When we receive a new notification, our phone will make a sound, vibrate, maybe both, or sometimes some users prefer to not know until they check their devices. Either way it comes down to personal preference, but it seems that Microsoft really wants to get your attention, thanks to patent which seems to suggest shocking the user when a notification is received.
According to the patent which talks about a “Wearable computer having a skin-stimulating interface,” it describes a process which reads, “Techniques are described herein that are capable of providing electrical stimuli to skin of a user to convey information to the user,” which based on our interpretation sounds like a tiny electric shock.
The description adds that it can be used to inform users of an event, like an incoming message, an alarm, a reminder, phone calls, and more. However it also seems to suggest that the technology could be applied to clothing where the shocks could be delivered to the wearing, notifying them when their physical positioning needs to be changed.
This sounds like it could be used for health purposes, like telling you to get up and walk about if you’ve been sitting too long, or it could also be used for navigation where your clothes could buzz in various directions to tell you where to go. That being said, this is a patent so there’s really no telling if Microsoft will actually implement it, but we have to admit that it doesn’t sound too pleasant.
Filed in . Read more about Microsoft, Patent and Wearable Tech.