All good inventions solve real problems. But what makes a great invention is how what it makes possible redefines what people consider to be real problems.
Take window blinds for example. As an invention, most people appreciate the real problem they solve by making it easy to regulate the amount of light over the entire surface of the window, allowing a more general diffusion of light to pass through than is possible to achieve by manipulating curtains, shutters or shades.
At the same time, most people will identify the problem of cleaning window blinds as something crying out for a new invention to solve. It's just not easy to remove the dust that accumulates on them.
But what most people won't do is identify the tilting of the blinds to allow more or less light to pass through as a problem demanding a new invention. The wands that many blinds are equipped with are pretty capable of doing that job.
And yet, via Core77, we've learned of a Kickstarter campaign for an invention that solves the problem of how to automate the tilting of blinds with an elegantly designed device that can be retrofitted to many existing window blinds.
Better still, it solves a problem that many people might not have fully appreciated because of being distracted by all the dust building up on their blinds - that adjusting the tilt of the window blinds is something of a hassle, especially as outdoor light conditions change throughout the day, meaning that it has to be done several times a day.
The FlipFic is an automated solution to the problem of window blind adjustment, which only becomes clear because the invention reveals it to be a problem that has been in great need of a solution.
But perhaps the real genius of the invention is something that the inventors themselves may not fully recognize. By eliminating the need to manually manipulate the window blinds, the FlipFic reduces the likelihood that the dust that inevitably accumulates on the blinds will be disturbed by being touched by human hands, leaving unsightly clean spots on an otherwise smooth coating of dust on the blinds, which is what really makes it necessary to clean them. So in a roundabout way, they may also have solved the biggest problem that the owners of window blinds believe they have with them!
If you're interested, the Kickstarter campaign will run through 11 May 2016. At this writing, it has surpassed its funding goals, so it will be a real thing that you can invest in for your home to improve your quality of life.
Labels: technology
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