14 DAY TRIAL // Google has been filing patents for a series of bizarre contrivances lately. Shortly after it was revealed that the search engine had licensed in-conversation googling, which basically refers to a robot creeping in on your text conversations, news of another equally eerie patent has been brought to light.
The possibility of such a product being launched on the market would make anyone uneasy. According to CNN Money, the tech company might be planning on building a small robot quite similar to a plush teddy bear or a rabbit geared up with microphones, cameras and speakers, which could control home appliances.
In other words, what Google previously announced as an April fool’s joke could actually become reality. And what a grim reality that would be.
Although when asked about whether they are considering making these products and selling them, Google blandly answers that not all of their patents come to life, this is not very comforting.
The toy would make quite an unusual household device
Despite the fact that the "A.I." movie or "Toy Story" made every child out there want a robotic toy of their own, the idea of such a being creeping inside your house is chilling, to say the least.
According to the patent, the "anthropomorphic device, perhaps in the form factor of a doll or toy, [that] may be configured to control one or more media devices," although highly innovative and intriguing, is not very likely to appeal to many households, especially following the NSA data collection scandal.
With cameras integrated in its bulging eyes and a speaker inside its tiny muzzle, the robotic toy would anxiously be waiting for a cue from its owner, then "aim its gaze at the source" and keenly stand by for the order.
The patented toy could even change facial expressions based on the commands it receives, just in case tapping in on your family’s conversations was not sinister enough.