This is a small box that you place next to your front door and you strike to see if any smart household device wants to remind you of anything. If everything is OK you get a on-key "bong" sound but other sounds summarise the information your smart devices want to express.

Different keys represent different devices and the chime tries to build a pleasant tune out of them. Therefore someone with a good ear for music could work out that their their fridge needs restocking, that they've left the oven on and that the back door is unlocked.

Hit the device twice (kind of a double-click) and it prints out shopping lists and other things suitable as hardcopy and speaks any transient reminders and instructions.

Note that this assumes a computerised chime with an internal printer that is able to talk to a suite of smart devices but, hey, we might as well be prepared ...
-- Aristotle, Jan 24 2003

"Buy batteries for m..."
-- FarmerJohn, Jan 24 2003


Fortunately houses tend to have mains power ...
-- Aristotle, Jan 25 2003


"Remember to pay the electric bi..."
-- FarmerJohn, Jan 25 2003


Why would you pay the electric bicycle?
-- bristolz, Jan 25 2003


Do farmers dream of electric bipeds?
-- egbert, Jan 26 2003


not bi- son, but bison.
-- thumbwax, Jan 26 2003


Why not the panel of device state LED indicators? It'd be quiet and wouldn't disturb anyone with weird sounds. You just look the list of LEDs before leaving the house. So you know the satate of every device...
-- Inyuki, Jan 26 2003


The sounds are delivered on request so you probably would not be disturbed by them. However LEDs are as good a method as any - including animated figures that mime reminders, a robotic spider that writes messages in cobwebs and a turreted weapon that shots you in different part of your body ...
-- Aristotle, Jan 26 2003


The system would be very useful for blinds.
-- Inyuki, Jan 26 2003



random, halfbakery