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Apple Patents a Way To Keep People From Filming At Concerts and Movie Theaters (qz.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Apple has patented a system that prohibits smartphone users from taking photos and videos at concerts, movie theaters and other events where people tend to ignore such restrictions. The patent has been award to Apple today and was first spotted by Patently Apple. QZ reports: "It outlines a system which would allow venues to use an infrared emitter to remotely disable the camera function on smartphones. According to the patent, infrared beams could be picked up by the camera, and interpreted by the smartphone as a command to block the user from taking any photos or videos of whatever they're seeing. The patent also outlines ways that infrared blasters could actually improve someone's experience at a venue. For example, the beams could be used to send information to museum-goers by pointing a smartphone camera at a blaster placed next to a piece of art." The report also mentions that the patent could in theory be used to help police limit smartphone filming of acts of brutality, or help a government shut off filming in certain locations. Last week, SlashGear reported that Alicia Keys is the latest musician to ban cellphones at her events.
You're misunderstanding; it won't be a separate sensor, it'll be the camera itself, picking up a pattern transmitted by IR emitters in the area, and interpreted from the cameras' data stream. You'd have to cover the camera itself.
Naturally this would be leveraged and abused by law enforcement all over the world. This is an example of technology that needs to be outlawed. Apple is crossing a line if they actually incorporate this technology into their products, especially if they do not provide an immutable way for the owner of the phone to disable the function.
If concert promoters want to prevent filming or photographing of concerts then they just need to tell people to leave their phones in their cars or at home and confiscate them if they're smuggled in, returning them after the concert.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Use the same tech to rob banks and other places maybe even tolls and red light cams.
I could make a device that discreetly clips onto my jacket or on a cap that sends out the IR signal continuously to stop cameras that are pointed at me.
Or maybe similar devices on my car that sends the signal to stop cameras from recording pictures or video of my car.
I'll become invisible!
B does not solve the problem. Analyzing the video stream for the do-not-film IR signal is non-trivial; it will require CPU cycles (thus, energy) to do this, and that means that this "feature" will make your battery last not as long as it otherwise would when you are using your camera.
This is a real shame, because the actual solution to the problem is people not taking their cameras into the movie theater, or those Yonder things...
This is part of the camera itself, so likely won't use any more battery than the focus, whitebalance, brightness, face detection and other features your camera is already doing with the camera feed.