IBM slaps patent on coffee-delivering drones that can read your MIND IBM has filed a patent for mood-sensing coffee delivery drones, because what the world really needs is piping hot liquids flying around over everyone's noggins. Big Blue's plans for aerial hot beverage deliveries not only include deliveries of pre-ordered brews but also taxi-style flagging down of aerial drinks. The US Patent …
>IBM now have a patent on the idea
You can't patent ideas...
Whilst I agree the chances of anyone actually trying to sell this as a product is small, I expect others will implement the non-patent and then submit their own variation patent eg. "Drone delivery of donut (or other bun) based on a cognitive state of an individual"... However, I doubt we will see "Drone delivery of prize monies based on a cognitive state of an individual"
>Swap Coffee for Beer and this could work wonders
On reading the abstract: "The analysis can include profile data of people, including electronic calendar data, which can be used to determine a potentially predetermined cognitive state." my thoughts were: Must be time for a G&T...
It's like Talkie Toaster, only with scalding hot beverages and the ability to throw them in your face whether you want coffee or not.
Now that I put it like that, it sounds disturbingly reminiscent of some "AI"-driven small drone weapon being developed by the usual amoral Silicon Valley scum for the US government. Which unfortunately is where it's more likely such technology would *actually* be deployed.
Now that I put it like that, it sounds disturbingly reminiscent of some "AI"-driven small drone weapon being developed by the usual amoral Silicon Valley scum for the US government. Which unfortunately is where it's more likely such technology would *actually* be deployed.
So then: "Hi there. You look like a bad person. Here's live grenade with the pin pulled."????
"What batteries will these things have? I fly RC planes and helis and last I checked, heating stuff uses a ton of enegy!"
From the patent drawings, it goes off to a coffee maker and collects one then delivers it. It doesn't actually make the coffee for you right there and then.
Not to mention the flavor preferences: some for the "dark" variety, some for the "citrus".
I prefer the latter, despite the BVO risk. (I do stay away from the strikingly orange ones.)
Same argument goes for coffee: sugar? creamer? non-dairy creamer? flavor shots? Will this only deliver strong and black? This is why our office has a Keurig instead of a communal pot: no two people can agree.
> "brings to mind the creepy servo-skulls of the Warhammer 40K universe"
Flying machine skulls... that's bloody brilliant! It looks like someone built a game based on stuff ripped off from heavy metal album artwork. The sort of things included because (e.g.) Butt-Head would think they were "*cool*!" rather than because they make any sense.
I'd buy that for a dollar!
Secret military programme to develop autonomous tear gas dispensing drones gets canned, IBM being out of pocket tell the development team to find a civilian use case.
Or it may just be an IBM DE/Master Inventor spinning a yarn just to have a batch of prototypes shuttling between his office and the nearest decent coffee shop at company expense..
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