The Future is in the Mundane
When I think of the future, I think of the Jetsons. A family whose only real concern was getting along with one another. While we live in relative luxury today compared to 30 or 40 years ago, the Jetsons, to me, live in absolute opulence. Never having to worry about what's for dinner or if the house is clean, or even remembering if they’ve walked the dog. No, those mundane tasks that no one really takes pleasure in are done away with in the future.
So how do we obtain this Boomerang-y life of existence?
With the advents of smart home features, we are one step closer. Lights turning on and off at the sound of our voices, tv’s coming to life with our favorites already preset to air, and our cat litter boxes cleaning themselves are all obvious in our face oddities and fascinations. But what about the most boring and menial tasks of our households? Simply remembering to do the chores?
While we may not have all the solutions to living an easier life, the Amazon Dash Smart Shelf is a technology that can at least help us have the reoccurring tools to get the tasks done.
What is it?
Basically, the Amazon Dash Smart Shelf is just a scale; what makes it special is that it notifies or talks to your Amazon account when the preloaded weight on it gets below a certain point and reorders what you’ve set it to buy.
Do I really need another smart product in my house?
Well, no, it is definitely not an essential product for anyone to own in their house. But is any smart product really needed? Smart products are designed to make life a little easier, and this one does that by helping us remember to buy frequently used things. Objects like toilet paper, Keurig pods, to even toothpaste. In fact, on Amazon's own product page, toilet paper and food storage are what the shelf is intended for.
Unintended uses?
While the shelf in its technological aspects is great, let’s not forget that it's essentially a scale, and what does a scale do best? Help us set goals. We may not be able to see a visual number each day on a Smart Shelf, but knowing that refills are sent when products are used could help us recognize our patterns or the frequency at which we use up products. Knowing this pattern helps increase or decrease the amount we use on, say, a monthly basis.
Personally, I am always trying to remember to take my daily vitamins or eat fruits as a snack instead of processed treats. Setting up a schedule whereby the depletion of an object is a reoccurrence in mail delivery is just one more way for me to remember to meet the goals I have set.
Or in the opposite, knowing that money could be sent on products I consider to be treats helps me limit my amount of consumption.
Although not a crazy innovative product, this product helps us live our lives one step closer to the future we create and continue to create with every small change.