Apparently, Google is planning to step up its game in the PC/laptop industry. The company has filed a patent for a smart, motorized lid for a Pixelbook-type device.
So what's so special about this lid? According to the patent, the lid will be able to detect if a user is nearby and then open up to the right orientation. Moreover, it will even unlock the device when required. The lid will also be capable of keeping track of a user's face so that it can stay aligned to that face. Reported by Patently Mobile, Google filed the original patent back in 2013.
The patent application gives us a quite a fair idea of how many interesting features could we see on a laptop lid in future. As we have mentioned earlier, the ability of the lid to detect when a user is nearby. Presumably, the laptop lid will be able to do this with the use of a wide-angle rear camera, a proximity sensor, or a Bluetooth sensor. To authenticate and open the lid, a user might have to tap a special area on the lid.
The patent further explains, when open, the front camera on the device's lid will track a user's face to position it at the perfect angle. Not just face-detection, the device will also have the object-detection feature to determine what it is facing at and adjust the orientation of the panel accordingly.
Interestingly, the lid might even understand that it is facing at a user's torso and then open further to capture the face. The lid could also track a user's face in real-time to adjust to the perfect angle.
Besides this, the lid will also be able to understand the absence of a user. When there is no user, the lid will close automatically. It will additionally be capable of understanding when a user is walking with the device.
While the patent is really intriguing, we are not sure if it will finally turn into reality.
So what's so special about this lid? According to the patent, the lid will be able to detect if a user is nearby and then open up to the right orientation. Moreover, it will even unlock the device when required. The lid will also be capable of keeping track of a user's face so that it can stay aligned to that face. Reported by Patently Mobile, Google filed the original patent back in 2013.
The patent application gives us a quite a fair idea of how many interesting features could we see on a laptop lid in future. As we have mentioned earlier, the ability of the lid to detect when a user is nearby. Presumably, the laptop lid will be able to do this with the use of a wide-angle rear camera, a proximity sensor, or a Bluetooth sensor. To authenticate and open the lid, a user might have to tap a special area on the lid.
The patent further explains, when open, the front camera on the device's lid will track a user's face to position it at the perfect angle. Not just face-detection, the device will also have the object-detection feature to determine what it is facing at and adjust the orientation of the panel accordingly.
Interestingly, the lid might even understand that it is facing at a user's torso and then open further to capture the face. The lid could also track a user's face in real-time to adjust to the perfect angle.
Besides this, the lid will also be able to understand the absence of a user. When there is no user, the lid will close automatically. It will additionally be capable of understanding when a user is walking with the device.
While the patent is really intriguing, we are not sure if it will finally turn into reality.