The Trojan Room Coffee Pot

1991

Date: 1991-2001 · Place: Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge · Figures: Quentin Stafford-Fraser, researcher · Paul Jardetzky, researcher · Tags: First Webcam, Live Feed, Cambridge 01. A Camera Pointed At A Coffee Pot Quentin Stafford-Fraser and Paul Jardetzky install a camera in the Trojan Room of the Cambridge Computer Lab in 1991. It points at the shared coffee filter machine. A frame-grabber updates an image three times a minute so researchers on other floors can check whether the pot is full before walking down. It is a private internal utility for two years. Then in November 1993, Daniel Gordon and Martyn Johnson plug it into the early World Wide Web. 02. The First Webcam Becomes A Pilgrimage By 1995 the coffee pot is one of the most-visited URLs on Earth. Strangers from every continent load cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/coffee.html to check the level of a coffee pot in a building they will never enter. Krups eventually replaces the pot with a sponsored model. The feed is unplugged at 09:54 GMT on 22 August 2001. The final pot sells at auction for $4,800. Every Twitch stream and Ring doorbell descends from it. Sources • Quentin Stafford-Fraser, 'The Trojan Room Coffee Pot' (May 1995, cl.cam.ac.uk) • BBC News, 'The Coffee Pot That Started It All' (22 August 2001) • Wikipedia, 'Trojan Room coffee pot'