Activation of security mechanisms through accelerometer-based dead reckoning

• US 10,096,216 B1
• Filed: 12/16/2014
• Issued: 10/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: McClintock, Jon Arron
• Primary Examiner(s): Aziz, Adnan
• Application Number:
  US14/572,296
• Time in Patent Office: 1,393 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/12 by the breaking or disturbance of stretched cords or wires
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1418 Removal detected by failure in electrical connection between the appliance and a control centre, home control panel or a power supply
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1436 with motion detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1454 Circuit arrangements thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1463 Physical arrangements, e.g. housings devices to prevent theft or loss of purses, luggage or hand carried bags A45C13/18
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2448 Tag with at least dual detection means, e.g. combined inductive and ferromagnetic tags, dual frequencies within a single technology, tampering detection or signalling means on the tag
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0216 Alarm cancellation after generation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/023 Power management, e.g. system sleep and wake up provisions
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0261 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0269 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0272 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect exact location of child or item using triangulation other than GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0277 Communication between units on a local network, e.g. Bluetooth, piconet, zigbee, Wireless Personal Area Networks [WPAN]
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/188 Data fusion; cooperative systems, e.g. voting among different detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/0069 Writing or programming circuits or methods

Abstract

A system and method for activating security mechanisms based at least in part on accelerometer-based dead reckoning wherein accelerometer data, reflecting acceleration in a local coordinate system of a device, is obtained from an accelerometer of a device. Movement of the device is determined based at least in part on the accelerometer data, and, based at least in part on whether the movement of the device exceeds a threshold value, a determination is made whether to change a current security state of the device. If it is determined to change the current security state of the device, the current security state of the device is changed to a new security state.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

obtaining a predetermined route associated with a computing device, the predetermined route comprising a path from one geographic location to another;

obtaining a first set of accelerometer data from an accelerometer of the computing device, the first set of accelerometer data reflecting proper acceleration of the computing device in three directions in a local coordinate system of the computing device at a first time;

determining, based at least in part on the first set of accelerometer data, a first movement of the device using dead reckoning;

obtaining a second set of accelerometer data from the accelerometer of the computing device, the second set of accelerometer data reflecting proper acceleration of the computing device at a second time, and the second time occurring after the first time;

determining, based at least in part on the second set of accelerometer data, a second movement of the computing device using dead reckoning, the second movement being greater than the first movement; and

based at least in part on a difference between the first movement and the second movement indicating a deviation by the computing device from the predetermined route;

selecting a security state from a plurality of security states; and

changing a current security state of the computing device to the security state selected.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the method further comprises;

applying one or more filters to the first set of accelerometer data to obtain first filtered accelerometer data;

applying one or more filters to the second set of accelerometer data to obtain second filtered accelerometer data;

determining the first movement of the computing device is based at least in part on the first filtered accelerometer data; and

determining the second movement of the computing device is based at least in part on the second filtered accelerometer data.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the computing device has an active security profile; and

selecting the security state includes selecting the security state from the plurality of security states based at least in part on the second movement of the computing device exceeding a threshold specified in the active security profile.

4. A system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

memory including instructions that, as a result of execution by the one or more processors, cause the system to;

obtain a predetermined route of a device;

obtain a first set of movement data from a movement-based sensor of the device, the first set of movement data indicating at least proper acceleration of the device in an at least three-dimensional local coordinate system of the device at a first time;

obtain a second set of movement data from the movement-based sensor of the device, the second set of movement data indicating at least proper acceleration of the device at a second time;

determine, based at least in part on a difference between the first set of movement data and the second set of movement data, a movement of the device from a first location to a second location using dead reckoning;

determine, based at least in part on whether the movement indicates a deviation from the predetermined route, to change a current security state of the device; and

change the current security state of the device to a new security state.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the movement-based sensor is an accelerometer.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein:

the memory further includes instructions that cause the system to obtain other data from another sensor of the device; and

the instructions that cause the system to determine to change a current security state of the device further cause the system to determine to change the security state of the device based at least in part on the other data.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein:

the memory further includes instructions that cause the system to obtain other sensor data from a set of other sensors of the device, the other sensor data including data usable by the system to identify an authorized user of the device; and

the instructions that cause the system to determine to change the current security state of the device further cause the system to determine to change the current security state of the device based at least in part on a determination that a user of the device is not identified by the device as the authorized user.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the memory further includes instructions that cause the system to:

obtain other sensor data from a set of other sensors of the device, the set of other sensors of the device including one or more of;

a temperature sensor,

an image sensor,

a photosensor, or

a global positioning system receiver; and

the instructions that cause the system to determine to change the current security state of the device further determine to change the current security state of the device based at least in part on the other sensor data.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein:

the instructions that cause the system to determine to change the current security state of the device include instructions that cause the system to change the current security state of the device in response to a determination that the proper acceleration of the device has exceeded a predetermined threshold.

10. The system of claim 4, wherein the system is the device.

11. The system of claim 4, wherein:

the device is a first device; and

the instructions further include instructions that cause the system to communicate a message from the first device to a second device in response to a determination that the movement of the first device indicates the deviation from the predetermined route, the message indicating a movement and position of the first device.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the message includes information usable at least in part to determine proximity between the first device and the second device, and

communication of the message causes the second device to perform a security action based at least in part on the proximity between the first device and the second device.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the message is a first message; and

the instructions further include instructions that cause the system to, in further response to the determination that the movement of the first device indicates the deviation from the predetermined route, communicate a second message to a third device.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon executable instructions that, as a result of execution by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to at least:

obtain a predetermined route of a device;

obtain first accelerometer data from an accelerometer of the device, the first accelerometer data indicating proper acceleration of the device in an at least three dimensional local coordinate system of the device for a first time;

obtain second accelerometer data from the accelerometer of the device, the second accelerometer data indicating proper acceleration of the device for a second time;

determine, based at least in part on a difference between the first accelerometer data and the second accelerometer data, a movement of the device using dead reckoning; and

based at least in part on the movement of the device deviating from the predetermined route;

determine to change a current security state of the device to a first security state; and

change the current security state of the device to the first security state.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further include instructions that cause the computer system to, based at least in part on the movement of the device adhering to the predetermined route, determine to maintain the current security state of the device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions that cause the computer system to determine to change the security state of the device to the first security state include instructions that cause the computer system to determine to change the security state of the device to the first security state further based at least in part on:

a temperature value obtained from a temperature sensor of the device, or

a current time obtained from a clock of the device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions that cause the computer system to determine to change the security state of the device to the first security state include instructions that cause the computer system to determine to change the security state of the device to the first security state further based at least in part on a software application currently executing on the device.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions that cause the computer system to determine to change the security state of the device to the first security state include instructions that cause the computer system to determine to change the security state of the device to the first security state further based at least in part on a location of the device not corresponding to an expected location of the device.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the change of the current security state of the device to the first security state includes performing a security action, the security action including one or more of:

encrypting persistent storage,

erasing random access memory,

erasing cryptographic keys,

erasing stored credentials,

vibrating, or

emitting an audible alert.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the change of the current security state of the device to the first security state includes adjusting a threshold of a current security profile.