10 Inventions That Will Make Harry Potter A Reality
2. Mrs Weasley’s Clock = Social Tracking Clock
In the kitchen at The Burrow stands Mrs Weasely's Whereabouts Clock. This clock has a hand for each family member and will indicate where in the world they are, including school, work and mortal peril.
A gadget whizz by the name of Alan Parekh has created just such a clock. It will track the movements of family members by taking clues from their social media accounts.
The clock uses a bit of code that will read a person's Twitter feed and pull out certain keywords to try and ascertain where they are, and will change its face accordingly.
The clock appears to only use Twitter so far, but has the potential to be expanded to a person's entire online presence.
This does not have to be limited to the things that the person actively posts either. Considering that many smartphones now continually track the location, calendar and search habits of their owners, and then communicate them with an online account (this is how your Android knows how long it will take you to get to work every morning), it wouldn't be all that tricky to know the detailed movements of anyone with a smartphone.
Is this a handy family tool, or a creepy bit of surveillance? You decide.