I'd like to be able to turn on my appliances by simply glaring at them. I imagine I would wander into the kitchen at six 'o clock, cock an eyebrow, and flash a glance towards the coffee maker and get it to start brewing. Then I would fold my arms and look expectantly at the refrigerator so it swings open. Different degrees of condescension, directed towards the dishwasher, would tell it how many plates it has to wash.

One could load up their blender with fruit and, once the top is on, head over to get a pitcher and cast the appliance a sideways look so it starts making a smoothie automatically. Then, if their hands are dirty enough that they don't want to touch the faucet, they can head over to the kitchen sink and (forget touch-control) stare down the tap and maybe cough a little to get its attention and get the water flowing.

As a final touch, the toaster would have to shiver in fear and expel its toast when you give it the evil eye.
-- DrWorm, Nov 03 2009

Facial recognition in a small device http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/March2006/2780.htm
You'd think it could at least be made to recognise a cocked eyebrow. Not too sure how it would figure out the evil eye... [wagster, Nov 03 2009]

This is just on the horizon of possibility (link). It's also excellent.
-- wagster, Nov 03 2009


wouldn't a smile be nicer and more recognisable?
-- po, Nov 03 2009


... but more difficult first thing in the morning, I think, especially the kind of morning where you urgently need coffee.
-- pertinax, Nov 03 2009


That's serious cybernetics.
-- tatterdemalion, Nov 03 2009


I'd be more inclined to say that they sound Sirius.
-- kaz, Nov 03 2009


Those ones were too happy.
-- tatterdemalion, Nov 03 2009


O_o
-- FlyingToaster, Nov 03 2009


Ghastly isn't it?
-- kaz, Nov 03 2009


"you know the last time you had toast? 18 days ago. 11:36, tuesday the 3rd. two rounds"
-- po, Nov 03 2009


I'd prefer some sort of fibre-optic implant in my finger that somehow communicated with my kitchen devices.

I could then wander round my kitchen, pointing at devices at will, and have them spring to life. A bit like a mad composer.
-- jtp, Nov 03 2009


I like the possibility of reenacting that wizard scene from Fantasia, so in addition to stern looks, I'd like to see (like [jtp] suggests) various gestures and commands implemented.
-- zen_tom, Nov 03 2009


I am eyebrow disabled. I do not have that cool ability to arch my brow at will. I have exercised my forehead, massaged it, lifted my lids, and plucked the hairs, all with no result.

I could do all the rest of the cues, and in fact I would love to start my day with this routine. +++++
-- blissmiss, Nov 03 2009


Love this. "What the hell are you staring at like that?" isn't an uncommon question to be heard in my house.
-- daseva, Nov 03 2009


// look expectantly at the refrigerator so it swings open. Different degrees of condescension,..//

If you didn't leave the refrigerator door open so much, you wouldn't get so much condescension.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 03 2009


//Fantasia//

sp: Morcambe and Wise
-- wagster, Nov 04 2009


Hm. Perhaps the sensors can be configured to only notice glaring at a distance of a few feet. One can only be close to one appliance at a time, right?
-- DrWorm, Nov 04 2009


foot tapping, arm folding, and lip pursing too.
-- Voice, Jan 23 2011


The toaster notices you looking at your watch and being generally impatient, so it cranks up the power to cook your toast faster...
-- neutrinos_shadow, Jan 23 2011


Using similar logic, rapidly moving the computer mouse from side to side *should* make the computer work faster.
-- hippo, Jan 24 2011


[hippo] You mean it doesn't?
-- mouseposture, Jan 25 2011


There are cameras now (notice that I no longer have to use "digital" when discussing cameras?) that can recognize when someone has blinked, so the technology for glare-recognition is certainly at the needed level. A small stupid camera on each device could feed to a central processor, if that aspect of the cost is a factor.

Obviously, blink communication would be simplest to program from such a device, and best suited to the coffee-maker.
-- baconbrain, Jan 25 2011



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