Sometimes utterly useless functions of portable gadgets really steal our souls (iBoobs app, to name just one). That’s when MIT comes into play!
Well, frankly despite the name it’s a bit offensive to put Junkyard Jumbotron next to, for instance, iBoobs. The app by MIT is undoubtedly ingenious and innovative, whereas iBoobs… is not. However, still, it does not change the fact that It’s quite hard to think of any reasonable use for Junkyard Jumbotron – at least at the present.
The application has been developed in MIT labs since at least last summer, when Rick Borovoy (working for Center for Future Civic Media) asked for support. Now the little program seems to be ready and we can focus on its functionalities. In general Junkyard Jumbotron allows you to create one huge virtual display out of a number of internet-enabled gadgets with displays (mobile phones, tablet PCs, laptops, etc.).
All you need to do is to go to Junkyard Jumbotron to get a unique URL and open it on each device. Then each of them will display a separate QR code. You will need to have another gadget with a camera to take a picture of all devices together and send it to a specific e-mail address. Now the setup is ready and you can display pictures (by sending them through e-mail again). The app will automatically spread them evenly on all devices’ screens by replacing the QR codes.
After displaying the picture, one can scroll and zoom the image and it will move in real-time through all screens. The next step in developing the app is implementing video capability. It’s all free and web-based, no downloading, no installing anything. Perhaps Junkyard Jumbotron may be used for displaying some adds in malls, but it seems to me that it’s more like a way to present the technology itself. And surely it is impressive.
Interested in more brilliant ideas from Massachusetts Institute of Technology? Check out digital food printer or the Copenhagen Wheel.
Via: boingboing and MIT
