What would we do without Google and Apple?
It’s amazing to think that only decades ago, people used to wind clocks and get to work on time … and also remember (most of the time) where they parked their cars.
Are we completely losing it? Incapable of commandeering even the simplest facets of our lives?
Google and Apple must think so. These two tech behemoths were just awarded U.S. patents for anticipated future products designed to make even more of our everyday lives a digital affair.
“In Google’s sci-fi future, your alarm clock’s volume will adjust automatically based on how deeply you’re sleeping – as tracked by your watch and pajamas,” notes a story on the patents from Fortune. “Apple’s vision of what’s next is a phone app that remembers – without being asked – where you parked your car.”
Consider Google’s patent for a wearable device that decides for you whether you’ve had enough shuteye. “According to the filing, the patent is for a wearable device, like a wristband or clothing with sensors stitched in, that help adjust alarm clock settings based on the user’s “sleep state,” explains Fortune. “The device would use “heart, respiration, or pulse rate, body movements, eye movements, ambient, and the like” to determine whether to dismiss, leave, or reschedule the alarm.”
Hope the boss doesn’t mind that your wearable determined you shouldn’t amble into the office until noon.
In the meantime, Apple is apparently obsessing about where you left your vehicle. The company applied for its patent in 2013, which involves a smartphone app that can record parking locations and times.
Will these “Brave New World” products ever actually hit the shelves?
We think you need to sleep on it. And hopefully not in your parked car.
