Apple Inc. could be looking for ways to implement home security features into its products after buying up a number of related patents from a failed artificial intelligence startup called Lighthouse AI Inc.

IAM reported today that Apple acquired the patents sometime last year, but the details have only recently been published in the U.S. Patent and Trademark database.

Lighthouse AI didn’t last long. It launched in May 2017 with $17 million in funding and a so-called “smart security camera” that used deep learning and 3D-sensing technology to detect and monitor activity within a home.

The camera could identify the people in the images it takes and work out whether or not their presence within the home or office was a normal occurrence. The company’s idea was that using AI would allow it to provide more intelligent insights to users via its iOS app.

Unfortunately for Lighthouse AI, the idea of a smart security camera never really took off. In December last year Chief Executive Officer Alex Teichman announced the company was shutting down because it “did not achieve the commercial success we were looking for.” No further reasons were given.

The patents Apple has acquired from Lighthouse are said to relate to technology used for computer-vision security, visual authentication and similar functions. Here’s a full list:

• U.S. Patent No. 9,396,400: “Computer-vision based security system using a depth camera” (as well as two accompanying pending applications for similar technology)
• U.S. Patent No. 9,965,612: “Method and system for visual authentication”
• U.S. Patent No. 10,009,554: “Method and system for using light emission by a depth-sensing camera to capture video images under low-light conditions”
• U.S. Patent Application: “Speech interference for vision-based monitoring system”
• U.S. Patent Application: “Two-way communication interface for vision-based monitoring system”
• U.S. Patent Application: “Method and system for incident sharing in a monitoring system”

It’s not immediately clear how Apple is planning to use these patents. One idea might involve some kind of authentication technology for use with its Face ID security feature. The patents might also fit with Apple’s HomeKit framework, which is used by iOS devices to communicate with smart home appliances.

Most important for Apple is that it can use the patents to grow its services revenue, which is necessary as the company faces up to declining sales of its iconic iPhones and iPads, said Holger Mueller, an analyst with Constellation Research Inc.

“Apple is for looking for any potential revenue, and home security has proven potential,” Mueller said. “Buying the IP from Lighthouse is a welcome change to Apple’s tradition of ‘light’ intellectual property. Now it will be interesting to see how fast Apple can build a product.”

Photo: Lighthouse AI