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...

Sony’s SmartWig patent is a real head-scratcher

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.

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Source: USPTO

Google patent filing describes tailored online book clubs, minus the wine

Google patent 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.

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Source: USPTO

Motorola files patent application for a gaze-detecting wristworn device

DNP Motorola files a patent application for wristworn electronic 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.

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Source: US Patent and Trademark Office

Google applies for location-based security patent, locks down your phone on the go

Google applies for locationbased security patent, toughens up your smartphone while outdoors

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.

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Source: USPTO

Microsoft wants to give callers email-like ‘important’ flag

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.

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Source: USPTO

Microsoft patent application details Illumiroom-like projection system

Microsoft patent application details Illumiroomlike 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?

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Source: USPTO

Sony files a patent for tagging photos and files with your vital signs

DNP Sony unveils 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.

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Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Google files for touchscreen keyboard patent because it wants to own all the things

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.

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Source: USPTO