Google applies for new patent: mobile phone can automatically turn on flight mode when flying.
CTOnews.com, July 12 / PRNewswire-FirstCall-Asianet /-- Google's new patent shows that the company is developing a new flight mode that will make it easier for users to use their phones on airplanes. This mode, called connected Flight Mode (Connected Flight Mode), automatically determines whether you are flying by the sensor on your phone, and then turns off unnecessary wireless signals, leaving Bluetooth and the plane's Wi-Fi on. In this way, you can use a Bluetooth headset or connect to the plane's Wi-Fi network on the plane without having to manually switch the flight mode. Google has patented the technology with the World intellectual property Organization (WIPO).
To prevent the phone's wireless signals from interfering with the plane's navigation system, all wireless connections, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, will be turned off if you turn on flight mode on your phone. But you can turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth respectively after turning on flight mode. But it's also troublesome to do so, and sometimes you may forget to turn flight mode on or off.
Google's "connected flight mode" is designed to solve this problem, which can detect whether you are flying through sensors on your phone, such as accelerometers, barometers, microphones, etc. You can also judge whether you are on the plane by identifying the unique sound on the plane, such as engine noise, altitude warning tone, etc. In addition, you can determine whether you are flying based on other factors, such as travel booking activities, boarding status, etc.
Once the phone detects that you are flying, it will automatically turn on the "connected flight mode". This mode turns off wireless signals on the phone that may interfere with the aircraft's navigation system, such as GPS, cellular networks, etc., but leaves Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals on. In this way, you can use Bluetooth devices on the plane or connect to the Wi-Fi network provided by the plane.
Not only that, "connected Flight Mode" also allows you to enjoy the same high-bandwidth and unlimited traffic services as the ground when you use the Wi-Fi network on the plane. This is because "connected Flight Mode" allows the phone to identify the Wi-Fi network on the plane and adjust the programs that use network resources on the phone according to its actual capacity and quality. For example, when using the Wi-Fi network on the ground, the phone will automatically back up the photos to the cloud, and the phone will do the same in "connected flight mode". But if the Wi-Fi network on the plane is slow or expensive, the phone will suspend the operation to save network resources.
CTOnews.com needs to point out that not all patents will eventually be realized, but it is hoped that the feature will soon become part of Android.
