Scientists at Boeing aircraft wanted to test Wi-Fi in an aircraft environment to better understand the signal characteristics and provide better in-flight service to passengers. The testing would involve subjects sitting for days at a time in order to meet the test requirements. Having humans sit for hours was out of the question. Instead hundreds of sacks of potatoes, ideal bio-mass stand-ins, dutifully sat in their seats to mimic humans as the Boing engineers conducted their Wi-Fi signal measurements. So the next time you fly you can thank the lowly potato that your Wi-Fi device has such a great signal. Jerry
The story has made it on to a dozen news services providing a pot full of humor. The project dubbed "Synthetic Personnel Using Dielectric Substitution" or "SPUDS” provides a view at the lighter side of serious research. And no, I do not know what Boeing did with 20,000 pounds of potatoes, but if you get a text message someday while eating dinner that says "Please don't eat me" don't blame Boeing. Jerry
It seems that potatoes were used because the chemical make-up was similar to humans. I must start eating fewer starches . . . .
