#790: Screenslabs

Today’s invention is a way to provide people with a reminder that we are connected to even the most distant places on the planet.

A paving slab is replaced by a display screen mounted in a public space. This screen shows the view captured by a webcam pointing vertically upward, but located at exactly the opposite side of the globe.

By looking down onto the slab in London, for example, one would see the sky in a particular spot over Australia, giving the impression of being able to see straight through the Earth. During the day, Southern hemisphere stars would be visible, and at night, the floorscreen would illuminate the public space in which it was located with the bright light of someone’s else’s day.

Obviously the cameras and screens would be reciprocal, as would signs warning that walking across one wearing a kilt is probably a bad idea.