Evil Tech

Designers don't always put their talents to good uses. Case in point: Gauri Nanda, a research associate at the MIT Media Lab and her invention, Clocky, an autonomous mobile alarm clock. When it's time to wake up, Clocky's buzzer goes off like any self-respecting alarm clock. However, to prevent you from hitting the snooze button, rolling over, and going back to sleep, Clocky jumps off your night table and hides, while still beeping incessantly.

Clocky is upholstered in shag carpeting so it looks a bit like a Duraflame firelog transformed into a brown Chia pet that's sprouted a pair of toy plastic wheels. The idea behind this evil invention is that by the time you locate and silence Clocky, you're no longer sleepy enough to fall back into bed for more shuteye. Clocky has enough microprocessor-based intelligence to find a different hidey hole each day so your morning wakeup ritual doesn't become too routine.

Here's to the MIT Media Lab, working on systems to make your life better in the 21st century.