The United States Patent and Trademark Office has awarded patent number 9,087,058 as of July 21, 2015 AD with the assignee being “Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA).”
The abstract elucidates the revelation of the method:
A method and apparatus for enabling a searchable history of real-world user experiences is described. The method may include capturing media data by a mobile computing device. The method may also include transmitting the captured media data to a server computer system, the server computer system to perform one or more recognition processes on the captured media data and add the captured media data to a history of real-world experiences of a user of the mobile computing device when the one or more recognition processes find a match.
The method may also include transmitting a query of the user to the server computer system to initiate a search of the history or real-world experiences, and receiving results relevant to the query that include data indicative of the media data in the history of real-world experiences.
Memory up and down loading as well as hacking, deleting and editing has long been speculated about within a sci-fi context. For example, an often overlooked Robin Williams movie titled, Final Cut was premised upon such concepts. Also, the “Black Mirror” TV show included the concept of memory recording and replay.
At least at this stage, this is not about accessing your brain encased memories but having you record your every waking moment, and perhaps sleeping moments, creating a video and audio record and then making a searchable record of it all.
Google envisages that “the mobile computing device is a user wearable computing device with a head mounted display” which may, at least a this time, be much like Google Glass. Yet, these face mounted techs will surely lead to contact lens-like devices and, ultimately, to brain implants.
The patent states that it is the “Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of internet based searching, and more particularly, to enabling a searchable history of real-world user experiences.”
Then, “a voice activated query received via a microphone of the mobile computing device…parsing audio data for the voice activated query to locate one or more keywords in the audio data; and forming a text based keyword query for transmission to the server computer system.”
This would allow for searches to be performed. Of course, your stored daily activities will be as open to hackers as anything and I can foresee, for example, parolees being mandated to wear such devices so that their parole officers can see exactly what they have been doing.
Via GPS tech, “one or more settings comprise initiation of media data capture by the mobile computing device when the mobile computing device is proximate to a specific location.” This is meant to make search results more accurate (of course, this is also more tracking of your personally private movement, interests, etc.).
As the patent puts it, “The internet provides a vast amount of knowledge about people, places, and things…the search results, however, is often generated by other users and unconnected to the user’s real world experiences.”
The patent is, of course, technically worded but those are the basics. Here are some of the tech details:
…the server computer system to perform one or more recognition processes on the captured media data and add the captured media data to a history of real-world experiences of a user of the mobile computing device when the one or more recognition processes find a match; transmitting a query of the user to the server computer system to initiate a search of the history of real-world experiences; and receiving results relevant to the query that include data indicative of the captured media data in the history of real-world experiences, wherein the one or more settings comprise initiation of media data capture by the mobile computing device when a current location of the mobile computing device is proximate to a popular location, wherein the location is a popular location when a number of other users that have captured media data at the location exceeds a threshold….
The mobile device 110 is responsible for capturing digital image data with a digital camera (not shown) and capturing audio data with a microphone (not shown) of the mobile device. The captured digital image data may include still digital photographs, a series of digital photographs, recorded digital video, a live video feed, etc. The captured audio data may include audio samples, audio signatures, a live audio feed, etc. In one embodiment, mobile device 110 may be a binocular wearable computing device…(i.e., a single eye head mounted display…), as well as cellular telephones, tablet computers, etc.