Proximity-based authorization

摘要

Methods and apparatuses are disclosed for enabling the response to a command from a wireless terminal to be based at least partially on the presence or absence of other users nearby, and possibly the identity of those users. In the illustrated embodiment, a server maintains an updated list of the locations of fixed and wireless terminals within an area (e.g., an IEEE 802.11 wireless access point's area of coverage, a CDMA base station's cell, etc.). When a user issues a command to his or her wireless terminal, the command is transmitted to the server. The server determines whether there are any other nearby wireless terminals (and inferentially, the users associated with these terminals), and then determines whether the command is authorized in that environment.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
receiving a request from a first communications terminal to execute a command; based on a distance between the first communications terminal and a second communications terminal, authorizing, via a processor, execution of the command to yield a product; based on the distance, encrypting the product to yield an encrypted product; and transmitting the encrypted product to the first communications terminal.