Another world beating idea....

Hmmm. More fame. The October issue of Everyday Practical Electronics has a nice feature on the Imagine Cup team, along with a colour picture. I've told the student team members about this. What with the upcoming presentation and video diary they are going to have difficulty getting their heads through the door.

Ideas Incorporated: I always get into a kerfuffle when my mobile rings (perhaps this is because it happens so rarely, but there you are). The problem is that I have to press a button to answer it, and I sometimes press the wrong one. My Nokia 7650 (retired) had a lovely design flaw which meant that you could actually turn it of whilst getting it out of your pocket to answer. The power button had been carefully position to make this not just possible - but downright easy. My SPV (the present phone of choice) doesn't have that flaw, but it does have a power button which is remarkably coy about actually switching the phone on. Anyhoo, back to the plot. Why don't phones have some kind of inertial sensor in them that can detect them being moved up to your ear? That way the phone could answer without you doing anything. All it has to do is detect a change in orientation over time as the phone rings. Note, if anyone out there makes a fortune out of this one I will expect a cut of the royalties....