Sony seeks US patent for hi-tech 'SmartWig' hairpieces

Sony, which popularised portable music players with the Walkman, is seeking a US patent for "SmartWig" hairpieces that could help navigate roads, check blood pressure or flip through slides in a presentation.

The wig would communicate wirelessly with another device and include tactile feedback, Sony said in a filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Depending on the model, the hairpiece might include a camera, laser pointer or global positioning system sensor, it said.

The development of wearable technology such as eyeglasses, watches and earpieces is expanding as consumers seek new ways to integrate computers into everyday life. The race to gain a foothold in a market that Juniper Research estimates will jump about 14-fold in five years to US$19 billion is luring companies including Sony, Google and Samsung Electronics.

"It is an object to provide an improved wearable computing device," Sony said in the patent application. "At least one sensor, the processing unit and the communication interface are arranged in the wig and at least partly covered by the wig in order to be visually hidden during use."

The device was invented by Hiroaki Tobita, who works at Sony Computer Science Laboratories, and the application was made on May 10.

"It has not been decided whether to commercialise the technology or not," Sony spokeswoman Saori Takahashi said. "The research process is continuing."