The USA's patent system leaves a lot to be desired. Patents are intended to help inventors, but the US system is over-run with land-grab patents which take any normal business practice and add "with the aid of a computer". The latest evolution of patent portfolio mass production is to add "with the aid of a drone".
US patent number 10,040,551 dated 7th August 2018 was filed by IBM and is entitled "Drone delivery of coffee based on the cognitive state of an individual". It describes how vendors at events or public locations would be able to use an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), typically a quadcopter drone, to fly coffee or other consumables and beverages to people in the crowd. Flying plastic cups of hot liquid over the heads of an audience in a battery powered quadcopter? What could possibly go wrong?
The IBM patent says that the UAV would use sensors to scan the crowd, looking for a person who has gestured that they want to receive a drink, or "for whom an electronic analysis of sensor data indicates them to be in a predetermined cognitive state", i.e. the machine decides if you look sleepy and in need of caffeine. Even more creepily, the patent states "The analysis can include profile data of people, including electronic calendar data".
Be warned, we are only a short step away from Talkie Toaster becoming a reality. Warning, may contain content which causes the giggles for some viewers.
About SKILLZONE News This article comes from the SKILLZONE email newsletter, published monthly since January 2008, and covering topics related to technology and the internet. All articles and artwork in the SKILLZONE newsletter are orignal content.