London: Tech giant Apple is reportedly working on a system that detects when a device is falling and then spins it around to land it as safe as possible.
According to plans filed by Apple to the US Patent Office, The “Protective Mechanism for an Electronic Device” application aims to prevent some or all of the damage to any electronic device with a processor, such as a tablet or a laptop, pecifically the iPhone.
In order to work, the system needs a sensor or sensor array that can detect when a device is in freefall and how it is positioned relative to the ground, Apple Insider reports.
These can be simple gyroscopes, accelerometers or position sensors, but the patent also notes more advanced components like GPS and imaging sensors may be employed.
According to the report, coupled to the sensor is a processor that can help determine a freefall state, including how fast a device is falling, how far away it is from the ground and time to impact, among other metrics.
Statistics of various fall heights, speeds and other data can be stored on system memory to aid the processor in making a decision on how best to land the device, the report said.
Lastly, the system requires a mechanism to either reorientate the device while in flight, or otherwise protect certain sensitive device components in the event of a fall, the report added.
ANI
First Published: Saturday, March 23, 2013, 16:59