The building blackbox is connected to all sorts of sensors throughout the building.

It registers doors opening and closing, like entrance doors, elevators, automatic slide doors etc.

It senses shaking of walls and all vibrations.

It senses heat sources and sprinkler systems.

It monitors electric outlets.

It monitors heating systems.

All such data is collected in the black box which is resistent to fire and very sturdy.

When a building catches fire or collapses the exact causes and progression of the calamity are recorded so that we can find out what happened and future buildings can be made safer.

If a blackbox cannot be made to withstand the turmoil, then maybe it can be ejected beofre it is destroyed and land somwhere close with a parashute.

Or all data could be on a website but that just isn't retro enough. If we do that we might as well have airplanes send their data to the web.
-- zeno, Nov 18 2008

Sirius Cybernetics Corporation http://en.wikipedia...rnetics_Corporation
Horribly familiar [8th of 7, Nov 20 2008]

boned for privacy: Would you want a detailed record kept of your comings, cummings, goings, goings, shower time and location, and everything else that causes minute vibrations?
-- Voice, Nov 18 2008


If you follow the example of a CVR and, for instance, only record the last (say) 12 hours of data, there's no real privacy issue.

Something like this in, for example, hotels, could be very useful for tracking how a disaster may have unfolded. [+]
-- 8th of 7, Nov 18 2008


It should monitor cigarette smoke in case a cigarette caused the fire.
-- phundug, Nov 18 2008


A building with a memory . All it needs now is some processing and the building can panic before you do .
-- wjt, Nov 19 2008


From the title, I was expecting a black box which would labour and bring forth a building.
-- neelandan, Nov 19 2008


// the building can panic before you do . //

Thankyou, the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation ....

<link>
-- 8th of 7, Nov 20 2008


Information leakage: terrible privacy violations.
-- Voice, Nov 20 2008


the basic concept is excellent (+)
-- samosa_pirate, Nov 21 2008


There are no privacy issues, it does not detect your presence in the toilet, it detects the source of heat from your sneaky sigarette and the smoke, not your name. It is not an alarm system, it is a registration.
-- zeno, Nov 23 2008



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