What a load of rubbish. I cannot believe that the BBC are taking this seriously:
BBC article link.
This was slashdotted as a piece of research to be ridiculed weeks ago. In a nutshell, it says that one can intercept the information coming from a runner’s shoe via the Nike iPod Sport Kit and in theory track a user with it. The shoe has an accelerometer and sends data wirelessy to the user’s iPod, with which they can read useful run data.
According to the BBC, “The unique identifier could be tracked up to 20 metres away outdoors and at speeds up to 30 mph.” Er, yes, but I can see someone further than 20 metres away with my own, naked eyes.
Also, “When someone is engaged in a workout with a sensor using a receiver attached to an iPod, a second receiver can detect the sensor transmitting its UID.” Oh my God, someone could know how fast I was running! Oh, wait, I could see that with my eyes too. Oh, and the users of this system tend to share all this data with others around the world via a Nike website.
Apparently, “By concealing a few of the small custom-made receivers in select locations, the researchers showed how it would be possible to track someone’s movements.” Oh come on! If I run a 10km loop and you can only detect me within 20m, how many bloody custom-made receivers are you going to need? Most runners run the same routes week in and week out anyway, making tracking much easier by any other more boring method. How many receivers would you need to cover the whole city? This completely ignores the fact that the only time runners wear their running shoes is when they’re running, so most of the time you’d be tracking me to the cupboard under the stairs, when in fact I am actually rather rarely in there.
“In the worst scenario suggested by the scientists, stalkers could use the tracking data to “engineer” encounters with victims.” What a load of crap. Not only is it late by internet standards, but it has been written without any sign of thinking. Is this the aim, merely to report what others report? If so then please ignore the rubbish that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
