New smart phone can predict owner's behaviour

A NEW mobile phone which learns people’s daily habits could be used to predict what someone is about to do and judge how close they are to their friends.

The phone may also help track how diseases spread and societies form, says a report in New Scientist magazine.

Current models have a built-in calendar to remind users about special events, but this version is far smarter. It learns about the owner’s life by logging every call and message made and noting when applications like alarm clocks and cameras are used. It can then give advice or send reminders to do things.

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed the system, which logs the ID code of every Bluetooth chip the phone passes, the location of every phone mast it contacts, every person phoned or texted and when applications are used. Data is then stored on a server which uses software to recognise any patterns in behaviour and predict what may happen next.