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A '''Video-Enhanced Grave Marker''' (VEGM) is a Western-style [[headstone|tombstone]], with technological advances attached. Through sound and video, VEGMs would, in theory, make visits to [[graveyards]] an interactive experience. This idea is very similar to the 1981 [[science fiction]] short story "Walpurgisnacht" by [[Roger Zelazny]], and the forward in the 1983 collection ''[[Unicorn Variations]]'' mentions an unexpected contemporary invention of a 'talking tombstone'.
A '''Video-Enhanced Grave Marker''' ('''VEGM''') is a Western-style [[headstone|tombstone]] equipped with [[Weatherization|weatherproofed]] [[video]] playback that can be initiated by [[remote control]].


The VEGM, invented by [[Robert Barrows]] of [[San Mateo, California]], would allow its owner to record messages to be played to loved ones or to any visitor to the site with a [[remote control]]. The stones would be equipped with weatherproofed video playback and recording devices plus [[Computer storage|memory]] systems and a television monitor placed within a weather-proofed, hollowed-out headstone. [[As of May 2005]], Barrows estimated that the costs of the VEGMs might start at about [[United States dollar|USD$]]8000 to $10,000 depending on the size and shape of the tombstones and the cost of the electronics you might want to put in it.  
The VEGM, invented by Robert Barrows of [[San Mateo, California]], would allow its owner to record messages or have the deceased family leave messages to be played to any visitor to the site with a [[remote control]].<ref name=wsj>{{cite news|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/SB111283344036700294|title=Having a Say in Your Epitaph: The Challenge of High-Tech Tombstones|work=[[Wall Street Journal]]|date=7 April 2005|access-date=23 October 2014}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=US-7089495-B2 - Patent Public Search {{!}} USPTO |url=https://ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/patents/html/7089495?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiJlMWU5MWVmNi1mZWE1LTRiNDUtOGY0MS1jOTliOTE4YTBmOTMiLCJ2ZXIiOiI4OTdjOGJhYy0yMGYzLTQwNzItODY1MS0xMjRjODYyODFhNTEiLCJleHAiOjB9 |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=ppubs.uspto.gov}}</ref> The stones would be equipped with weatherproofed video playback devices plus [[computer storage]] and a [[computer monitor|monitor]] placed within a weather-proofed, hollowed-out headstone. It could also utilize coded card swiping devices like the technology used for hotel room card keys or it can operate on a credit card or coin activated device.<ref name=":0" /> {{As of|2005|alt=As of April 2005}}, Barrows estimated that the costs of the VEGMs might start at about [[US$]]8000.<ref name=wsj/>


The device is currently patent-pending (European Patent Office patent publication number [http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=WO2004040547&F=0 2004040547], United States Patent and Trademark Office patent application number [http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220040085337%22.PGNR. 20040085337]).
{{US patent|7089495}} was issued on The Video Enhanced Gravemarker on August 8, 2006.<ref name=":0" /> Barrows commented soon after its invention: "I envision being able to walk through a cemetery using a remote control, clicking on graves and what all the people buried there have to say. They can say all the things they didn't have the opportunity or guts to say when they were alive."<ref name=wsj/>


Barrows commented soon after its invention: "I envision being able to walk through a cemetery using a remote control, clicking on graves and what all the people buried there have to say. They can say all the things they didn't have the opportunity or guts to say when they were alive."
To prevent [[noise pollution]], the audio can also be transmitted to [[wireless headset]]s, made available by the cemetery's office.
 
The concept has yet to prove feasibility in the real world. It is presumed by critics of the concept that some cemetery managers would be opposed to the "noisy" displays. People living in the surrounding neighbourhood as well as other visitors to the cemeteries may be disturbed by the constant sound. Also, the VEGMs would be likely targets of [[thief|thieves]] or [[vandalism|vandal]]s. (Barrows adds, "There are very strict laws against vandalizing tombstones, and if you are going to vandalize a tombstone, you'd better hope there are no such things as ghosts.")
 
The issue of censorship would likely be of concern with VEGMs. How high a level of [[free speech]] would be offered to the eventually deceased has not been announced and could vary from site to site.
 
Robert Barrows is also the author of a forthcoming novel called "Cemetery of Lies," which is a collection of intimate secret confessions as told from beyond the grave through video tombstones.


==References==
==References==
* Toronto Star: "Ideas of the Week: Talking Tombstones". Toronto: Torstar Publishing. [[May 8]] [[2005]]
{{reflist}}
 
== External links ==
* [http://www.careerjournal.com/columnists/movingon/20050420-movingon.html Tech-Forward Tombstones Pose Unique Challenges]
* [http://www.bookofjoe.com/2005/04/dead_cant_dance.html Video Tombstone: Dead Can't Dance &#8212; But They Can Talk]
 


[[Category:Cemeteries]]
[[Category:Burial monuments and structures]]
[[Category:Death customs]]
[[Category:Headstones]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials]]

Latest revision as of 18:52, 29 September 2026

A Video-Enhanced Grave Marker (VEGM) is a Western-style tombstone equipped with weatherproofed video playback that can be initiated by remote control.

The VEGM, invented by Robert Barrows of San Mateo, California, would allow its owner to record messages or have the deceased family leave messages to be played to any visitor to the site with a remote control.[1][2] The stones would be equipped with weatherproofed video playback devices plus computer storage and a monitor placed within a weather-proofed, hollowed-out headstone. It could also utilize coded card swiping devices like the technology used for hotel room card keys or it can operate on a credit card or coin activated device.[2] Template:As of, Barrows estimated that the costs of the VEGMs might start at about US$8000.[1]

Template:US patent was issued on The Video Enhanced Gravemarker on August 8, 2006.[2] Barrows commented soon after its invention: "I envision being able to walk through a cemetery using a remote control, clicking on graves and what all the people buried there have to say. They can say all the things they didn't have the opportunity or guts to say when they were alive."[1]

To prevent noise pollution, the audio can also be transmitted to wireless headsets, made available by the cemetery's office.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Having a Say in Your Epitaph: The Challenge of High-Tech Tombstones". Wall Street Journal. 7 April 2005. https://online.wsj.com/articles/SB111283344036700294. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "US-7089495-B2 - Patent Public Search | USPTO". https://ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/patents/html/7089495?source=USPAT&requestToken=eyJzdWIiOiJlMWU5MWVmNi1mZWE1LTRiNDUtOGY0MS1jOTliOTE4YTBmOTMiLCJ2ZXIiOiI4OTdjOGJhYy0yMGYzLTQwNzItODY1MS0xMjRjODYyODFhNTEiLCJleHAiOjB9. 
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