Post- apocalyptic terminal

We’re not quite at the level where we can walk into the house and control our home appliances with voice commands – though thanks to Pete Warden and Useful Sensors, who we speak to in issue 80 on page 38, that day is getting closer. Instead, the tech enthusiast has to come up with their own bespoke way to control their lights, music, heating, and suchlike. One such device is this wall-mounted terminal by Rick Pannen.

We can almost hear your incredulity through the page: “Wall-mounted! But that’s a CRT screen. It’ll weigh a ton!” Although this looks like it uses a heavy CRT screen, Rick’s achieved a similar effect by using a 7-inch LCD screen in the back with a Fresnel lens in front. It’s a brilliant visual trick, as is the way he’s ‘dirtied down’ the 3D-printed frame. First, some context. In the days before ubiquitous CGI, film and television used models to depict spaceships, space stations, and other non-real objects.