Posts Tagged: "wireless"

Alphabet’s Google continues innovation, from autonomous vehicles to wind turbines

Alphabet’s smart home technologies extend beyond thermostats as is evidenced by the hazard detection device that would be protected by U.S. Patent Application No. 20160078751, entitled Smart-Home Hazard Detector Providing Sensor-Based Device Positioning Guidance. This invention is designed for the creation of more intelligent hazard detection networks for smoke, carbon monoxide and other hazards by providing a guide for placing a hazard monitoring device in the best possible location. Greater control over home HVAC systems to improve comfort in individual rooms is described within U.S. Patent Application No. 20160091220, which is titled Wireless Zone Control via Mechanically Adjustable Airflow Elements…

Apple Patent Apps: From Head-Mounted Virtual Reality to Wireless Smoke Detection

It looks like Apple is looking to edge into the mobile virtual reality market dominated by Samsung’s Gear VR with the technology outlined by U.S. Patent Application No. 20160085076, entitled Head-Mounted Display Apparatus for Retaining a Portable Electronic Device with Display. This innovation is designed to eliminate wired connections in head-mounted displays which may be cumbersome to users. Fitness tracker technologies are another area of focus for Apple’s R&D, as is evidenced by the filing of U.S. Patent Application No. 20160058372, titled Terrain Type Inference from Wearable with Motion Sensing. This invention is designed to provide more accurate reports of calorie expenditures during aerobic exercise, which can vary based on the type of terrain being traversed.

5G Mobile Networks: The Next Big Battleground

5G is expected to generate even higher revenues from applications and services due to explosion on mobile application and services because of broadband-like speed, which are crucial for some of the emerging technologies like IoT, Wearables and Virtual/Augmented Reality. Revenues for 5G services will exceed $65 billion by 2025, according to a forecast from Juniper Research… The number of patents and key underlying technologies for 5G mobile networks will evolve significantly within next 5 years. However, early analysis shows that Qualcomm will still be the IP leader but may be not as dominant as in 4G-LTE. The device makers like Apple, Samsung, and Lenovo are also working on 5G IP development in order to minimize IP licensing costs.

General Electric doubles down on power and transportation through innovation and Alstom acquisition

In January, the company announced that it would be moving its corporate headquarters from Fairfield to Boston, MA, ending months of speculation that the company would indeed be seeking a new base of operations… Through 2015, General Electric took the 14th spot among all companies earning patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with 1,757 patent grants during that year. This does represent a fairly sharp drop over GE’s 2014 patent totals, when it took in 2,293 U.S. patents and placed 10th among all companies in terms of patent totals. As of the second week in February, GE had taken in 230 patents from the USPTO, according to patent portfolio analysis tools available through Innography. As the text cluster here shows us, much of this innovation has centered upon gas turbines and airfoils.

The Top 10 Patent Applications of 2015

Innovation in the automotive sector was a huge story, both for the types of technologies being developed and the companies pursuing the R&D in that field. Drones and robotics also played a role in other top patent applications which we’re profiling today. Rounding out our list of top 2015 innovations includes an emotion analysis system for financial security, wireless charging schemes, low-power communications for wearable devices and a greenhouse window that can generate electricity while improving crop yield.