Apple recently filed a patent at the United States Patent Office that would allow the iPhone to fall on its feet, so to speak. The “Protective Mechanism for an Electronic Device” aims to prevent or limit the damage caused when an electronic device with a processor is dropped.

Reports suggest that the device would need a sensor to detect when the phone is falling, and the phone’s position relative to the ground.

The patent makes mention of GPS and imaging sensors to determine position of the phone and the speed at which it is falling. Equipment like, gyroscopes, accelerometers or position sensors would also constitute part of the design.

The tricky part would be to reposition the device in mid air to make sure it lands as flat as possible, which would cause less damage. The patent muses that this could be achieved by:

the movement of a weighted mass within the device; aeroplane-like foils that extend out from the surface of the device; and a thrust mechanism such as a small gas-propulsion device.

The mechanism is definitely not in the production phase.

Not yet.

[Source: Telegraph]