When developers finally get their $1,500 Project Glass units next year, they’ll be prime targets for envious gadget geeks, spies from rival companies, or anyone looking to make a quick buck. Luckily for them, it looks like Google has come up with an innovative way to keep Glass data secure: motion-based theft detection.

Google today has received a patent for a method that will lock down the Glass unit when it detects “unnatural movements” — for example, somebody slipping off your glasses from behind. Even better, the patent also covers a method that will alert authorities when the Glass units are stolen.

Attendees of Google’s I/O conference were able to buy early Project Glass models for $1,500, though they won’t be receiving them until early 2013. There’s no word on when Glass will make it to a wider audience, or how much it would cost when it does (I’d wager it’ll be well over $500 though).

Here’s the abstract of the patent, USPTO 8,223,024:

A wearable computer determines unnatural movements of a head-mounted display (HMD) and triggers a locking mechanism. In one embodiment, the wearable computer receives movement data from one or more sensors and determines that the movement of the HMD is unnatural. In one embodiment, the wearable computer receives movement data from one or more sensors and determines that the HMD is being worn by an unauthorized user. In response to determining an unnatural movement and/or an unauthorized user wearing the HMD, the wearable computer triggers a locking mechanism, which can beneficially provide security measures for the wearable computer.

Via Engadget; Photo Chris Chabot/Google