Wallpaper Goes High-Tech

Why flip open a laptop when your wall can do the computing? A design firm in Madrid has launched a project that aims to make any surface in your home an online interface, the Financial Times reports. Using motion-sensor technology, webcams, and projectors, it will turn walls and counters into screens where you can tweet, shop, organize, and so on. Fun for sure, but perhaps less exciting "when work colleagues try to videocall you in bed because you haven’t replied to their emails," notes the Times. Other neat tech stuff:

• Wallpaper that restricts WiFi and cellphone signals from entering your home. Designed to protect your online accounts and keep WiFi-thieves at bay, this French-made wallpaper is covered with a silver ink that blocks certain electromagnetic frequencies ranging from 2.45 to 5.5 GHz.
• Carpeting that notifies family members and caregivers when someone at home has fallen down—particularly useful for taking care of the elderly. Due out next year, the British product will also detect warning signs of fire and chemical spillages.
• A free online service that reminds you about chores, like bathing your pets, watering the plants, and making sure fire alarms work. Called BrightNest, it already has over 25,000 registered users.
• A new technology called eCoupled that turns almost any home surface into a wireless charger. Designed by Fulton Innovation, it could banish a fair amount of wire clutter from your home forever.

Click for the full article. (More technology stories.)