Even though we’re now in the age of cellular phones  and mobile devices, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we happen to actually be ‘near’ our phones. Ok if we’re out of the office  at a meeting, at lunch, or going for a walk then there’s a good chance that we’ll have our cell phones with us.

Sometimes, however, we’ll have stepped out of the room for a minute, gone for a quick bite in the cafeteria or in the lounge, and neglected to take our phones with us.

Wearable cell phones that we wear like a watch, haven’t made it to mainstream yet.

So my invention idea for today is quite basic: a cell phone or mobile device that ‘knows’ that you’re not near it. And you don’t have to actually ‘tell’ it that you’re away (like changing it to an ‘away’ or ‘not available’ profile - although that may be the first step),  it will be able to ’sniff or ’sense’ that you’re not near it.

The way this invention would need to work is a combination of sophisticated gadgetry and processing power. The simplest way it might work is using heat sensors to determine if a human body is near it. A more sophisticated (and ’smelly’) and wacky way would be to determine your distinctive body odour and use that to determine if you are near it.

And what happens when it senses that you’re away? Well based on settings you can choose, it could either have a busy signal, take a message, or simply ring silently so as not to waste battery power and annoy other people in the vicinity.

Wacky idea but it may have merit.