He shoots. He… makes a mess. Happens everyday, with each piece of crumbled paper that clanks to the ground a depressing reminder of why your typical office worker is making a living at a desk instead sinking three pointers at Madison Square Garden in front of thousands of screaming fans.
But now with the Smart Trashbox, we all can feel like a champ. Designed and built by a Japanese modder who goes by the codename of FRP, the motorized wastebasket can anticipate the trajectory of launched trash and automatically re-position itself to catch it each and every time.
As clever as it is, the technology is actually quite simple. It starts with a Kinect motion sensor that’s set up in the room so that it can detect the movement of a tossed object. Once the sensor calculates where a piece of trash will land, it transmits the data so that the garbage collector can chase after it.
Luckily, this isn’t one of those garage inventions that was conceived as a way of showing off on the internet. FRP plans to patent the device in hopes of eventually developing a product for consumers. He’s currently working to improve the Smart Trashbox’s accuracy — which is something we’ll also have to do in the meantime.
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