DRM Chair self-destructs after just eight uses
Chair designed for global project brings the concept of digital rights management into the physical world.
What if your dishes dissolved to liquid after you used them a set amount of times? What if your furniture fell apart after a certain number of uses? A team of creators answered that last question with the DRM Chair, a self-destructing seat that can only be sat on a limited number of times.
The DRM Chair looks sturdy enough, but each time someone sits it in, it triggers a sensor and makes a clicking noise as it counts the uses. After eight people have applied their tushes to it, a lick of smoke starts to emanate from the joints. The joints then melt down and the chair falls into a pile of parts, much like a furniture version of a "Mission: Impossible" tape player.
The DRM chair was created over the course of 48 hours for a global project called The Deconstruction. The Deconstruction is described as "a game about re-thinking the world as we know it, taking it apart, making a few adjustments, then putting it back together a little awesome-er." Teams participate by thinking up and building projects in a short time frame.
I would say the DRM Chair makes the world a little awesome-er. It should provoke at least a few thoughts about the nature of DRM and how it gets applied to less tangible items, like songs, ebooks, and software. I expect consumers would be up in arms if their furniture self-destructed after a limited number of uses. It would be an awesome party trick, though.
(Via Hexus)