It knows where you go

It's not an optimal way to track someone, but "if you have multiple receivers out there, like say on a college campus — at a dorm and cafeteria and gym — you could track when that person goes to those different places," says Scott Saponas, a doctoral student in computer science and lead author on the technical report, which appeared Nov. 30 on the University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering website.

Fortunately, the sensor can be turned off or removed between workouts. Saponas declined to speculate on the probability of spying: "Really, the only thing as pure science researchers we address is the capability. We don't know whether somebody would. I'm certainly not an expert on anything related to stalking."

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janet.cromley@latimes.com