23andMe can use Machine Learning to Determine Ancestry
In this patent – US9213947B1 – 23andMe uses machine learning to help correspond ‘phased haplotype data’ to specific ancestries.
Vincent Look
Taco Bell’s attempted ‘Crunch Wrap’ patent
Taco Bell has a long list of patents related to various aspects of its business. One invention not on that list, is an abandoned patent application (published as US20080020106A1) that attempted to patent what appears to be their ‘Crunch Wrap’ food item. https://www.tacobell.com/food/specialties/crunchwrap-supreme Taco Bell’s claim read as […]
Three, Two, One, Let it Rip! ‘Beyblade’ Burst toy patent
My six-year-old, Jasper, has been obsessed with Beyblade for over a year now. A Beyblade is a spinning top that you and your opponent ‘rip’ into action in an arena. The tops (or ‘Beys’) spin and move about emphatically in the arena where they bump into each other. […]
Mark Zuckerberg’s Privacy Setting Patent
Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, is a named inventor on a Facebook patent filed way back in 2006. The patent, US8225376B2, relates to your Facebook privacy settings and how you, as a user, can control what different groups can see. When you select a privacy setting, […]
LinkedIn Patent – Are you a ‘Decision Maker’?
Being as I typically share these articles on LinkedIn, I figure it’s only right that I feature a LinkedIn patent application – published as US2019/0096007. This patent application (which means it is still in the patent prosecution stage and not yet a protected patent) features an algorithm to […]
Yes Gain No Pain – Here Comes the Exercise Pill
The most recent podcast episode of Freakonomics talks about the benefits of exercise, and implications of an exercise-replacing drug. One guest, Robert M Evans, a scientist who works at the Salk Institute, invented a drug, which was tested on mice, that essentially gave the mice effects of exercise […]
Buh – Bum. Netflix Recommendations Based On Device Data
When a user enters her Netflix account, recommendations such as ‘Top Picks For ___’ and ‘Because You Watched ___’ are all over the place, and often spot on, based on certain algorithms. This Netflix patent US8887095B2 describes a method for recommending shows based on collecting information during your […]
Peloton’s Leaderboard Patent
Peloton Interactive brings the spin class to your living room. Peloton machines have displays mounted on them that can show a spin instructor while the user is exercising. Part of the experience is that the user can join a spin class with her peers, in real-time. In this […]
The Packages Are Coming!
Amazon recently received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) for RnD purposes. With this approval, Amazon may start testing the UAVs for deliveries at certain authorized locations. Here, we have an Amazon patent US9305280B1 filed way back in 2014 that describes an […]
Autonomous Vehicles can Text and Drive
This recent patent by Lyft, the ride-sharing app, describes a very outgoing autonomous vehicle. The vehicle detects nearby ‘entities’, e.g., people and cars, and will display different messages to the detected entities based on the situation. For example, many of us who use Lyft or Uber have been […]