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September 11, 2007
Press Release: ThingM Exhibits Smart Wine Rack at Wired NextFest in LA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THINGM EXHIBITS DEBUTS SMART WINE RACK AT WIRED NEXTFEST IN LA
LOS ANGELES, September 12, 2007 --- ThingM fundamentally changes how wine storage is managed with WineM, a smart wine rack prototype exhibited at WIRED NextFest in the Los Angeles Convention Center. The smart wine rack uses radio frequency identification (RFID) to track individual bottles in the rack and identifies ones that fit users' wine selection criteria. Collectors and restaurants can use WineM racks to search collections, track specific bottles, update information about wine in real time, and manage inventory visually.
WineM solves the problem of remembering all the information about the wines in a large wine rack, cellar or cabinet, or searching through that data. This smart wine rack makes that information always accessible and updatable. With WineM identifies the wines of a certain class, and where they are in the rack, without requiring users to consult paper wine logs or spreadsheets. A bottle can never be misfiled, and a wine rack organizer no longer has to choose a single organizational scheme. The wine in a collection can now be dynamically reorganized by any combination of year, region, price, or any other information axis that interests the collector or sommelier.
A handheld browser commands the rack to display multiple types of information and project the results with RGB LEDs directly onto the individual bottles, which are identified by the rack via custom walnut veneer radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on each bottle.
For example, a collector planning a dinner party could specify they want to see all of their 2003 Napa Chardonnays whose current market value exceeds $50. WineM will identify and light up just the bottles that match those criteria. ThingM co-founder and creative director Mike Kuniavsky explains, "A single bottle of wine exists as two kinds of objects, an informational object and a physical one. WineM unites these. It explores what everyday objects can be if computers and networks become ubiquitous, as we believe they soon will be. WineM's unique cabinet is designed to make the process of selecting wine simple, elegant and entertaining, whether in your living room or your favorite restaurant."
WineM is the first product from ThingM, a ubiquitous computing research and development studio focused on the fusion of common objects and high technology. The WineM cabinet was designed by Ryan Duke and fabricated by Simon Smartfoster. Brian Hinch programmed the Adobe Flash GUI. ThingM co-founder Mike Kuniavsky led creative direction for the project and ThingM co-founder Tod E. Kurt led technical direction.
About ThingM:
ThingM Corporation is a ubiquitous computing research and development studio focused on the fusion of common objects and high technology. Founded by Web pioneers Tod E. Kurt and Mike Kuniavsky in 2006, ThingM aims to revolutionize everyday life using high design coupled with the latest technology to reinvent everyday objects. They look at the trajectory of change in technologies and use those insights to see how those technologies will change the familiar objects of life. Then they try to build those objects.
About WIRED NextFest:
WIRED NextFest is a unique world’s-fair-style event to be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, September 13–16, 2007. The four-day festival will feature more than 160 exciting interactive exhibits of the innovative products and technologies that are transforming our world. Over the past three years, more than 100,000 visitors have visited WIRED NextFest in San Francisco (2004), Chicago (2005) and New York (2006).
Media Contacts:
Mike Kuniavsky
ThingM Corp.
Direct: +1 415-235-3468
Email: mikek@thingm.com
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