MacBlogz - One Stop Apple News - Bridging the Apple Community and Keeping Tabs on the Rumor Mill.

Clever Runners Force Apple to Patent Nike+iPod Sensor and Shoes

In a recently published patent filed by Apple, only authorized garments would work with your Nike+iPod Sport Kit combination. The patent has been set in place to thwart runners and athletes from using non Nike branded garments, or placing the Nike+iPod sensor in other shoes, jackets or garments.

The patent was published in March of 2007 and published last week. It describes a Smart Garment  “that would allow a gadget to authenticate to a specific garment—whether that garment is shoes, pants, or a jacket. When the garment is authenticated, however, unapproved garments would be blocked from being able to use the device,” Ars Technica reports.

The Nike+iPod Sport Kit relies on a sensor (the sensor sends data to your iPod) that is supposed to be placed under the sole of specifically designed Nike shoes. Some clever runners however, have been placing the sensor in unsupported places, like the shoelaces of other (non-Nike) shoes, causing Apple to enforce something similar to DRM.

In order to accommodate the sensor and provide appropriate data to the iPod nano., the shoe must be a Nike+ model with a special pocket in which to place the sensor. However, some people have taken it upon themselves to remove the sensor from the special pocket of the Nike+ shoe and place it at inappropriate locations (shoelaces, for example) or place it on non-Nike+ model shoes.

Apple claims that this new rights management system is meant for preventing thieves or “”a recalcitrant finder” from finding your Nike+ sensor and attempting to use it with unauthorized garments. They write that this would “markedly [reduce] the incentive to steal (or keep) the sensor resulting in vastly improved security than would otherwise be possible.” While it seems plausible, it’s probably more accurate that you’ll lose the little gadget, rather than someone stealing it from you. Of course, if you’re using a pair of brand new Air Jordans, you might be a little more susceptible to being a target. Ars says that “such ’security’ measures could be considered a little excessive.”

Apple’s patent also explains new features in Nike+iPod. One is providing a sensor within the garment itself to let the user know how the status of his garment/shoe is doing.

[I]n many cases, a runner will not notice that a running shoe has been worn down to the point where crucial support (arch support, for example) has eroded thereby increasing the likelihood of injury. In this way, by providing a notification that one or both of the running shoes should be replaced, the runner may be better able to avoid injuries related to outworn equipment,” writes Apple.

Additionally, if GPS were involved, then core location features could be utilized. The device could track location and elevation data to provide more detailed statistics. Or, you can expect to hear a Dollar Menu advertisement as you jog past that neighborhood McDonald’s in the morning.

[via US Patent Filing via Ars Technica via Gizmodo]