Photo: Bernard Hermant on Unsplash
A filling with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) named US 20220036119 A1 and attached at the end of the article shows that Ford is planning on giving its customer a way to remain private.
The company says camera improvements have revolutionized new machine vision and consumer applications. But this progress opened the door for malicious applications. The carmaker argues there’s a real need for devices that can help with the discovery of hidden electronics. In today’s markets we have a lot of options. People that expect privacy everywhere can buy all sorts of detectors.
But Ford’s not happy with what is currently available on the market. The American automaker argues today’s devices rely on heat signature, electronic interference, or network connectivity to discover a hidden device. To carry this around means people will have to pack heavier, pay more money and be more tech-savvy.
Ford’s new apparatus will be able to detect the presence of a hidden object, or at least an area that may be likely to include a hidden object. If it does, then it will warn the owner about it. The carmaker believes this will be useful for ridesharing users especially, but the application of its new product can be broader.
In the filling, the carmaker says the device will use infrared band radiation and other invisible portions of the light spectrum, a hot mirror, and a cut filter to detect more than just hidden cameras. The device will be able to sense infrared or near-infrared light also. Moreover, this new product can determine differences in spectral reflectance compared to a threshold or expected value, meaning it can be tweaked for various scenarios.
Ford’s planning to help its customers achieve more privacy, but we can see this being used by companies too as a mean of protection from unwanted surveillance. For now, we have to wait and see how this is going to be used.
But Ford’s not happy with what is currently available on the market. The American automaker argues today’s devices rely on heat signature, electronic interference, or network connectivity to discover a hidden device. To carry this around means people will have to pack heavier, pay more money and be more tech-savvy.
Ford’s new apparatus will be able to detect the presence of a hidden object, or at least an area that may be likely to include a hidden object. If it does, then it will warn the owner about it. The carmaker believes this will be useful for ridesharing users especially, but the application of its new product can be broader.
In the filling, the carmaker says the device will use infrared band radiation and other invisible portions of the light spectrum, a hot mirror, and a cut filter to detect more than just hidden cameras. The device will be able to sense infrared or near-infrared light also. Moreover, this new product can determine differences in spectral reflectance compared to a threshold or expected value, meaning it can be tweaked for various scenarios.
Ford’s planning to help its customers achieve more privacy, but we can see this being used by companies too as a mean of protection from unwanted surveillance. For now, we have to wait and see how this is going to be used.
Google News