Multipurpose devices: some history

Many-armed Kuan Yin ( thanks to azovsky for a hint)

Optimization of something - time, money, space, effort lies in our essence. That is why mankind invented a huge number of multi-functional devices.

In 1891, Karl Elsener, the owner of a company that manufactures surgical equipment, began work on the predecessor of the modern Swiss Army Knife, called the Soldier's Knife. The main idea was to combine a pocket folding knife and a screwdriver, which became necessary for the Swiss soldier along with the adoption by the Swiss army of a new Schmidt-Rubin rifle of 1889, which required a screwdriver for disassembly. The first such knife had a wooden handle and was equipped with a blade, a screwdriver, a can opener and an awl. This knife was purchased by the Swiss army, but Elzener continued improvement in 1896, after 5 years of hard work, created a knife that had a blade on each side. A special spring mechanism held them, while the same spring supported both blades, which was an innovation at that time. Such a device has doubled the number of tools. Elzener, except for the second blade, added a corkscrew. The essence of this invention was to reduce the weight of the ammunition soldier, so that you can take additional ammunition or a grenade. In the course of hostilities, such optimization helped more than one soldier.

This is what a real IT knife looks like.
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Another example of multi-functionality is a cane with a “secret.” The secret of the cane (knife, rapier, flashlight, comb, flask, etc.) is located in the hollow space of the handle. The first secret flask was made in the 19th century by order of Prince Edward, whose mother (Queen Victoria) did not approve of her son’s addiction. The cane umbrella and the cane chair are also referred to as multifunctional canes. The cane-chair is a telescopic cane equipped with a folding plastic seat on which you can relax while walking.

Now this kind of tools can often be seen in spy films and souvenir shops.

Food processors are another representative of modern multifunctional devices. For the first time, small kitchen appliances were used in winemaking to mix a wine blend. Food processors gained wide recognition in the 70s of the 20th century, after the spread of the idea of ​​American-American Frenchman Karl Sontheimer about using blenders in everyday life. According to another version, food processors go back to hand-held mills, meat grinders and mixers (known since 1919, when Troy Metal Products released the first bulky and inconvenient device in this class). If we discard the devices predecessors, then the time of the invention of universal food processors should be called the mid-60s of the XX century, and the inventor - Pierre Verdain, the founder of the company Robot Coupe. In the 21st century, most of the food processors in the world are produced by companies unrelated to the initial period of their history.



In the Doctor Who series, the protagonist used the sonic screwdriver - a universal tool for influencing various mechanisms (from simplest to cybernetic) through sound waves.

In her earliest appearances on the series, she had a rather modest set of functions, but over time the screwdriver was improved and gained many new features, such as detecting and blocking telepathic signals, intercepting teleport signals, receiving a loan from an ATM, charging the battery, medical scanner, resonance call in concrete, restoration of barbed wire, destruction of mechanical devices, lighting of candles, deactivation of electronics, cutting of ropes and other possibilities.

Apparently, the authors of the series did not soar over the invention of a multitude of devices, awarding a truly screwdriver with amazing abilities.



But the most striking (and real) example of a multifunctional device is a modern smartphone. He knows how to read letters, and play music and movies, he can be used as a camera, camcorder, compass, GPS navigator, radio, and if desired, as a payment terminal and radioactive radiation sensor. It is a pity that he does not know how to cut and cook dinner, but I think this will be fixed in the near future.

Advantages and disadvantages of multifunction devices

On the one hand, the main advantage of the MFP is obvious: there is no need to keep a large number of devices. But the flip side is the statement “the total is never better than the private”, which means that a specialized device is almost always better than the MFC. For example, a rare camera phone will give better pictures than an average digital camera, radio receivers receive a signal even in the most remote wilderness, films are better to watch on a large plasma TV with powerful speakers (or in a movie theater), and paying bills is still better and safer through bank payment terminals.

But, if you do not pursue the ideal (or you only need to shoot for Instagram), then the MFP may well cope with your task, although not as efficiently and quickly as a specialized device.

Multifunctionality in the world of modern devices

The main reason for the development of multifunctionality in modern devices — mobile phones, laptops, and video cameras — is the fierce competition from the manufacturers of these devices, who can successfully build their marketing campaigns on this.

No matter how and how many people use this or that functionality, their presence is always given a competitive advantage, and the absence - for a serious disadvantage. Although in the future it may turn out that no one uses this “advantage”.

Scientific and technological progress also had a hand in the versatility of devices, because building a USB port or a radio receiver is worth a dime somewhere, and the marketing effect greatly outweighs the cost of layout.

Hybridization - a new round of development of multifunction devices

If earlier devices had functional requirements, now the focus has shifted towards the form factor. If earlier computers were the size of a room, but they turned a blind eye to it, since the device could count square roots faster than other devices, but now this is not enough, because the form factor came first (tablet, mini tablet, reader, mobile phone, note), as well as the ability to quickly switch between them (removable docking stations, additional covers, tablet laptop). It is for this reason that the era of netbooks began and ended in just a few years - in terms of functionality, netbooks were losing much to laptops, but the form factor was not significantly different.

ASUS also keeps up with the times (and sometimes acts as a pioneer at all), releasing transforming devices and Padfone , a smartphone running Android 4.0, which can be mounted inside the “tablet”, to which the docking station can also be connected (to both docks increase the functionality and capacity of the battery).



It is clear that not all transformers have a unique and convenient (for some tasks) form factor, but now there is just a good time for experiments, and I think that in the near future we will be able to see completely unique multifunction devices.


Multifunctional Wasserman

Personally, I am pleased that with the advent of smartphones, it became possible to lay out a book, mini-flashlight, watch (even with a built-in compass), a player, a magazine, a voice recorder, a metro map, a digital camera. In some cases, this will certainly not replace a full-fledged device, but on the other hand, the convenience of the same online library with an infinite number of books as compared to one book you took in the morning with poor lighting is indisputable.

And you?