StockBank is a networked piggy bank with the end goal of collecting enough money to buy one share of the three technology stocks of Google, Apple, and Facebook. As someone drops a coin into the bank, the display shows the amount of the selected stock share price decreasing until it levels off at zero, which means that there is enough money inside the bank to buy one share. The bank then automatically connects to an online broker, purchases the share, and blinks the pig. When the bank is emptied, the counter resets back to another share price and begins the process over again.
The project exists as an open source, networked object that prompts users to stay connected to the current stock valuation of technology corporations and see how they change and fluctuate over time. It reinvents the classic piggy bank by instead of counting money for saving, it connects in real-time to actual stock prices and gives the user an estimate on the amount of money they need to purchase a share of the specified stock.
Work metadata
- Year Created: 2013
- Submitted to ArtBase: Monday Apr 15th, 2013
- Original Url: http://stockbank.coin-operated.com/
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Work Credits:
- Jonah Brucker-Cohen, primary creator
- Justin Blinder, primary creator
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Artist Statement
StockBank is a networked piggy bank that connects to the Internet to collect the valuation of one share of one of the three tech stocks of Google, Apple, and Facebook and subtracts the amount inside the bank from the cost of the selected stock. The project is a networked object that comments on the cost of technology stocks and broadcasts their current market value to the individual using the bank to see how much change they have accumulated as it relates to the valuation of these companies on the stock market.
The bank knows the value of each coin dropped into it and subtracts this value from the selected stock price. The project uses an electronic multi-coin slot and microcontroller to track the value of the coins. A pig in the bottom of the bank catches the dropped coins for later collection.
Once a coin is dropped into the bank, a custom screen-based application connects over the Internet and collects the stock value which is sent to the micro controller in order to print this value on the LCD screen.
When the piggy bank’s value equals that of the stock price, StockBank automatically purchases a share of the selected stock.
StockBank also sends a message to the screen when the stock is purchased once the bank’s value equals the stock price. The users’ bank account is connected via the software to activate the purchase once the amount equals the amount inside the bank and the pig blinks on and off to notify the user.
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