Borg office party organizer
Microsoft submitted a patent application in the US for a “unique monitoring system” that could link workers to their computers. Wireless sensors could read “heart rate, galvanic skin response, EMG, brain signals, respiration rate, body temperature, movement facial movements, facial expressions and blood pressure”, the application states.
The system could also “automatically detect frustration or stress in the user” and “offer and provide assistance accordingly”. Physical changes to an employee would be matched to an individual psychological profile based on a worker’s weight, age and health. If the system picked up an increase in heart rate or facial expressions suggestive of stress or frustration, it would tell management that he needed help…
Microsoft refused to comment on the application, but said: “We have over 7,000 patents worldwide and we are proud of the quality of these patents and the innovations they represent. As a general practice, we do not typically comment on pending patent applications because claims made in the application may be modified through the approval process.”
What would Patrick Stewart do?
So Microsoft has so much money (or lawyers) that it can afford to file speculative patents on things it read about (or saw on the Discovery channel?) WITHOUT actually having developed or written any software. IOW, Microsoft is trying to patent vaporware, in case someone else actually does the hard work of writing the code. Then M$ can demand a royality down the road. This isn’t innovation, it exploitation! And it will only serve to kill the incentive for others to develop their own programs. Which I’m sure Microsoft is just happy about. But shouldn’t the patent system be a bit more selective (hopefully it is) about approving such speculative concepts, that haven’t even demoed any real product?