If your friends could observe every item you decide to toss in the trash – as opposed to the recycling or compost bin – would it influence your behavior? A group of designers based in the UK and Germany think it could. To prove it, they created BinCam – a “smart” trash bin that tracks the items you toss, distinguishes between responsible and irresponsible behavior, and broadcasts your performance to your friends.
How does it work? While it looks like an average trash bin, the BinCam is equipped with a smartphone that captures an image each time the bin is closed. The image is then posted to Mechanical Turk where Workers review the image and determine whether or not the decision to trash the item pictured was responsible or irresponsible based on recommended recycling practices. For responsible decisions, BinCam users earn points. Alternatively, for making poor decisions, users are penalized by having the photographic evidence posted to Facebook for all to see.
To learn more about the BinCam and read broader commentary on the potential merits (and dangers) of smart technologies – check out Evgeny Morozov’s recent essay in The Wall Street Journal.
(image credit: Enadget)
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