Think watching television from home is the perfect alone time? Think again. Verizon
has filed patents for a TV set-top box equipped with cameras, motion
sensors and microphones that would track the movements within a given
room –- similar to that of Xbox's Kinect system.
According to the company's patent application,
the set-top box is a “media content presentation system” that would
select advertisements based on "ambient action" in the room. This may
mean seeing more commercials for singles getaways when you're snuggling
with a loved one.
Systems like this aren't new. In 2008, Comcast
proposed a similar patent that would monitor what was happening in a
room, and highlight specific ads. Google has also proposed plans for a
similar technology.