...Now for some news you can't use!
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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