Amazon has about 500 patents pending. Of course, not all of them will form the basis of products, but Amazon has had some very notable patents -- like one-click shopping and many of the technologies that make up the foundation of cloud computing, now its most profitable business. So we looked at some recent patent issues to get into the head of Bezos -- and see if we could find some clues about the inventions and technologies Amazon might be looking at next. With the help of MCAM, a analytics firm that measures companies intellectual property we looked at a few patents issued over the last month. Some of them could be straight out of Black Mirror, the Netflix series that explores a high-tech near future. And when you look at activity overall, some themes emerge. MCAM analysis reveals that Amazon is ramping up patent activity in video, connected home and AR technologies.

Augmented reality mirror

In December, Amazon was issued patents that include an augmented reality mirror and a "smart" sensor-studded package delivery air vehicle, as well as patents that include technology that would "mute" the Echo's video mode by pixelization for user privacy and detect hacked self driving cars. As Amazon moves deeper into the fashion world, an augmented reality mirror would bring that world into customers' homes. It allows users to try on virtual clothes in a virtual setting, using a system of cameras, mirrors, projectors and lights to project different backgrounds and clothes onto the user. Amazon's Echo Look camera is already halfway there -- letting users take a picture with the help of Amazon's Alexa AI voice assistant, and use that to virtually try on different outfits. The company may be looking for ways to blend the Echo Look technology with its other recent fashion forays, like its own clothing, handbag and shoe labels and its Stitch Fix-like at-home clothing trial service.

Also in December, Amazon filed a patent for technology that would detect hacked self-driving cars. While Amazon has never said they are getting into autonomous driving, the patent could be hugely important for bigger players in this space like Tesla, Alphabet and Uber.

Another notable patent issued in the last month could advance video technology in Amazon's Echo devices. The technology allows users to use video conferencing on their Echo and mute it by blurring or pixelating the video for user privacy. This one suggests that Amazon is thinking of privacy protections as it ramps up video communication.

A strong history of patents