May 24
Apple, who recently settled their ongoing dispute with Motorola and Google amicably, has no intent on following that up. Previous reports that suggested the Cupertino firm and Samsung would play … Continue reading
May 22
Apple Patents Mechanical Shutters That Could Ruggedize Speakers And Mics On Future iPhones
Posted in: Today's Chili
Apple has applied for a patent (via AppleInsider) that would introduce mechanical shutters to mobile devices that would slide shut when they detect a potential fall or impact, protecting sensitive weak points like speakers and microphones. These areas are currently kept safe using wire mesh and extremely small openings, but a shutter system would make it possible to build devices with bigger… Read More
Apr 21
Microsoft has inked another deal to squeeze cash out of an Android and Chrome OS device manufacturer, adding Motorola Solutions to its roster of firms coughing up for patent licensing. … Continue reading
Apr 20
Sony Patents Self-Washing Robot
Posted in: Today's Chili
I would suppose that Sony’s most famous robot release would be their beloved Aibo, which happens to be a robotic pooch that was the bomb back in the day, although the $1,900 price tag back then would make any potential customer think more than just twice as to whether to splurge that kind of money on what is essentially an expensive toy. I think that even when we factor in inflation today, $1,900 can still do plenty for the average man on the street who is more interested in bread and butter issues. Well, it seems that Sony is not quite out of the robotics scene just yet, having filed for a patent that will focus on a camera lens that could be used in a robot hand.
So far, it remains rather tricky to determine as to how this particular patent is going to be implemented, although the patent filing was accompanied by images of a few robots, where one of them can be seen above. It looks like NEC’s PaPeRo from certain angles, and the idea put forward by Sony seems to point to this robot being able to wash itself whenever it becomes dirty, allowing it to maintain itself while helping humans out in everyday chores.
Sounds convenient, no? This patent sees Sony crossing their fingers that such a robot can clean its sensitive camera eyes alone, and know just when it is due for a cleaning. This is made possible by comparing images snapped across time to figure out whether there is grit and grease building up. I do wonder whether the Transformers have such inclinations…
Sony Patents Self-Washing Robot , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Robots, Patent, Sony,
Apr 20
A few years ago, we were still interacting with our smartphones by pressing on keys and buttons in order to perform certain tasks. Nowadays we have phones that are able to do our bidding without us actually needing to press any buttons, just the screen itself. In fact there are even features which we can use that won’t even require us to touch the screen, although there aren’t that many phones like that at the moment.
So what’s next in smartphones? Could Project Ara be the future of smartphones? The idea of being able to swap out parts if and when we need sounds pretty cool, but in a patent filed by Microsoft, it seems that perhaps one day we might not even need to touch our phones. The patent, discovered by Patent Bolt, describes a device that will feature two cameras – a visible light camera and a depth camera.
When combined, it will allow the device to track the user or their finger and will then translate it into on-screen movement. It sounds a bit like the Kinect and it also reminds us of the Minority Report movie in which Tom Cruise’s character can interact with his computer simply by performing a set of gestures, as opposed to touching the screen directly. Of course we expect that this use could be applied to other products, such as Windows-based computers.
However it should be noted that this patent was filed for back in 2012 meaning that it’s been 2 years and we haven’t seen any products from Microsoft that uses this technology. The thing about patents is that there’s no guarantee that the companies will actually use them and turn them into actual products, but it’s still a pretty neat idea and one that we don’t mind seeing one day. What say you?
Microsoft Patents Kinect-like Feature For Future Smartphones/Tablets , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, Microsoft, Patent,
Apr 15
We have heard the rumors that Samsung could be working on a Google Glass rival, although as it stands we have only heard the rumors and seen patents that points to such a device being a possibility. Now thanks to a newly discovered patent, another possible design of Samsung’s Glass rival has been sighted.
In this particular patent, it describes an earpiece that comes with an integrated heads up display, with the display resembling what we’ve seen in Google Glass. Not only does this setup provide the wearer with a display, but it could also provide audio feedback, such as notifications, music, movies, and video playback. (more…)
Samsung Patent Reveals Earphone With Heads Up Display original content from Ubergizmo.
Apr 14
Earlier this year, Google introduced its smart contact lenses, which function as a wearable glucose sensor that could one day aid diabetics with monitoring sugar levels. The tech giant’s ambitions … Continue reading
Apr 11
The Samsung Galaxy Gear
Samsung does seem to have made a decent stab into the world of smartwatches, and it was not too long ago that whispers went around touting that Samsung intends to roll out a 3G enabled version of its Gear smartwatch over in South Korea, where this particular intelligent timepiece is supposed to carry the moniker of the Samsung Gear Solo. Well, apparently Samsung had already filed a trademark application with the USPTO this past April 4th for the name Gear Solo, and not only that, they also want to own the trademark for the name “Samsung Gear Now” to boot.
No prizes for guessing that Samsung Gear Now could very well be another name for a different smartwatch, or could it be a name for the same smartwatch, albeit having it released in a different country or area?
The Samsung Gear Solo allegedly supports SIM cards, which means it is also able to function as a handset all by itself, letting you make a phone call to another person ala Dick Tracy without having to pair it up to a different Samsung device in the first place. If that were to be the case, then chances are pretty good that the Gear Solo will also run on the Tizen platform ala the Samsung Gear 2.
Samsung Intends To Trademark Gear Now And Gear Solo In The US , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Gadgets, gear solo, Patent, Samsung, 
Apr 05
As of December, 2013, Blizzard was publicly in search of a Lead Producer of what was described as the company’s “next awesome game.” It was Blizzard director Michael Booth that … Continue reading
Apr 04
It won’t surprise you to hear that Google is desperately trying to trademark the world Glass—but it may raise a wry smile on your face when you find out that the U.S. government is taking exception to the idea.
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