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Self Orientating Objects

Consider a simple task such as plugging in a power or data cable - when a magnet is added to the process aligning the cable head with the socket becomes that much easier because the magnet reduces the need for absolute accuracy. (Switching the polarity on one the magnets once the device is charged would automatically eject the cable once done - a cool feature in certain contexts, although more applicable to data cables and indicating that a data related task is complete.)

For any physical task where two or more things need to be aligned - the margin of error and the implications of reducing that margin of error. The extent to which products can automatically re-orientate or re-position themselves, and their motivation for doing so?

Photos: mis-aligned beer cans in my local supa.

Writing from Tokyo | December 8, 2008 | Permalink