A patent obtained by Microsoft revealed that it seeks to develop a smart backpack that is equipped with sensors and uses artificial intelligence technology to provide unique features.
The American technology giant obtained a patent for the backpack from the US Patent and Trademark Office last week.
The bag includes some very strange specifications, including: The “wearable device” may be able to detect the user’s speech and provide suggestions similar to digital assistance services, such as: Alexa from Amazon and Siri from Apple, but it will be able to record and store sound.
The backpack, which has yet to get a name, is also likely to have the ability to identify objects around it, provide directions, access the cloud, and talk to other smart devices.
The newly approved patent is accompanied by a number of useful illustrations that show some of the ways in which the backpack can be used.
Among these illustrations: a person skiing while his backpack tells him the limits of the ski area, and another shows the wearer standing in front of a $5 concert poster, so the backpack allows him to give it a voice command to buy a ticket to the concert.
It is noteworthy that the smart backpack from Microsoft is not the first, as in 2020 a funding campaign was launched on Indiegogo for another smart backpack called (BaqPaq) that offers some specifications already similar to those proposed by Microsoft in its patent, not that the campaign did not raise a single dollar.
Microsoft said in its patent application that wearable “digital assistants” powered by artificial intelligence may constitute a growing consumer market.
The jargon-packed product description reads: “Digital assistants are becoming more diverse due to advances in computing. The current concepts relate to improvements in wearable digital assistants, which can perform various tasks for the benefit of users.
Given Microsoft’s significant investments in artificial intelligence, not to mention that the technology is more advanced than it was just a few years ago, it may be a good time to launch a smart backpack.
As always, it should be noted that many patents obtained by companies do not translate into real products.
