Apple Patents Driver Distraction Lockdown Mode For iPhones

Apple has been granted a new patent by the USPTO (via AppleInsider), and it’s one that could potentially prevent a lot of careless driving. The tech described in the patent would use a phone’s on-board sensors, or a direct connection to a car using a technology like Bluetooth to limit the device’s functionality, cutting off access to stuff like SMS and email while you’re actually driving.

The patent would use information from the accelerometer and other onboard sensors to automatically determine when a car is in motion and when it’s at rest, and lock/unlock features accordingly. Some cars already feature similar functionality for onboard features, like preventing you from going through the laborious and distracting process of pairing a Bluetooth phone with a car while you’re actually moving. Apple’s system could also use direct input from a car to determine when it is and isn’t moving.

There’s also a provision described that would make it possible for the device to be used in a car by someone other than the driver. This feature is described as using visual input (i.e. a photo from the iPhone’s camera) to determine who’s a driver and who’s not behind the wheel, and then using its sensor data to determine where in the vehicle it’s being used. If used by a passenger, functions would unlock and be available for use.

The system described isn’t just about driving, however; it includes provisions for similar features integrated into a parental security mode, allowing functions like SMS to require a password or others authentication for use. Apple already lets users lock out certain functions on the iPhone via passcode, so this would likely be an extension of the range of those functions.

The truth is it would probably be unlikely for Apple to build something like this into its devices at this stage. The company seems to be more intent on offering drivers safer options for communication as found in the Siri-powered CarPlay integration Apple debuted with iOS 7.1. Actually locking out specific functions would, sadly, probably just frustrate a significant portion of users, even if it did result in safer smartphone use while driving. Look for the company to pursue more smartphone-assisted communication options with future versions of CarPlay instead.

Google Patents Tiny Cameras Embedded In Contact Lenses

Google has a new patent application with the USPTO (via 9to5Google), which takes one of the basic concepts of Glass and extends it even further, embedding tiny cameras that could be embedded in contact lenses for various uses, including photographing what a wearer sees, or providing the basic input for a contact-based assistive device for the visually impaired.

Google has previously detailed a plan to build smart contacts that measure blood glucose levels in diabetics to provide non-invasive, constant feedback to both a wearer and potentially their doctor, too. This new system describes uses that could also benefit the medical community, like using input from the camera to spot obstacles and alert a wearer who has vision problems as to their whereabouts. They could also offer up vision augmentation for people with all types of ocular health, and even act as a next-gen platform for a Glass-like computing experience.

Obviously, big tech companies patent stuff all the time, and only a fraction of that ever makes it to shipping products. Plus, wearing contacts is something that anyone who doesn’t have to likely won’t warm up to easily. Still, as an assistive device, and an alternative to other, more obvious gadgets and intrusive tech like hearing aids or cochlear implants, this could be a tech that has legs in the near future.

Google patents a way to flag pirated Play Store apps

App piracy and app cloning is a real problem on Android. Searching for just about any popular app in the Play Store reveals dozens of apps that are clearly designed to confuse users into downloading them, even if they have nothing to do with the real thing.

Google has explicit policies against misleading or trademark-infringing apps, but with over a million apps in the Store and no human review process for each upload, shady apps constantly sneak in. The company currently relies on user feedback for flagging bad apps, but a newly granted patent gives us hope that a better solution could be coming in the future.

The patent, first filed in July 2013 and awarded last week, describes an algorithm that compares the assets of a submitted app (code, images, audio, data files) with those of “authorized” apps that were uploaded by established developers. For instance, a legitimate app that was modified to include malware would fail this test. The same would happen with apps that are simply re-named clones of other apps submitted as original work.

It’s not clear whether this algorithm will be able to identify loose similitudes between apps or will just flag assets that are obviously copied. The patent mentions a way to identify open source code, so apps based on it would pass the test. Also worth noting is that filing for a patent is no guarantee that the invention will ever make it into a real product.

It’s likely that the filtering system will be a part of the suite of tests that Google runs on new apps. For instance, Google currently checks for malware and for illicit mentions of other applications in the description, and probably runs other undisclosed tests as well.

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