. Its called Hello Lamp Post!.
They way they have implemented the idea currently, is certainly fun. You can say hello and generally make some small talk. But it stops at being just fun. Won't it be better to make it more useful. Here are some ideas:
They way they have implemented the idea currently, is certainly fun. You can say hello and generally make some small talk. But it stops at being just fun. Won't it be better to make it more useful. Here are some ideas:
- Ask a lamp post for directions to the nearest petrol bunk, a coffee shop or a wifi spot
- Ask bus shelter when the next bus is coming there
- Ask a closed shop door or a doctor's clinic when it will open next
- Ask a post box about when the next collection will be made or where the nearest post office is located
- Ask a traffic signal post about the traffic congestion down that road
- Ask a lamp post about whether forecast for the rest of the day
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