Using RFID Tags Around the House?

Attacked-by-gremlins writes "I have a larger family and various items in the house (some tools, some pieces of clothing) 'travel' unexpectedly. We joke about gremlins doing that, but it's tiring never to be sure that I'll find an object where I left it two days ago. For the sheer hacking fun of it, I'm thinking of sticking RFID tags on some and trying to triangulate a position with several tranceivers placed in the house. Has anyone have any suggestions for this amateur 'Google Home'? Thanks."

Re:Why Not?

[Romancer]

"Beats the heck out of everyone learning to be considerate of each others' property. What benefit would that have in real life? ~"

Seriously, moderated flaimbait? Now you've got to be kidding. Funny or insightful at least, come on meta mods, please catch this one if it's not fixed now.

Mod me down for off topic if you must but I'm actually willing to take a hit if it gets this parent back into the +
The parent is a valid point about the topic.

Re:$$$ budget?

[agurk]

Depending on the size of the home he might consider using readers which only covers every door. So the system atleast keeps track of which room contains said item.

I do not know if this would be cheaper, just a thought.

Remember 'The Meaning of Life"

[zappepcs]

Well kids, I've just come back from the store. Had to buy a hammer for the 7th time this week. I'm afraid it medical experiments for the lot of you..

Seriously, if they can't learn, I understand that chloroform does wonders. Probably reduce your food bill too..... just kidding... kind of

Your problem is a human problem that CANNOT be solved by technology. This has been discussed elsewhere on /. in regard to RFID.

Technology will never solve this problem for you unless you invest in the new Acme AC1000 Spanking Machine.

Re:Why Not?

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe the topic was a hacker-implemented RFID system; *not* social commentary on how a person chooses to run their household. Flamebait and insightful, at the same time!

Garage Sale

[Setherghd]

Have a garage sale, and get rid of everything you don't need.

If you're losing items in messy closets or bedrooms, then you probably need to clean up the clutter. That or you own way too many valuable possessions that may be stolen or permanently lost. Live simple.

I live in a small, energy-efficient home. I own exactly what I need and no more. I have a computer, a desk, a chair, books, an acoustic guitar, a bike, and a couch. And that's about it.

All of my cookware and utensils stay in the kitchen and never leave. Cleaning supplies stay in a closet. My toothbrush in the medicine cabinet.

I never lose a thing. Ever.

Last room entered

[SoundGuyNoise]

Instead of trying to triangulate a position, you might be able to put a receivers on doorways, and log to a network each RFID signal received. This way when you look up your hammer, you can tell which doorway it last passed.

Re:Why Not?

[ciaohound]

You obviously don't have young children, or if you do, turn in your geek card now for dismissing appropriate technology for a problem that has vexed geek dads for generations. My dad attached his scissors to his desk with a chain. We learned to subvert that by using his letter opener to pry open the link. Voila, scissors walk off and disapper. With kids of my own, I find that anything of value must be physically secured, with lock and key. It is irritating when they pull out the entire set of pots, pans, and storage containers and build a barricade in the kitchen, but that's what kids do, and it is kind of cute, after all, and it's probably just a phase that they go through. But no matter what, the door to my basement office stays locked.

Re:Remember 'The Meaning of Life"

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think it's just problem with kids misplacing stuff. It also happens to adults for a lot of reasons, such as problems with memory, being interrupted while working on a project, getting over tired or just being plain lazy in not putting stuff back.

Either way, it doesn't seem far fetched that there could be a very good market for a product that could do this relatively cheap. So there you go, forget about the home tinkering and start thinking about a new business if you can find a way to make it cheap enough.

Re:$$$ budget?

[shogun]

Assuming of course noone just threw the item in question out the window.

Re:Why Not?

[jdgeorge]

Bullshit. I had young children (growing up now). Proper discipline and parenting is what is called for. Sure, locking up things like tools just makes sense and is part of proper parenting. What is most lacking today however is proper discipline. By the age of 2 they should know to NEVER touch Dad's stuff.

Hmmm... That comment is phrased as a disagreement, but it sounds as if you generally agree with the parent.

I will second your view, in any case; it's one thing for your kids to grab your nose, pat your back, pull on your shirt, but I agree that it is absolutely essential that people forbid their their kids from touching "Dad's stuff".

On the other hand, if by "stuff", you are referring to the various possessions you have stored around your house, you are completely deluded if you think your kids with "NEVER" touch it, regardless of what kind of "discipline" you impose. If it's interesting to them (for example, because it is forbidden), they will get to it, eventually. On the other hand, if it's boring, well then, you have nothing to worry about.

Re:Remember 'The Meaning of Life"

[flaming error]

> Your problem is a human problem that CANNOT be solved by technology

Huh? My cordless phone at home is rarely in its cradle. But I can push the pager button, it beeps, and I found the phone. I'd say technology can help find misplaced items.

Or you could use technology to abuse your children (just kidding, kind of) until they bend to your will. That might work too.

Re:Garage Sale

[icebrain]

Good for you. But some of the rest of us have memory problems.

I'll put something down for a minute to go answer the phone, or use the bathroom, and then completely forget what I was in the middle of doing. Or, I'll get up and forget to put the tool down, and then spend five minutes looking for what I have in my hand.

Trying to organize things, find a place for them, and keep it that way literally gives me headaches. I'm not quite sure why.

More expensive things than hammers go missing

[BourneTolouse]

A lot of funny comments, but I see a real need for small passive RFID tags. My father is getting on in years and he loses/misplaces small things. Like his glasses, which is a small problem. Like his hearing aids; family members are currently looking for a hearing aid that has been missing for over a week. And, like his false teeth, which he no longer has, because he/we cannot afford to continue replacing them after the first couple of times. I don't really need to identify the item uniquely, I just want a beep or proximity detection.

Re:Remember 'The Meaning of Life"

[MindlessAutomata]

What are you blabbering about? TECHNOLOGY IS FOR SOLVING HUMAN PROBLEMS. That's the whole point of technology!

I can't believe you got modded up as insightful.

Re:Why Not?

[hoggoth]

> Misbehaving children seems to be a western phenomenon

That's because Western adults value people who can think for themselves and challenge authority.

Re:Remember 'The Meaning of Life"

[LandDolphin]

"human problems cannot be fixed

Humanity, in general, is always going to have problems. No matter how perfect someone thinks they are, they are eventually going to misplace the phone, their keys, or are going to slam on the brakes in their car. Nothing you can do to stop that.

So, with that in mind, why not use technology to solve the effects of the problem?

Re:Remember 'The Meaning of Life"

[dcsmith]

Beats the hell out of throwing technology at a problem, don't you think?

What the hell kind of comment is that to make on Slashdot? Most people here LIVE to throw technology at a problem...

Re:Remember 'The Meaning of Life"

[metlin]

There are some things where throwing technology is fun. A lot of fun. And there are other things where people should just learn to understand the root cause and fix the issue at heart. A new fancy alarm isn't going to magically make you punctual. Learning to be punctual is going to make you punctual.

Likewise, using technology isn't going to make finding things better. If anything, it encourages bad habits (i.e. not being organized) and makes it harder down the line when you may not always have the said technology at your disposal. You wanting to find things and being organized about it is going to make finding things better. Technology or not.

I'm all for using technology in new and innovative ways. But that doesn't necessarily mean that when I see bad habits, I don't call them out as such. You can use technology to solve the symptoms, but the cause will still remain (and if anything, get worse over time).

He's free to do as he pleases. However, I'd still say that being well organized is a great trait to have, and one that will definitely show through in just about everything else that you do in life.

Re:Remember 'The Meaning of Life"

[monkeythug]

Nevermind behind the couch, have you ever taken the room apart looking for the damn thing, only to find later that it's being sitting "right there" the whole bloody time?