Ever hear of “shoulder surfing”? It’s an apt name for a technique that can be used to swipe information: The perpetrator obtains personal identification numbers, passwords or other confidential data by looking over the victim’s shoulder, watching as keystrokes are input on a device. It can happen in a variety of public settings — just think about the last time you used your laptop in an airport, a café or another spot where eavesdroppers might have gotten close enough to observe what you were doing.
The VL53L5CP FlightSense multi-zone ToF sensor provides human presence detection that can curb “shoulder surfing.” Source: STMicroelectronicsThere are several best practices that can curb would-be shoulder surfers, including the use of strong passwords, privacy screens and plain old “don’t do that in public” rules one can set for themselves. Add to those lower-tech techniques a new multi-zone sensor specifically designed for the PC market from semiconductor technology developer STMicroelectronics. Using the company’s FlightSense technology, the sensors can recognize gestures, detect human presence and provide intruder alerts for enhanced security.
The VL53L5CP works by continuously scanning a field of view to map the scene and gather intelligence. Yet the sensors involved do not use a camera or record images. Instead, they use time-of-flight (ToF) technology: an emitter sends photons that get reflected by a target, then detected by a receiver. The time between emission and reception provides a highly accurate picture of target distance.
This non-vision-based design eliminates privacy concerns associated with the use of images, and it removes dependence on webcam shutter position. Because it uses a 940 nm VCSEL infrared light emitter, it also performs in dark and low-light conditions — unlike cameras that depend on power-hungry LEDs.
The VL53L5CP can detect multiple targets in 64 (8×8) zones within a 61-degree field of view. Multi-human detection (MHD) senses other people in the field of view and analyzes their position and movements to assess security risks, alerting the user as appropriate.
Now being embedded in select Lenovo PCs, the solution is packaged with ST’s proprietary third generation of algorithms, Presence Premium PLUS, to offer a turnkey solution that has been certified by Intel. PC designers can use the software to develop custom artificial intelligence applications in Windows, and dynamic programming allows end users to personalize select parameters.
