Lucent's snooze-catcher for DVRs

Finally, there's a solution for people who pass out on the couch while watching TV. No, the answer isn't to get more sleep, or to just turn the darn set off when you're too tired to watch any more. Engineers at Lucent have filed a patent application for a device that "may comprise an electronic camera for forming images of the viewer, and pattern recognition means connected to the electronic camera to monitor the physical condition of the viewer." That's right; while you're watching TV, the TV will watch you right back. Connect this to a DVR, and when you nod off, it'll automatically pause the show, and then start it back up again when you wake up. Of course, this won't be of much use if you actually use the TV as a soporific agent; maybe they can include an option to shut the camera off if you're watching, say, C-SPAN or the Olympic curling trials.

Posted Jan 12th 2006 1:33AM by Marc Perton

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