The bag in question was about the size of my hand, and it seemed to be able to propel itself forward by shifting its weight. I was fascinated by this so I decided to follow it to find out where it was going. After a few moments, the little bag had led me to a dead-end alleyway and it stopped right there. I was mystified, it was like the bag had a mind of its own.
As I looked closer, I could see the bag had a few flaws, like the cut seams at the edges and the lack of a logo on the outside. Then, I had an even wilder thought: what if this was a manufactured bag intended to look like a walking plastic bag fake? It seemed like a clumsy way to create a false sense of movement in an object, but I was still intrigued.
As I looked closer at the bag, I noticed a few other things – like a small flash drive tucked into the side rim. It was almost as if the bag were a computer containing the program drivers that it needed to move around. I was so excited my heart felt like it was doing a jig. This was far beyond what I had expected – and far beyond what I had seen before.
I stood there for what felt like an eternity, trying to process what I had seen and feeling rather overwhelmed by the experience. And as I stood there, I noticed something else. On the ground below the bag were a few scattered pieces of biodegradable litter – like plastic bottles, candy wrappers and a few other types of garbage – that had been swept up and arranged by the little bag. It was a sweet gesture, and it made me smile.
The more I thought about it, the more possibilities rolled through my mind. If walking plastic bag fakes could be designed, then couldn’t other types of fakes be designed too? Cameras, robots, drones, and other objects could all be released into public spaces and programmed to interact with their environment in small but meaningful ways.
The possibilities, for me, were endless. I could think of countless potential applications for walking plastic bag fakes. They could be used for everything from cleaning up the environment to helping disabled people move around more easily. For instance, they could be programmed to contact hazardous materials or even help people with vision or mobility disabilities find their way around.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that little plastic bag since I first spotted it, my mind racing with all of the possibilities. I suspect it’s just a relatively simple machine, but it has inspired me in ways I never really expected. Who knows what we could do if we put our minds to it?