Google Patents Technology to Serve Ads Based on Background Noise

From PC World: A new Google patent could enable the search giant to base advertising on background noise during phone conversations, although the scope of the patent is much broader.

Google was awarded a patent Tuesday for advertising based on based on "environmental conditions," as the search giant calls it in the patent documents. Advertising can be served on the basis of a sensor that detects temperature, humidity, sound, light or air composition near a device, and ads are served accordingly.

This could mean that if the Google technology detects the sound of the sea, advertisements for beach balls and towels could be served. The ad could be delivered in the form of text image or video, sent to the users' device after detecting the environmental conditions. Google plans to connect those conditions with keywords that advertisers can buy.

The patented technology is meant for personal computers, digital billboards, digital kiosks, vending machines and mobile phones. This raises the question whether Google is planning to serve ads based on background noises picked up during phone conversations.

"On the face of it, it can certainly do that", said Peggy Salz, chief analyst and founder of MobileGroove, a company specialized in mobile search and advertising technologies. "But so could Shazam," she added, referring to an app that listens to music being played and matches the sound with a database of songs.

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