CES is the largest technology event that takes place at the beginning of the year in the United States. It is also a place where companies compete to showcase a range of new technologies and products, while consumers and tech experts will get a glimpse of what the technology landscape will look like in the near future.
With the mindset of experiencing many cool gadgets and tech ideas, I was surprised by a booth named Smart Potato that attracted dozens of visitors stopping by to check it out.
Here, you will see two confident French guys holding what they claim to be the most superior device in the tech world: a potato!
“Now, any tech gadget comes with Bluetooth connectivity and people call that innovation, creativity,” Baldeck, the guy leading this project, said. “But think about it: what if a potato also had this Bluetooth connectivity?”
Attached to this potato is a device with a processing circuit, and according to Baldeck, it is to communicate with the potato’s “nerves”, with the remaining tail being an antenna to connect to a smartphone or computer.
According to Baldeck, we are already familiar with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, “ask them anything and they respond like a machine. But this potato does not; it has its own emotions and will answer your trickiest questions based on what it thinks, not programmed responses!”
“For example, if you’re wondering whether to take your partner out to dinner tonight? The potato will answer ‘Of course Not’ “, Baldeck gave an example.
He even opened the app on his iPhone to show me the potato interface that looks quite… meme-like. Pressing the voice search button, he asked whether he should buy an iPhone, and the screen immediately replied “No!”
Currently, his project has launched on Indiegogo but has only 67 backers. Baldeck mentioned that the next goal is to reach $60,000, which would allow Smart Potato to forecast the weather, $90,000 would enable a separate blockchain, and $120,000 would allow it to connect and communicate with each other through a mesh network protocol.
Are you willing to spend $29 to buy a processing device that plugs into any potato and turns it into a smart assistant? For me, it’s an interesting way to try, even though I know it could just be a troll. When hesitating between yes and no in any situation, instead of flipping a coin, you can pull out the potato and ask; the results may not matter, but it’s clearly “Cool” in comparison.
Smart Potato’s comparison is equally humorous.
