

We’ve all heard the phrase “Big Brother is watching,” made famous in George Orwell’s book “1984.” We also know that malware can take control of your laptop’s camera and take photos or videos of you, which is why we have those little slide covers to block the lens. But there’s another way for your laptop to sense your presence or absence, even with the camera lens blocked.





Image: Martin Rowe





The other day, a press release came across my desk touting how a proximity sensor is now used in laptops. The release stated:



STMicroelectronics has announced its user presence detection solution where the output from ST’s FlightSense Time-of-Flight (ToF) ranging sensor is used by Intel Context Sensing to offer a breakthrough approach to PC data security while reducing power consumption and improving the user experience.



ST’s FlightSense ToF sensor, hidden behind a cover glass in the bezel of a laptop, monitors the user’s presence in front of their PC. When the user leaves, the ToF sensor detects their absence and immediately locks the system and directs it into the Windows Modern-Stand-by low-power state, improving security and reducing power consumption.





While the release does not mention a specific part, it seems apparent. All signs point to STMicroelectronics’ third-generation FlightSense part, the VL531X, which can detect objects and people at a range to 4 meters.

VL53L1X

Image: STMicroelectronics

Announced in March 2018, the VL53L1X offers a range improvement over its predecessor, the VL53L0X, announced in 2016. Its datasheet describes applications such as service robots, drones, smart buildings, and lighting. The sensor could help robots detect objects, and buildings could detect movement, which could improve how lights are controlled. Such sensors could also be used in the event of break-ins to detect movement.



The datasheet mentions “user detection” as an application. While reducing power consumption and increasing security in laptops and buildings are desirable, I can’t help but wonder if there aren’t unintended applications. Have you ever worked for someone who, if you were not seen working, assumed that you were not working? I have. It’s no fun. Granted, engineers and other professionals are more likely to be judged on what they produce as opposed to the time they put in.



I can imagine that in some jobs — say, at call centers, factories, distribution centers, and others where management could monitor their employees’ actual work time. Carried further, might companies begin paying employees by the minutes that they spend at their computers or stations rather than by the passing of the clock? Could these sensors be designed into other devices that monitor the time that an assembly employee is at his or her workstation? The possibilities are endless.



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