Google filed a patent application in the United States Patent and Trademark Office disclosing a concept for an in-vehicle tool that uses a wearable device to determine whether the wearer is actively driving a vehicle or merely a passenger. The wearable device in question is described as an Android-powered smartwatch. The invention, disclosed in Application No. 14\/627122, is credited to Mohammed Waleed Kadous and assigned to Google. The stated purpose of the invention is to promote road safety by preventing drivers from accessing distracting features such as mobile phones, tablets, and navigation systems while operating a vehicle. The application proposes using a combination of location sensors and motion sensors to determine, with a variable degree of probability, whether the user is actively driving, and if certain thresholds are met, to restrict functions such as texting and web browsing on designated devices.<\/p>\n
Google also filed a patent application titled “Light Guide with Multiple In-Coupling Holograms for Head Wearable Display”, disclosed in Application No. 14\/229169. The application describes a system for superimposing computer-generated images on the wearer’s real-world field of view, with a design said to be more efficient and easier to wear than earlier approaches, and enabling the user to experience augmented reality. The project has since been named Project Aura, headed by Ivy Ross, who previously led the Google Glass project. In this context, the US-based startup Magic Leap, which is engaged in augmented reality gaming content production, has been reported to be designing content for Google’s holographic headset.<\/p>\n
Both applications represent notable directions in Google’s innovation programme, though a patent application does not guarantee a commercial product. The commercial viability of these inventions and the timeline for any product release remain to be determined.<\/p>\n
This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult a qualified attorney before acting on any matter discussed here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This article explores Google\u2019s recent US patent filings in wearable technology and augmented reality. It reviews the legal and technical aspects of patents designed for road safety and enhanced user experience in devices like Google Glass.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":40,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,14],"tags":[7586,7588,820,50,7589,7587,2647],"class_list":["post-30676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-intellectual-property","category-patents","tag-augmented-reality","tag-google-glass","tag-google-patents","tag-patent-law","tag-project-aura","tag-road-safety","tag-wearable-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30676"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149929,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30676\/revisions\/149929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}