Google wants to pair your keys with your phone so you never leave home without them

A new Google patent published today describes a system that allows you to pair frequently lost or left-behind items like your wallet or your glasses to be paired with your mobile device.

If the device senses that it’s leaving the house without those devices coming along, it gives the user an alert.

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The mobile device might connect to the paired objects using short-range wireless technologies like “Near Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth, RuBee, frequency identification (RFID), or any other method of wireless communication sensing,” the patent reads.

The user can control the amount of distance between the mobile device and the paired object that must exist before an alarm goes off. They can also control the type of alarm, as well as how often the device checks to see if all paired objects remain nearby.

The patent is interesting because it shows Google trying to differentiate Android products by enabling them to directly address some of the little friction points in everyday life. Features such as these may not use cutting-edge technology, but they could sway a consumer to buy an Android product over an iOS product.

Research courtesy of Mikhail Avady at SmartUp Legal