Uploaded December 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Shwetak Patel has conclusively answered the rhetorical question "If walls could talk." This University of Washington professor has figured out how to listen to our electrical outlets and pipes. And they have a lot to say about how we consume our utilities. It's cheap, accessible technology that has won this young scientist many accolades. He's a MacArthur Foundation genius, member of Seattle's "most influential" and inspired a Wired magazine cover story. He even sold his first company to Belkin when he was still in grad school.
Shwetak Patel has conclusively answered the rhetorical question "If walls could talk." This University of Washington professor has figured out how to listen to our electrical outlets and pipes. And they have a lot to say about how we consume our utilities. It's cheap, accessible technology that has won this young scientist many accolades. He's a MacArthur Foundation genius, member of Seattle's "most influential" and inspired a Wired magazine cover story. He even sold his first company to Belkin when he was still in grad school.
