The couch in front of our TV is a sacred no-judgment zone, the place where we wear sweats, eat pizza, and binge-watch Cobra Kai on Netflix.
But what if the TV watched and, well, judged us? That’s the dystopian future Sony is thinking about, at least if US patent number 11,081,227 is any indication.
Called “Monitoring and reporting the health condition of a television user,” the patent describes a television with embedded cameras and sensors that monitor everything a person while slouched on the couch, including tracking the food they eat. The patent was awarded to Sony on August 3rd of this year.
So why is Sony looking to invade the safe space on our couch? According to the patent, the thinking is a TV like this could monitor the health of the TV viewer by recording activities such and eating habits and look for any signs of a potential impending health problem.
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From the patent:
People spend a significant number of hours sitting in front of a television (TV). They may have a hidden health problem or a diminishing health condition. The system monitors one or more health vitals of the user such as heart rate, etc. While sitting in front of the TV, they may behave in an unhealthy manner. For example, they may eat too much while watching a TV program. The system may also monitor the types of food a person eats while watching TV.
The patent describes a system that would use a camera embedded in the TV to log a person’s food consumption and monitor eating patterns such as chewing speed, posture, and how fast they eat. The system would also identify the type of food, estimate portion size, and take a guess at how many calories are consumed. All that info could be synced with biometric monitoring (the patent suggests a heartbeat sensor in the remote) to paint a profile of a person’s health and how their TV watching habits impact it.
So who needs a TV to monitor their food intake? I guess if one consumes lots of empty calories while sitting in front of the tube, this might prod them to change their habits. But on the other hand, do we really need a TV to tell us we’re eating poorly?
And then there’s the problem of consumer privacy. Some of you may remember the controversy a few years back about a few lines in the terms of service or a Samsung smart TV that suggested the company might capture conversations and sell them to third parties. I can only imagine what people might think about cameras on their TV watching their every move.
In Sony’s defense, this isn’t close to being an actual product. Patents are oftentimes just corporate thought experiments, where R&D managers with budgets to burn ask what if? The likelihood of Sony actually building their big brother TV is probably pretty low.
Probably. But maybe someday they will, and if they do, it’ll be interesting to see if consumers are ok with the idea of a TV watching them, trying to make them better people. But hey, if you’re really watching Cobra Kai and downing whole quarts of ice cream every Friday night, maybe you could use the help of your Sony 70″ 4K OLED TV to help perform a little self-care.