Tech Show Highlights
Home-Monitoring Systems

Digital Devices That Help
You Run the House, Watch
The Kids and Fix the Car
February 17, 2005; Page D6

Coolest among the new gadgets was the Falcon, coming out early next year from Albuquerque, N.M.-based Novint Technologies. This device works with your computer screen to give you the sense that you're actually touching what appears on the screen. The Falcon looks a bit ungainly, like a small fan with a pen sticking out of it. But its makers claim it will be the first device to give computer users a realistic sense of touch at a very low price (under $100).

I won't get all Star Trekky about this "haptic interface device," except to say that when you move the pen over your screen, it allows you (via something called force feedback) to feel the shapes, surfaces, and weights of a three-dimensional world. When I ran the pen over an image of a sandpaper-covered surface, it felt as if I was scratching over sandpaper; in a golf program, I felt as if I was swinging a club, and in an archery program, as if I was pulling back a bow. And, frankly, another shooting program -- where you could change guns at will -- felt gratifyingly realistic, especially when I took a machine gun to an image of Barney, the dinosaur character.
Mostly used now for gaming, the Falcon could eventually help consumers do things remotely like play an instrument or stir a pot.

Another interesting product was CodeScout, a consumer version of professional diagnostic tools for the automotive sector. Made by AutoXray of Tempe, Ariz., a division of SPX Corp., CodeScout will sell for about $150. It's aimed at calming drivers like me who panic when the "Check Engine" light goes on, immediately exiting the car in the belief that the engine is going to burst into flames. CodeScout gives the driver instant readings on the car's problem, much the way the mechanic will do later, when your car is hooked up to the pricier diagnostic machines at the garage.

Instead of letting the consumer remain in the dark, the device, which looks like a fat remote control, hooks up via a cable to a standard port that is near the steering column of all cars built after 1996. It will read your car and spit back information, both in mechanic codespeak and in plain English. Thus, you can quickly tell if you have a loose gas cap or if the situation is dire.

It can also send more detailed information to your computer, useful for anyone heading to a repair shop who doesn't want to seem completely stupid about their car. AutoXray promises that CodeScout can save you money, presumably by helping you keep overeager mechanics in check. (My guess: Your mechanic isn't any more likely than your doctor to accept a home-brewed diagnosis.)

Lastly, a new and improved version of the panic-button alarms used by disabled people or seniors living alone. San Francisco-based Lusora Inc.'s wireless system, called LISA (for Lusora Intelligent Sensory Architecture), has a pendant that can automatically detect a fall and issue a call for help through a central, Web-controlled hub.

Using small cameras embedded in light fixtures and motion sensors placed throughout the home, LISA provides images and data about where and how a person is moving. For example, if your elderly relative hasn't gotten up in the morning and thus alerted the sensors, you can quickly find out whether he's just sleeping in, or is in trouble.

While the idea of being a Big Brother to your mother or grandfather -- or even your kids (this system could monitor anyone easily) -- does seem a bit creepy, the Lusora's extensive system (which will cost about $1,000) seems simple to install and discreet enough to be unobtrusive.

And, let's be honest. With all the Web and wireless advances, it's pretty safe to say that, like it or not, the era of the digitally monitored home and family is here to stay. E-mail Kara Swisher at homeeconomics@wsj.com.