Netflix might have stolen my thunder, but maybe they just educated millions on the concept.

As a child, we would entertain ourselves by jumping from the couch to the fireplace to the bathroom covered in scratches while pretending that the floor was lava. When you lose, you lose everything.

The Pitch

Make smart floors. Floors controlled however people wanted, including playing the floor lava.

The Past

I remember going to a friend’s house and finding out about the Nintendo Power Pad.

You could throw this mat on the ground and compete against your friend in Olympic-type events. But, in reality, you would sit next to the mat and pound it with your hands.

The next step is Dance Dance Revolution.

My brother introduced me to this game and talked about how he wanted to get a “high quality” dance mat to better gameplay.

The Present

A coworker then said that he wanted to work on making “floor is lava” tiles. He had a young boy at home, and it sounded like he wanted something to entertain him. It looks like you can purchase tiles like this now.

These tiles are about $47 per square foot delivered. So if you wanted to make a 100 square foot dance floor out of them, it would cost you $4,675—a steep price to pay for some tiles that change colors. There are wiring and installation costs to take into consideration too.

I don’t just want tiles that change color. I want full HD quality images to be able to be displayed. If you’re going to be playing the floor with lava, there should also be sensors that detect when a player has their flesh melted off.

The Future

Televisions are becoming so cheap that companies will look for their next consumers. A 65″ TV is roughly 12.5 square feet. On Black Friday, you may be able to get one for $200 or $16 per square foot. Only twice the price of a hardwood floor.

People love their hardwood floors, but what about when styles change, and they want dark wood in their dining room? We could change the pixels!

But Doesn’t Glass Break When You Step On It?