3.8.19 – CEPro – Steve Karantzoulidis
Is it possible Apple is looking to use Lighthouse AI’s visual authentication, monitoring and depth-sensing patents to create its own surveillance camera?
With Google and Amazon slugging it out for smart security supremacy over the past few years, it was only a matter of time before Apple entered the fray.
According to patent-tracking magazine IAM, Apple acquired the patent portfolio of Lighthouse AI, a failed AI smart security camera start-up, in late 2018.
Lighthouse AI used 3D sensing technology and AI to detect faces and reduce false alarms. The company shut down last December due to a lack of commercial success.
Patents acquired by Apple include:
- 9,965,612: Method and system for visual authentication
- 10,009,554: Method and system for using light emission by a depth-sensing camera to capture video images under low-light conditions
- 20180246964: Speech interface for vision-based monitoring system
- 20180367962: Two-way communication interface for vision-based monitoring system
- 20180374325: Method and system for incident sharing in a monitoring system
While Apple HomeKit and even the Apple Watch integrate with various security products, the company does not sell its own true security product.
If this does signal the beginning of Apple security products, it will be interesting to see what the company’s ecosystem will be like. Apple is notorious for being a pain when it comes to proprietary components.
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Would a potential security solution be Z-Wave-friendly, or would the company create its own IoT protocol? Could you integrate other security products and sensors, or only use ones sold by Apple?
Who knows? Maybe Apple acquired the patents to make its already stellar iPhone cameras even better somehow. I guess only time will tell.
You can learn more about Lighthouse AI (R.I.P.) in the video below.