The team from Goldsmiths then came up with four designs that specifically address new router criteria, Signal Strength, Home Style, Energy Efficient and Pure Enjoyment.
The Route O’clock is a 24-hour clock with a face divided into half hourly segments, which change color based on the broadband signal strength. This would give users the ability to gauge at a glance the best time of day to attempt bandwidth-hungry activities.
The data would be provided by provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) who, according to TalkTalk, “have tons of juicy data about your experiences online. For example, we know the best times to connect to the web throughout the day.”
Goldsmiths believe the Route O’clock would enable users to manage their online time more efficiently – provided you don’t wake up to a clock with a completely red face.
Hybrid Router
Challenged to transform the common wireless router into a practical piece of furniture the Goldsmith’s team came up with a 60’s revival style side table with the router embedded within the base. The router status lights are located behind frosted acrylic in a recess at the bottom of the table, which makes it necessary to get down on hands and knees to check for that dreaded red flashing light.
Your taste in décor will likely decide your reaction to the Hybrid Router, but as one poster on the FutureRouters site asks, “How is turning something the size of a book needlessly into the size of a coffee table a good idea?” Definitely a question worth asking.
Energy Saving Router
A little more practical than the Hybrid Router is a router that turns itself off when no one is home. How does it know if there’s no one home? Well, it also serves as a key holder with different people’s keys stored on four separate hooks. When the last set of keys is removed from the last hook the router assumes everyone has gone out and powers down to conserve energy.
Before everyone starts screaming about leaving downloads running when out of the house the team has also included a timer to allow for extra hours of download after the last key has been removed.
Jelly Fish
The final router concept looks the most bizarre, attempting to turn web surfing into a communal activity by encouraging users to connect via one of the Jelly Fish’s eight Ethernet "tentacles". Drawing inspiration from the fluorescent properties of jellyfish, the "body" of the Jelly Fish also glows and pulsates to indicate signal strength.
The Jelly Fish was designed to become the center of attention and, due to its size and shape, it definitely succeeds on that front. That said it’s hard to see something that takes up this much room and relies on Ethernet cables being a serious contender to show up in people’s living rooms in the future.
You can vote for your favorite future router at FutureRouter.com
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