美公司研发智能手机安全气囊

因手机不慎摔落地面而导致屏幕破损的情形有可能成为历史。美国亚马逊公司新近研发了一款针对智能手机等移动设备的安全气囊，在手机跌落过程中便会自动弹出，使其免受摔“伤”之苦。据悉，这款气囊保护技术充分利用智能手机内置的动作感应仪、陀螺仪、相机、加速传感器等各类感应装置，一旦系统认为手机正处于跌落状态，便会立即弹出安全气囊，甚至还有可能喷射空气以改变手机在跌落过程中的运行轨迹。除智能手机外，这款安全气囊技术还可运用于电子阅读器、平板电脑以及相机等设备。目前，这款技术已取得专利，具体应用设备尚在研发当中。

It's a momentary lapse that can cost hundreds. But the cracked screens that result from dropped iPhones could become a thing of the past thanks to an unlikely invention – an airbag for smartphones.

The innovative technology makes use of the motion-sensors that are now built into most smartphones to detect when it has entered an airborne state, so that a mini-airbag can be deployed to cushion its fall.

The idea comes from the burgeoning technology department at Amazon, which won a patent for the protective system this week. As well as mobile phones, the technology could be used on electronic readers, including the online retailer’s own Kindle, as well as computer tablets and cameras.

Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, filed the application for a patent himself. It reads: “Prior to impact between a surface and a device, a determination of a risk of damage to the device is made. If the risk of damage to the device exceeds a threshold, a protection system is activated to reduce or eliminate damage to the device.”

The airbag would draw on data from a mobile phone's built-in gyroscope, camera, accelerometers and other such sensors, according to the patent. Then, if it is determined that the gadget has been dropped, the technology will trigger the release of airbags and could even include air-jets to change its trajectory in mid-air.

While there is no indication of when the protective system will be available, it is clear that there is a large market for it. In the UK alone, tens of millions of pounds are spent on iPhone repairs each year.

Victor Seidel, a lecturer in science entrepreneurship at Oxford University, said: “Jeff Bezos is a man known for going his own way and being successful, but I think the real question is: Has he come up with the idea because he keeps dropping his own phone?”

Mr Seidel said that the technology could put an end to “cumbersome cases”, but expressed concerns about the practicality of its production, adding: “I am not sure the next phone I buy will be fitted with an airbag but we are often surprised by what ideas become successful.”

Ernest Doku, a telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, said: “This sounds like a feature worthy of Bond, codename SOS SMS. But airbags for windbags sounds like a lot of hot air to me. From a logistical point of view, that handset would have to be rather bulky to hide an airbag.”