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Uber could teach its AI to know when you're drunk
Problematic transportation outfit Uber is thinking about a way to use your phone to determine if you've been drinking. A patent application was uncovered by CNN, entitled "Predicting user state using machine learning," which outlines the general idea. Essentially, by watching how you behave day-to-day, the system can pick up when your behavior is normal (for you) or abnormal. That could be, for instance, how you use your phone, the angle at which you hold it, and even how you're walking.
Nintendo Switch patent filing hints at potential for VR
Nintendo might have some big surprises in store when it sheds more light on the Switch game console in January. NeoGAF forum member Rösti has noticed a slew of just-published patent applications for the hybrid system, and one of them hints that the Switch might have virtual reality support. Effectively, it would turn the Switch into a larger-than-usual Daydream View or Gear VR -- you'd slot it into a headset and use the console's detachable controllers to play. Suddenly, Nintendo's misgivings over VR seem like temporary roadblocks.
Google Glass collision detection could one day save you from yourself
Once upon a not so distant time, a woman took a long walk off a short pier while checking her Facebook page. True story. Then there was the time the San Diego police department ticketed a woman for driving while under the influence of Glass. Clearly, we've fallen victim to our technological dependence, not just literally, but also legally and it requires a solution. It's unsurprising then that Google had the foresight to come up with a way to save us from ourselves, at least where its Glass eyewear is concerned. A recently surfaced patent application, dated October 2011, references a "collision-avoidance action" that could help reduce Glass-related mishaps. The technique detailed in the filing doesn't set off any alarms or alerts for Glass users, but it will "[de-emphasize] at least one of the displayed virtual objects" in the HUD to keep you from smashing into glass or walls or telephone polls or other people. You get the point. It does this by gathering data from Glass' sensors and calculating the distance between you, the oblivious party, and potential obstacles in your way. Go ahead and laugh at the absurdity of this all now, but in five year's time when we're all rockin' Glass-like eyewear, you'll be thankful for the heads-up (pun intended). [Original Image credit: RuthMarie/Flickr]
Sony's SmartWig patent is a real head-scratcher
Most large tech companies are either making wearable devices, or at least showing an interest in them. Sony's got a smartwatch, sure, but it's bored of such "in-the-box" thinking. Either that, or someone at Sony's been hitting the pipe, as the company's trying to patent what it calls a "SmartWig" (yeah, seriously). The application describes a standard wig that could "be made from horse hair, human hair, wool, feathers, yak hair or any kind of synthetic material," with a circuit board hidden among those luscious locks. That board can talk to a "second computing device" wirelessly -- such as a phone or even a pair of smartglasses -- and actuators embedded in the hairpiece could "provide tactile feedback to the user." In other words, the wig could vibrate when you receive emails and the like. The wig-chip could also include GPS and an ultrasound transducer, with different regions buzzing to give navigation cues. If all that doesn't sound ludicrous enough, how about an integrated camera? Or, get this, a laser pointer. The filing goes on to claim a wig is the perfect hiding place for delicate electronics, as humans tend to "instinctively protect their heads more than other body parts." While its potential utility for guiding the blind is mentioned, Sony's apparently tested the SmartWig in a far less meaningful scenario: giving presentations. Switching slides by "touching side burns" is expected to be of some merit, as is an ability to sense facial gestures like the raising of eyebrows. It may be the wearable device Doctor Evil has been dreaming of, but for some reason, we doubt SmartWig could ever make it mainstream.
Yup, Nokia's designing a watch too (update: video)
Plenty of companies have been noodling around with the idea of wearable tech, but Nokia's always offered up some of the most eye-popping concepts. The latest application to reach the Patent and Trademark Office, however, is a little more practical: a modular watch that you can customize to your heart's content. An even more outlandish idea is that each of the segments would contain a display tailored to a specific function -- and by turning the device around, you'd be able to access and use whichever was pointing upward. While you certainly can't draw any conclusions from the illustrative diagram, it's interesting to see that the doodles use a Windows Phone-style lock screen. Still, we imagine that Microsoft will want some say in this device's development if the Nokia Watch ever makes it as far as a working prototype. Update: Kent Lyons, one of the minds behind this device, got in touch to let us know a little bit more about it. Not only was this concept codenamed "Facet" but there's both an academic paper (available at the More Coverage link) and a video of the prototype in action, which we've embedded below.
Google patent filing describes tailored online book clubs, minus the wine
The phrase "virtual book club" may not conjure romantic visions of low-lit rooms and vintage wines, but you don't necessarily need those things to throw fancy words around. Amazon-owned Goodreads hosts user-created online clubs, but a Google patent application that's surfaced today imagines a different way of bringing bookworms together. It describes a system that automatically prompts the buyer of a new title, presumably acquired through Google Books, to join a club. To make this virtual version a little more like the real thing, it'll suggest specific groups based on your age, location, interests, preferred club size, reading speed and literary tastes. Furthermore, you'll only be coupled with those who've bought the work recently, so your new-found chums aren't on page 400 before you've even started. It'll all be managed through a social network, of course (we hear Google has one of those), and members will be able to fill specific roles within the club hierarchy. They'll also be able to schedule "activities," which we assume is patentese for Hangouts and the like to foster discussion. The patent filing also talks of financial rewards to tempt participation, which sounds like the perfect strategy for building millions of inactive G+ pages.
Motorola files patent application for a gaze-detecting wristworn device
These days, wearable tech is a beast that cannot be stopped, even if we wanted to (we don't). We recently got wind of an application Motorola submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (initially filed in February of 2012 and published today) for an electronic device designed "to enfold about an appendage of a user." While "appendage" could mean a great many things, let's go wild and call this gadget a smartwatch. The application specifies a few interesting features, including gaze detection, touchscreen controls and a hinged dual display system. Motorola is no stranger to this territory; its MOTOACTV has enough features (like Twitter and Facebook) to be considered a fitness-oriented smartwatch. This newly proposed device includes functions similarly geared towards health-conscious consumers, like vital sign and exercise monitoring. While not all patents materialize into the finished products we might expect, it's interesting to know that Motorola is actively pursuing one such as this. The application can be read in full at the source link below.
Google applies for location-based security patent, locks down your phone on the go
Google's knack with location services helps us to get around, but hopefully, that same tech will serve to keep our devices safe in the future. Mountain View has applied to patent a system that modifies your smartphone's security depending on where you are. If you're at home or work, for instance, then swipe-to-unlock will suffice, but if you venture into the unknown, then your handset will demand you enter a code or, you know, offer up a DNA sample. The only issue that we can find, of course, is that you'd better hope that the person who lives above or below you in the apartment block doesn't have their eyes on your Nexus.
Microsoft wants to give callers email-like 'important' flag
If you get a lot of work-related email, there's a good chance that you've seen the misuse of priority tags -- potluck dinners are suddenly as vital as company-wide meetings. It's with a sense of dread, then, that we learned that Microsoft has applied for a patent on prioritizing phone calls. The approach would let callers choose an urgency level that flashes alerts, sends messages and otherwise signals that a call can't wait. It would simultaneously foil telemarketers and other cold callers by requiring a passcode or encrypted authentication. If granted, the patent could be useful for on-call workers and worried parents. That said, we won't mind if Microsoft declines to use it; we don't need high-priority calls to refill the office coffee pot.
Microsoft patent application details Illumiroom-like projection system
Normally, patent applications have us guesstimating at future implementations, but not so with this particular Microsoft filing. The USPTO doc, which surfaced just today and dates back to February 2012, has a very direct purpose: it uses two cameras to capture an environment, process the images and then spit 'em back out as a "integrated interactive space," or projection. Sound familiar? We thought so. It's called Illumiroom and it works with Kinect. Outside of a few gaming-centric demos earlier this year, Microsoft hasn't really detailed too much about the in-development tech, nor its destiny outside those research labs. But if this patent app is related, it bodes well for fans of full-body gesture control and immersive AR environments. Because as we all know, a life less real is a life worth living. Right?
Apple applies for patent on 'audio hyperlinking' system for enhanced podcasts
Patently Apple provided some insight into an Apple patent application published today by the US Patent & Trademark Office for "audio hyperlinking." These hyperlinks can be audible or inaudible, and can be played back on podcasts, TV shows or in-store speaker systems to send messages to apps on your iPhone. As Apple notes in the application, hyperlinking has been limited to textual documents like web pages, and this process provides a way to allow hyperlinking of non-textual (video / audio) materials as well. As an example of how this could be used, imagine watching a recording of TUAW TV Live and having inaudible cues from the recording link you to the product pages of items we're talking about on the show. A hyperlink in one audio stream can even link to another audio stream -- for example, a hyperlink in a podcast could link to an advertisement audio stream that doesn't need to be embedded in the actual podcast, then return to the podcast once it has completed playback. As always with patent applications, there's no guarantee that Apple will ever use this technology in any forthcoming product or service.
Sony files a patent for tagging photos and files with your vital signs
In today's sci-fi-inches-closer-to-reality news, Sony has filed a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for integrated camera sensors that can tag movies and photographs with your vital signs. The application, which can be read in full at the source below, describes a system of intensely personalized filings on your mobile device or camera. Rather than tagging those awkward family photos as "The Johnsons at Christmas dinner," you would theoretically be able to attach your own biological data to the image, including body temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, blood oxygen level and skin conductance. Camera units would contain dedicated sensors for vitals that would attach such information to the file, like a weirdly personal time stamp. Why you'd want to have your blood pressure associated with your photos, we're not quite sure, but Sony, at least, is determined to fill a void we didn't even know existed.
Google files for touchscreen keyboard patent because it wants to own all the things
Google dropped its touchscreen keyboard software onto the Play store for all Android comers just a little over a month ago and now it appears the Mountain View giant wants to own the tech behind it. A recently surfaced patent application, submitted in January of this year, outlines a method for determining finger placement in conjunction with touchscreen soft key input. And that's about as deep as the USPTO doc gets. It's not unfamiliar territory for Google which also filed for a separate patent back earlier this winter that detailed a full-finger, gesture-based touch keyboard -- likely for future implementation in tablets or Chromebooks.
Samsung thinks the strangers who take pictures of you could do a better job
Everyone's found themselves in this situation at one time or another: you're in a picture-perfect setting, but a selfie at arm's length won't cut it. You want to be in the picture, so you wait for a friendly looking passerby and ask them to take it. But, now it's out of your control, and chances are the resulting snap won't turn out exactly as you'd imagined. Samsung knows you're too polite to hold the stranger up while you convey your vision, so it has come up with a camera feature that does the explaining for you. It's described in a recent patent filing, and the gist is that you select the backdrop and take an initial snap that acts as a guide for the next, similar to how some panorama modes work. With a silhouette of the desired scene now showing atop the live view, the designated stranger just needs to let you get in the shot, line the overlay up with the live scene, and hit the shutter release. The patent application also talks of editing the overlay, such as adding a circle to show the photographer where you'd like your face to be in relation to the backdrop. If you want the passerby to know how well they're doing, the claims explain an on-screen "composition score" that would rate their lining-up skills. And, if you'd rather trust the final decision to the camera, a ball-in-the-hole scenario is described that'll automatically engage the shutter release when the live view matches your ideal layout. This is just words and a few diagrams at this stage, mind, but if the patent gets granted, we could eventually see such a feature added to Samsung's smartphones or Galaxy cameras. Until then, you'll just have to put your trust in strangers and hope they have at least a basic understanding of the rule of thirds.
Apple patent application teams up multiple smartphone flashes for better lighting
Smartphone camera flashes are notoriously weak compared to dedicated models, but what if you could fire them from several handsets at once? Since none of us have the millisecond timing needed to do it manually, Apple has filed a patent application to let any number of iOS (or other devices with a flash) fill in the light automatically. It'd work by using a master device as the camera, which would trigger slave devices positioned around the subject to fire their flashes when the shutter is opened. A test image would first be taken and analyzed by the software, which would then remotely adjust the intensity of the slave flashes to produce the final photo. The filing allows for virtually any device with a sensor to act as the capture device and a broad variety of illumination devices, including dedicated lights, smartphones, tablets or camera flashes -- though we imagine Apple would concentrate on its own products. If you're already planning to use friend #1 for a kicker light, friend #2 as an eye-light and friend #3 as a hair light on that next outing, please remember it's still just an application for now.
Nintendo lands 'remotely controlled mobile device control' patent
You know those goofy tennis racket peripherals that allow for Wiimote insertion? Or, perhaps more sensibly, those Guitar Hero axes that wouldn't function without a Wiimote planted at the heart? Looks as if Nintendo's going to do us all one better. Based on a rambling new patent granted to the Big N this week, the company now holds the power to concoct a "remotely controlled mobile device control system." Distilled down, the verbiage describes a Wiimote-type controller being embedded within a "remote controlled toy," which would then be (unsurprisingly) used in conjunction with a game console. Essentially, this opens the door for Honda to develop a new variant of ASIMO that takes commands via an embedded Wii controller... or, for a Wii-infused robot to turn on its owner and commit unspeakable crimes against humanity. But hey, it'll probably be pretty cute.
Apple patent filing describes phone concept with wrap-around AMOLED display
Behold, the iPhone 6. Nah, we're only joking -- what you see above is a diagram lifted from an Apple patent application that popped up at the USPTO today, which describes a "consumer electronic product" that's nothing but screen. The patent involves building a device from an open-ended transparent body (of glass, for example) that becomes a full wrap-around display when a flexible AMOLED screen is unfurled within it. It doesn't imagine all that real-estate will necessarily be used at once, though, and includes details of a "detection mechanism," such as a camera and facial recognition software, which would determine how much of the screen you can see, so that power is only sent to the parts that are in view. It's important to note that, apart from mentioning some real-world applications, the concept and method of constructing a wrap-around display are all the application covers. In other words, this patent does not describe anything close to a complete device. Apologies if we've killed your buzz, but we're just managing expectations before we move onto some interesting spitballing from Apple about what other design features such a device could carry -- read on after the break for more.
Apple patent application hints at iPhone that changes orientation mid-fall
One way to protect a delicate device like a smartphone is to wrap it in layers of shock-absorbing rubber and plastic. Now, that can mean a case or you can simply build the handset out of those materials in the first place. Obviously, Apple is kind of attached to the premium feel of glass and metal, so the company is proposing another solution. A patent application discovered today suggests using a mechanism to shift the center of gravity or orientation of a device if sensors on board indicate it is falling. The sensors in question are pretty standard fare: accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc... but some of the countermeasures are quite unique. Shifting weights could be hidden under the hood, but other proposals include a locking headphone jack that would prevent the phone from hitting the ground, airfoils and even a reserve of gas for thrust. Many of the solutions are more than just a little impractical, especially when trying to design the sleekest smartphone possible. The concept could also be used in laptops and tablets, but it would certainly be most useful in shatter-prone mobile devices like the iPhone. If you really like digging through patent minutia check out the source link.
Google applies for another Glass patent, thinks about controlling your garage door and fridge
In case you hadn't noticed, the people over at Mountain View continue to work pretty hard on bringing yet more functionality to its Google Glass. During our patent application trawling this week, we fished up another possible application for Google's future-wear, where the finished product might fuse together augmented reality (and wireless connectivity) to control objects around your house. The headwear will apparently using visual identification, RFID, infra-red, Bluetooth and even QR codes as methods for recognizing controllable devices. Once your well-designed head-mounted display picks up a target, it would then pull down information related to the object, including a control interface. These "superimposed controls" would then hover over the real-life objects (which would need to be WiFi-connected or otherwise), with garage doors and refrigerators both referenced as possibilities (we've added sketches for both of these after the break). Whether you'd then adjust these white goods with your voice or otherwise is still an unknown -- the predictably fuzzy-worded patent application doesn't quite touch on any... touch interfaces.
Apple patent application reveals a camera with built-in privacy filter
It feels a bit strange to report on a webcam privacy shade as if it were a novelty: various products already let users put a decorative background on screen in lieu of a live stream, or even pull a physical shade across the lens. What Apple is apparently proposing, though, is a camera with such privacy filters built into the camera module itself. The company just applied for a patent on a camera whose images could selectively transition from opaque to transparent and back again, depending on how much privacy is called for. Based on that illustration up there, we're going to hazard a guess it could be used in Apple's MacBook and iMac lines, though the patent application doesn't explicitly exclude mobile devices, either. (In fact, the filing acknowledges a camera like this could be used in, ahem, a television.) What we'd really like to know is how easy it would be for the user to active the privacy mode. Alas, though, the USPTO doc doesn't give any definitive answers -- the filing suggests the user could choose to switch modes, or that launching certain applications (i.e., those that use the camera) might trigger a change in privacy settings. In any case, that's about all we can glean from the patent application, but feel free to peek for yourselves if you feel like letting your imaginations get ahead of you.
