Furniture that Helps you Put it Together

Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland have designed "smart" furniture that helps you assemble it. The scientists took flat furniture panels from Swedish furniture maker, IKEA, and fitted inexpensive microprocessors on the connecting sides of the panels. The microprocessors then send data to a built-in, battery-powered microchip that indicates the relation of that microprocessor's piece to the others. The data from each microprocessor, in turn, sends data to a wireless linked computer with a screen, thus building a "map" of what the furniture piece should look like. The data sent to the computer sends error message warnings over the screen when the assembly is incorrect. These research scientists have also successfully incorporated this microprocessor technology into a screwdriver, so that the screwdriver can sense when the screws it is tightening do not need any more tightening.