Apple Files Anti-Theft Patent

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
Apple has filed an anti-theft patent that covers a system that can "detect theft-like movement." Say what? Imagine being late for work, you snag your cell phone off the kitchen table and run for the door. TA-DA! Alert! Theft-like movement detected! :rolleyes:

Apple pickers: you've just been put on watch. According to the patent filing, said device would activate an alarm of some form after determining, "whether a theft condition is present." It'll apparently figure that out based on the accelerometer built into many of Apple's mobile devices -- the same thing that figures out which way you're holding your phone. Beyond just the hardware, said theft protection system would work in concert with software to determine if the movement matches a pre-determined "profile characteristic of theft."
 
WARNING, WARNING, your iPhone has detected you are an employee entering a bar! You have been reported. :D
 
I'm waiting for iTicket, the patent for detecting when you are racing someone and/or going over the speed limit. It will automatically notify the proper authorities and a ticket will be mailed to your home. No more being pulled over and delayed by the authorities!

Now that's convenience! :D
 
so whats defined as theft movement and whats normal movement? oh wait apple doesn't know
 
I'm waiting for iTicket, the patent for detecting when you are racing someone and/or going over the speed limit. It will automatically notify the proper authorities and a ticket will be mailed to your home. No more being pulled over and delayed by the authorities!

Now that's convenience! :D


Hahahah that's a good one. I cant imagine how they would detect this so called "theft-like movement". Now with that iTicket, what if you forgot to turn your phone off on a plane? Or a subway? Since Maps has no clue where you are....
 
I'm claiming iSkribbel, iSpendAllMyTimeSleepingInSkribbel'sChair, and iRulztehUrrth. :D

file the patents now, don't forget cats
picture sorta related:
vlfiI.jpg
 
Come on, nothing bad can come of this....like say you go running with your phone so you can listen to music, you are on a treadmill at the gym, you have to run a short distance to catch a train....
 
Come on, nothing bad can come of this....like say you go running with your phone so you can listen to music, you are on a treadmill at the gym, you have to run a short distance to catch a train....

but is it theft if its accidentally left in a bar?
 
Come on, nothing bad can come of this....like say you go running with your phone so you can listen to music, you are on a treadmill at the gym, you have to run a short distance to catch a train....

I doubt running triggers this, most likely a quick upward/sideways jerk.
 
I know you like to make Apple jokes, but I doubt it will interpret you grabbing the phone in your own house as theft.
 
Damn. My phone is locked again. Looks like I'm off to the Apple store to unlock the theft protection for $200 once again. Silly me and moving my phone in an unusual way. At least I know Apple is looking out for my best interests as always!!!
 
this phone will self destruct in 5 seconds.

oops. there goes your phone. and it wasn't stolen either.
 
Has the patent office granted Apple a patent yet for "thing that does stuff"?
 
so whats defined as theft movement and whats normal movement? oh wait apple doesn't know

The problem is they DO know. If any other company tries to get a patent for something that even remotely resembles this (for example, Apple declares rapid unexpected phone movement within the parameters of man-handling as their patent), even if it has nothing to do with theft, they'll be sued. This is just a way to get a patent for accelerometer detection without overriding any existing patents, but enabling them to prevent further ones.
 
WARNING, WARNING, your iPhone has detected you are an employee entering a bar! You have been reported. :D

And what do you think stops an employer from including this functionality to any droid phone for example?
 
Yes you can patent that, you can patent anything. I'm going to patent breathing.

That would infringe on Apple's "thing that does stuff" patent. Be prepared for a cease and desist order regarding your breathing.
 
I know you like to make Apple jokes, but I doubt it will interpret you grabbing the phone in your own house as theft.

the phone would have to know/track where i am....more privacy concerns. course - apple, google, et. al are spying on us and sending every american's live GPS coordinates to the NSA and CIA in real time anyway, that way they can send UAV drones after us when we jaywalk...:rolleyes:

:D:cool:
 
Want to know what Apple is really trying to detect? Movement that would result in jailbreaking.
 
NO no no, here is what you do.

Put a bluetooth pin on or put a special bluetooth card in your pocket. Get too far from it a nice alarm goes off, you can set it to escalate to a nasty alarm and finally disable the device, take evidence etc etc.
 
I guess you'd have to plan ahead with such a terrible GPS Nav app.


Oh snap, I went there.

Blah your cynicism is wasted. It's post-Jobs product. Current hardware / software is going to have a cult status and I'm planning to sell my iPhone4 for megabucks in a few years as it has Jobs era hardware/software. :D
 
It does seem technically possible to categorize theft-related movement. You guys are thinking too small.. with quick movements etc. It is likely closer to credit card theft, the presence of your phone in unusual places dis-normal from your usual patterns and in places that other phones have traveled to that were stolen. Think data mining and machine learning with GPS tracking.

Of course, it could be apple patenting shit that it has no idea how it will do but will be patent trolls on anything someday which it can somehow claim infringes.
 
I'm waiting for iTicket, the patent for detecting when you are racing someone and/or going over the speed limit. It will automatically notify the proper authorities and a ticket will be mailed to your home. No more being pulled over and delayed by the authorities!

Now that's convenience! :D
Or the can send it directly to your iPhone and if you don't pull over and give a voice response within the specified time officers will converge on your position and take appropriate measures.
 
Back
Top