A Different Type of WOO
General Motors, running wild after their re-coronation as the world’s top selling automobile company, is setting out to do something crazy. It’s based on the Windows of Opportunity Project. WOO (GM, lay off the copyright, bro) was inspired by…studies showing that…travelers often feel disconnected from the world outside! (A different study shows that windows are succeeding in their desired effect; separating people from the world outside.)
GM is working in partnership with Bezalel, the oldest higher education institution in Israel, to develop applications that make rear windows interactive for backseat passengers, focusing on children. They want to make the rear windows an interactive amusement park using “smart glass” technology. How artificial technology increases someone’s connectedness to the outside world is beyond me, but listed below are ideas the bright coeds at Bezalel have come up with so far (descriptions loosely provided by GM, with my comments in parentheses):
- Otto. He’s an animated character that helps children learn about what they see on the road. (This is traffic. It’s caused by morons, and sometimes weather. Mostly morons, though. This is still traffic. That’s the off-ramp to more traffic. That’s littering.)
- Foofu. Gender neutral? This “thing” helps encourage creativity as children draw on the steamy windows. (GM has yet to comment whether Foofu will be explaining how the windows got steamy.)
- Spindow. An application that lets children in one car connect with someone else in a different car in real time. (Think of this as Chat Roulette In Motion. Then think of why Chat Roulette was weird [Sven in Finland, shirtless, on his bed…playing Chat Roulette] and agree this is a terrible idea.)
- Pond. Similar to Spindow, but with the added capability of sharing music and messages. (Apparently you just stare at each other with Spindow.)
To get yourself a new car without anything WOO-related, click here and let the real woo (CarWoo!) help ya out.
