Philips patent app reveals plans for wired wallpaper

We've already seen cellphone (and WiFi) blocking wallpaper and solar powered wallpaper, to name a few, but it looks like the folks at Philips have some ideas of their own for your walls, with a recent patent application of theirs revealing plans for some "wired wallpaper." As New Scientist reports, that would basically consist of wallpaper with a series of conducting strips running through it, which could be used to power any device with the necessary conducting pins simply by sticking it to the wall. Of course, most of us only have so many walls, so lets just hope someone comes up with a solar-powered, device-powering, signal-blocking wallpaper before we're forced to make such a difficult choice.

[Via New Scientist]

[TomStrummer @ Feb 13th 2008 8:09AM]

F*ing wallpaper... We just bought a house with three rooms' worth of vinyl wallpaper and scraping it off is about as much fun as eating a bowl of rusty carpet tacks. I'm sure *wired* wallpaper would be even more excitement.

[Reader @ Feb 13th 2008 8:20AM]

Will be so much easier to install my indoor security lasgun turrets; just stick them on the wall.

[JohnSearle @ Feb 13th 2008 8:37AM]

I've held keggers in the past where people have put their fists through my walls due to anger management issues. I would love to see what occurs if one of them tried that with a wired wall.

[Superprime @ Feb 13th 2008 8:55AM]

It's your own fault for hosting keggers in YOUR house

[jacquerr @ Feb 13th 2008 3:10PM]

I don't believe he was complaining per say about the actual wall punching, but commenting on the hilarity that would be a fried wall puncher.

[BorgKing @ Feb 13th 2008 8:55AM]

This is a dupe.

Many years ago I saw an invention on Tomorrow's World (BBC TV show) of a floor panel with metal strips embedded in the carpet. You could place lights on it. The mount for each light had three pins which pierced the carpet and touched the metal strips. With a combination of diodes you were always guaranteed a connection to +ve and -ve.

The demonstrated application for the panel was shop windows where running cables was unsightly and time consuming. I hope the real inventor also patented his idea so that Philips have to pay him the $$$ he deserves.

[Sirius @ Feb 13th 2008 8:59AM]

I hope they thought about what happens when you pull the devices off the walls again.. I don't think many people fancy holes in their walls... though if it's like a corkboard that'd be quite cool...

(and no I didn't RTFA.. CBF)

[DvS @ Feb 13th 2008 10:02AM]

I think they should be concentrating on wireLESS technology. Wires are so 19th century.

[CK @ Feb 13th 2008 10:38AM]

I know at least of one piece of prior art:

http://eis.comp.lancs.ac.uk/voodooio/

and that project did go well beyond just providing power.

[umm....hello??? @ Feb 13th 2008 1:56PM]

helllllllo indoor electric fence...

[-Tj- @ Feb 13th 2008 6:45PM]

Shocking!

[-Tj- @ Feb 13th 2008 6:45PM]

Shocking!