Bras are also smart: they can control women's emotions and keep them away from overeating

A few weeks ago, Sony was ridiculed by the entire Internet for showing off its latest "smart wig" (SmartWig). As Sony's main competitor in the video game console market, Microsoft has recently applied for an even more ridiculous patent called "Mood Bra".

The "smart wig" developed by Sony researchers Hiroaki Tobita and Takuya Kuzi is actually a wig with a brainwave interface that can be connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth technology, while the "emotion bra" developed by Microsoft can be described as a bra with electrocardiogram functions, which can also be connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth technology.

Microsoft believes that women often face great pressure in work, life and relationships, and occasional overeating can easily lead to obesity. After gaining weight, they become anxious and continue to eat, forming a vicious cycle. In response to this behavior of overeating due to anxiety, the "emotional bra" can monitor the wearer's emotions, help regulate anxiety and overeating, and thus eliminate emotional overreaction.

At first glance, Sony's "smart wig" and Microsoft's "emotion bra" both look a little silly, and the "emotion bra" is discriminatory against women, but these patents are not as ridiculous as they seem. This is not only because these products may be put on the shelves, but also because Sony and Microsoft may make money from them. Although both of the above patents are strange ideas that burst out of consumer products, they have one thing in common: they use existing medical technology and are ready to make money from it.

As for Sony's "smart wig", the company's product hides a circuit board. This circuit board can serve as a second communication module. The mobile phone or smart watch causes some kind of feedback from the wig. For example, when the user's mobile phone receives an email, the wig will notify the user through vibration. In addition, this wig also has a built-in global positioning system and an ultrasonic sensor, which determines the surrounding objects by sending and receiving ultrasonic waves, so as to achieve the purpose of navigation. At the same time, this wig has a built-in camera and a laser pointer for use during speeches.

In the case of Microsoft's "mood bra," the company hopes to place a sensor near the user's heart to bring EKG to the mass market. From this perspective, Microsoft's "mood bra" may make more sense, as the company can easily sell this product with EKG function to women.

Although Microsoft's mobile operating system Windows Phone is not inferior to other competitors in the market, the company can earn $2 billion in patent fees from Google Android every year. This income mainly comes from licensing hundreds of mobile technology-related patents to Google and Android phone manufacturers. The reason why Microsoft can earn this patent fee is that it had foresight many years ago and made some "absurd" patents a reality, and then licensed these patents to other companies.

Take smartphones. Back in the 1980s, if someone had said that one day we would all have a computer the size of a deck of cards in our pockets that could store movies, books, and songs and talk to any other computer in the world, you might have thought that person was crazy. But Microsoft did apply for a lot of patents for such a device, which is why the company is making billions of dollars a year in the smartphone wars today.

From this perspective, are the latest patents from Microsoft and Sony still ridiculous? Sensors are becoming increasingly affordable, and wearable technology is considered the next major frontier in the tech industry. Perhaps in 20 years, "smart wigs," "emotional bras," or something similar will become popular products.