A newly granted patent (number 10,617,358) shows that Apple wants the Apple Watch to be provide even more health features — including shark detection. After all, getting bitten by a shark could certainly be detrimental to your health.
Per the info in the patent, an Apple Watch could include a sensing element designed to monitor the user as well as a surrounding environment. In particular, it could include multiple sensors used for interacting with a user that can provide information related to a current physical condition and/or health of the user as well as provide relevant environmental information.
The Apple Watch would be able to determine which properties of the water and/or surrounding environment would be relevant to the user and in particular the health of the user. For example, when the electronic device determines that the user wearing the electronic device has been exposed to at least a threshold amount of water (indicating that, for example, the user/electronic device is submerged or otherwise exposed to a significant body of water as opposed to a lesser amount of water associated with, for example, rain), a sensing element carried by the electronic device and/or associated with the electronic device, can be used to detect properties of the water deemed to be of interest.
The detection of the specific property (or properties) can, in turn, be used to notify the user that participating in the anticipated activity may have an adverse impact on the user’s current health or enjoyment and action should be taken. For example, if there are dangerous chemicals or pathogens in the water, the Apple Watch could alert the wearer
What’s more, the notification system could warn a user that is swimmingin dangerous conditions such as rip tides or that dangerous predators such as sharks are in the area. The Apple Watch would be able to tell the difference between salt and fresh water, as well as if the wear’s body is submerged in water or merely, for instance, out in the rain.
Here’s the summary of the invention: “A wearable consumer electronic product includes at least a housing arranged to carry operational components comprising a processor and a band having a pliable band body and a securing means arranged to secure the band body to the housing.
“In one embodiment, the pliable band body has a size and shape suitable for wrapping around an individual appendage and that includes an opening that leads to a cavity within the band body suitable for accumulating an amount of water and a band sensor embedded within the band body in communication with the cavity.”
