Dream a Little Dream
What about a phone or small PDA camera with enough picture resolution to create photo data? Imagine going into a house and photo-measuring countertops with your phone – or a webcam that relays accurate measurements to your laptop on the spot. Not possible today, but theoretically possible in the future.
Measuring with photography has proven itself to be accurate and versatile in the last nine years. I see many more possibilities for it in the future.
Lasers and mechanical measuring devices like the Proliner always had the drawback of sitting in one spot, limiting their ability to measure around objects. How cool would it be to unleash them from the tripod?
Imagine if the Proliner wand could actually transmit back to the base unit without the string attached – by using some sort of wireless technology. Your measuring ability would be unlimited.
What if the laser on the Laser Products Industries LT55 were on the end of a wireless wand that worked in the same way? Point the handheld laser, push a button on the wand, and the laser would transmit that spot back to the PDA.
Lastly, what if GPS became refined enough to measure countertops? Anyone who has a navigation system knows its value … especially when you lose contact with the satellite before your next turn. What if you could show up to a house and connect with a satellite that relayed the exact dimensions of the kitchen you’re going to measure.
Sound far-fetched? Remember that, in 1995, the idea that we could take any kind of picture and measure a countertop was new. With the great strides GPS has made, I don’t doubt this kind of technology may present itself in the future.
INSTALLATION
An installation that takes place today is much easier than a decade-and-a-half ago, since we have the ability to create extremely accurate templates. But some of the challenging issues remain with installation: The product is still heavy, still fragile and still needs seams created and sinks mounted.
Seam adhesive has come a long way, and color-matching glues have been a great help in hiding field seams and lamination lines. But what if a glue was created that could actually take on the color of the material it adhered?
Imagine how cool it would be to slide two pieces together with color and pattern variation and watch the seam disappear. And never having to worry about a shadow line on light pieces or a glue showing too light a line on the dark stone – that would be cool.