A new Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) patent was published on Tuesday by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The published patent is titled patent no. 8,677,377, and it is a method and apparatus to build a highly intelligent automated assistant. This could mean Siri users will see an upgrade in not-too-distant future.
Siri patent gets makeover
This unique technology utilizes a combination of sensors and software that identifies where people are. An embodiment of patent illustrates how how Siri is used. Patently Apple offers a description, “Apple notes that the active ontology is tailored to a specific context. For example, the active ontology may be adapted to remind a user to take medication after meals, where at least some of the input facts relate to events collected from the user’s surrounding environment.” Such examples include conveying observations relating to user behavior such as “the user is in the dining room” and taking it to higher level concepts for the appropriate processing. Such higher level concepts can communicate processing results (even partially) to more concepts for further processing.
Why Siri is vital to Apple
Siri is one of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s most successful products and is vital to the company’s growth. Siri is the only product that rivals have yet to successfully copy. For some Apple users, Siri is an integral part of the iOS experience. It is not surprising Apple is looking for new ways to expand or enhance Siri, and this patent could be a look into the future of Siri.
Not all Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) patents end up being incorporated in actual devices. Although there is a very good chance the iPhone maker could use this patent as a part of future technologies, there is also a possibility that nothing will become of this patent.
It is rumored Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is currently working on an iWatch that will be designed to work with the next generation iPhone.
