Resting in peace just got a whole lot harder. A new concept headstone called the eTomb will make it possible to tweet from the grave. Literally.
Here’s how it works. The eTomb, which physically resembles any other tombstone, is equipped with an information-processing terminal that holds the digital remains of the deceased. With a mobile phone or any Bluetooth-enabled device, mourners access the stored information, which can be anything from Facebook pages to Twitter feeds.
Solar panels on top ensure that the dead remain eco-friendly in the afterlife.
Designed by Huang Jianbo, Zhao Ting, Wang Yushan, Ran Xiangfei and Mo Ran, the eTomb will surely give the grave-going experience a digital makeover if it’s approved for production. For one thing, it will help grievers remember the deceased for who he really is: an over-sharing, narcissistic technophile.
Joking aside, the eTomb can get a bit morbid. It allows mourners to interact with the grave in what TechNewsDaily writer Stuart Fox euphemistically calls “a perpetual chat room where loved ones and well-wishers could post reminiscences.” In other words, it’s like a guestbook – for your grave! (A Bluetooth key is provided to the designated eTomb-keeper to ensure messages stay tactful, clean and on-topic)
Still, the future of this concept design lies squarely on the shoulders of the social networking sites since their death policies will determine just how much information can be bandied about. (In case you’re curious, here are links to the current death policies of Facebook, MySpace and Twitter)
There’s one social networking site though that needn’t bother updating its policy: Foursquare. The dead may live on in the digital airwaves but he’s not going anywhere. (via TechNewsDaily)