Many of us stream music though the Internet, spend hours on social networking websites and are generally glued to our electronic devices. Who is to say that we cannot continue our technology obsession after death? Social media and technology are nearly everywhere, affecting every industry. The death care industry is no exception. The traditional casket is due for an upgrade, and experts are coming up with a range of innovative—and pricey—ideas.
Glowing panels that change color, speakers that play music or recite poems and eulogies along with the inclusion of interactive devices are three concepts that the team at Perfect Choice Funerals has predicted.
For the social media savvy, screens on top of coffins can allow funeral goers to view a live stream of condolences on Twitter and Facebook, along with photos and videos of their loved ones.
Emma Simpson from Perfect Choice Funerals told The Daily Mail how this particular “Coffin of the future” concept arose: “We recently carried out some research into the rise in the use of technology at UK funerals and thought it would be interesting to see how different elements could be incorporated to modernize funerals.”
“Following our previous research, we were surprised by the amount of people posting photos of their funeral attendance on Facebook,” said Simpson. “Social media has become such a big part of people’s lives, we wanted to combine funerals, technology and social media to produce a proto-type coffin and this is what we came up with.”
Coffins with screens may still be a long way off, but a solution for music-lovers is already on the market. Pause Ljud & Bild, a Swedish audio equipment company, developed the CataCombo Sound System: speakers designed specifically to pump a Spotify playlist right into a coffin. It also comes with a 7-inch LCD monitor to attach to the headstone, so visitors can see what song is currently playing underground. Want to stay updated on the Top 40? No worries. Your friends and family can keep your playlist up-to-date with the latest hits—all for $30,000.
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Prototype image copyright Perfect Choice.
