The wearable tech space is booming and different companies are vying to create the next big thing.
But Sony engineers just filed a patent that veers sharply from Google Glass or its own new smartwatch: A smart wig.
We first found the SmartWig thanks to Engadget.
The patent filing describes the SmartWig as a hairpiece that covers and hides at least one sensor, a control unit, and a communication interface.
The idea is that someone can pair their wig with "a second computing device," like a smartphone, and receive "tactile feedback," like vibrations, on their head, presumably when the user gets a text or email. Sony also suggests that the wig could have a GPS sensor, the ability to use soundwaves to detect objects around it, a camera, and a laser pointer.
But, Sony, why put all this stuff in a wig? From the patent filing:
Wigs are useful to enhance a user’s appearance and change other’s impressions because different hairstyles give different impressions. Thus many people use wigs. Especially bald people who usually wear wigs in their daily lives could take advantage of this.
Here are some diagrams from the filing:
Sony also specifies that the wig could be made from horse hair, human hair, wool, feathers, yak hair, buffalo hair, or synthetic materials. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Sony wins the Weirdest Wearable Tech Award for now, but only narrowly: Google recently filed a patent for a throat tattoo that can act as a lie detector.