Google to base ads on background noise

Network World reports.

Google was awarded a patent on Tuesday for advertising 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, PC World explains.

The ad could be delivered in the form of a 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 noise picked up during phone conversations.