Google has secured intellectual rights to a system that would serve ads based on environmental conditions, according to a new report.
The report, from PC World Magazine, quotes Google as saying the forward-looking patent was useful for its portfolio, but it had no current plans to act on it.
The patent potentially paves the way for a mobile phone fitted with sensors that would allow it to record data such as temperature, humidity, light, and sound or air composition, which would trigger relevant adverts.
“Advertisements for air conditioners can be sent to users located at regions having temperatures above a first threshold, while advertisements for winter overcoats can be sent to users located at regions having temperatures below a second threshold,” explains the patent document.
“We file patent applications on a variety of ideas that our employees come up with. Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don’t. Prospective product announcements should not necessarily be inferred from our patent applications,” said a Google spokesman.
View the patent here.
