谷歌和蘋果的最新專利 一個叫你起牀一個替你找車

In Google’s sci-fi future, your alarm clock’s volume will adjust automatically based on how deeply you’re sleeping – as tracked by your watch and pajamas. Apple’s vision of what’s next is a phone app that remembers – without being asked – where you parked your car.

谷歌和蘋果又分別邁入下一個極具科幻色彩的高科技領域。如果谷歌的研究取得了成功，你的鬧鐘將會根據你的睡眠深淺程度自動調整音量，你的手錶和睡衣會負責跟蹤睡眠狀態。另一方面，蘋果正在研發一款智能手機應用，它可以記住你把愛車停在了哪裏，免去了在迷宮似的停車場裏四處找車的尷尬。

On Tuesday, both companies were granted patents for their respective ideas. Legal marketplace SmartUp first spotted the filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.

4月底，這兩家公司的相關創意都獲批了專利。法律顧問公司SmartUp率先發現了蘋果和谷歌遞交給美國專利與商標局的文件。

Google’s patent coincides with the rise of activity trackers and smartwatches that already track the sleeping patterns of people wearing them. According to the filing, the patent is for a wearable device, like a wristband or clothing with sensors stitched in, that help adjust alarm clock settings based on the user’s “sleep state.” The device would use “heart, respiration, or pulse rate, body movements, eye movements, ambient, and the like” to determine whether to dismiss, leave, or reschedule the alarm.

如今，能夠監測人們睡眠模式的活動追蹤器和智能手錶等產品不在少數，谷歌的這項專利也是順勢之舉。谷歌的專利文件表明，該專利是一款可以根據用戶“睡眠狀態”調整鬧鐘設置的可穿戴設備，類似於一款智能手環或內置有傳感器的衣物。它能夠根據“心率、呼吸、脈博、身體動作、眼部動作及周邊環境”來決定是否保留、取消和重設鬧鐘。

The idea, originally filed by Google in 2011, isn’t exactly novel. Some of Jawbone’s UP devices and Fitbit’s trackers let users set their wristbands to automatically vibrate when the technology determines the best time based on their sleep cycle. Even some apps, like Sleep as Android for wearable devices that run on Google’s Android Wear operating system offer that functionality.

雖然谷歌最早在2011年就提出了這個理念，但它也不算特別新穎。Jawbone公司的Up設備和Fitbit公司的追蹤器，也能讓用戶設定他們的智能腕帶，讓它根據用戶的睡眠週期，在最佳叫醒時機進行震動。就連某些手機應用（比如谷歌Android Wear平臺上的Sleep for Android應用）也能提供這個功能。

With that said, there’s still some skepticism around wearable devices’ claims of accurately tracking sleep patterns. They merely infer that you’re sleeping based on your movements and heart rate. But that isn’t entirely accurate. The tracker I’m currently wearing, for example, reported that I slept for only a couple of hours last night when in fact I slept about six hours.

話雖這樣說，仍然有人懷疑可穿戴設備是否真的能準確追蹤人們的睡眠模式。它們只是簡單地根據你的動作和心率來判斷你是否睡着了，但這並非完全精確。比如，我現在正戴着的追蹤器就報告稱，我昨晚只睡了一兩個小時，但事實上我昨晚整整睡了6個小時。

But in any case, it will definitely be interesting to see what Google does now that it’s armed with the patent. Should other activity tracker makers worry?

但不管怎麼說，單單是看看谷歌能利用這項專利做些什麼，也絕對是件有趣的事情。其它活動追蹤器製造商是否感到“壓力山大”呢？

Meanwhile, Apple’s patent to help you find your car come after a lengthy approval. The company originally filed its application in 2013, and it first surfaced last year.

與此同時，蘋果的自動尋車技術經過冗長的審批流程終於獲得了專利。蘋果早在2013年就提交了申請，外界還是在去年才第一次知道蘋果研製了這種技術。

The patent is for “vehicle location in weak location signal scenarios,” meaning that it would use techniques other than GPS or cell signal to locate the person’s car. Instead, the document describes having the driver’s smartphone automatically detect when the car is parked (the phone is not moving anymore, it’s no longer connected through wires or Bluetooth signal to it, etc.) and remembering the location and time.

該專利又叫“弱信號區域車輛位置識別”。這意味着，它將使用GPS和手機信號以外的技術來定位用戶的車輛。蘋果的專利文件稱，該技術能通過駕駛員的智能手機自動探測車輛何時停泊（當手機不再有信號，也不再通過數據線或藍牙信號與車輛相聯的時候），並記錄泊車的地點和時間長度。

The application, which includes a diagram of Apple’s headquarters as an example illustration, doesn’t specify the scenarios when the service would be useful. But this method could come in handy in parking structures and underground garages where smartphone signals can often be very weak.

該專利文件還使用了蘋果的總部大樓地圖作爲圖示，不過它並沒有透露這項服務何時能夠啓用。但這種技術遲早是用得上的，特別是在手機信號往往很弱的地下停車場。

But as always, it’s entirely up to the company to actually turn a patent into a real product or actually enforce it against other companies. Keeping track of your car could remain your own responsibility, unfortunately.

但一如往常，蘋果和谷歌何時能把這些專利變成看得見摸得着的產品，或是強制其他廠商執行這些專利，還得看它們自己的意願。在短期內，在停車場停好車後，你還是得自己記牢愛車的位置。