PIA, headed by Michael Hawley, brings seven demos to the Things That Think April 1997 Open House all of which further the ideas currently being researched in the group. The idea behind PIA is that everything should be networked and tagged. Everything from your coffee table, to your microwave will be networked and all objects such as Coca-Cola cans and people will be tagged. This leaves infinite possibilites. Imagine a world with every person and thing tagged. This tag, the item's unique identifier, can refer to an database with any type of information stored in it. Now imagine every ordinary item having an Internet connection. These items can use the unique tag as a reference to look up information on the object through their network connection. A refrigerator can see how long that bottle of mayonaise has been sitting there, shelves can know where their books are, your stereo system can customize its settings to you, and your doctor can monitor your vital signs when you are miles away. All these ideas are being demoed this year. And as always, these ideas will improve and be more impressive as time passes.