Finnish scientists have invented a device to make it harder to steal mobile phones and laptops by enabling them to detect changes in their owner's walking style and then freeze to prevent unauthorized use.

    The VTT Technical Research Center of Finland said the device, which is has patented but has yet to sell, could prevent millions of portable appliances being stolen every year.

    "A device is equipped with sensors that measure certain characteristics of the user's gait. When the device is used for the first time, these measurements are saved in its memory," VTT said in a statement.

    The gadget would monitor the user's walking style and check it against the saved information. If the values differ, the user would have to enter a password.

    "Compared with passwords and traditional bio-identification, the new method is simple: confirmation of identity takes place as a background process without any need for user's intervention," the researchers said.

   芬兰科学家最近发明了一种用于手机和笔记本电脑等贵重便携式电子产品的防盗装置。该装置能记住主人的行走姿势，一旦发现有陌生人盗用就会使机器停止工作。

    据路透社10月14日报道，这种防盗装置由芬兰技术研究中心研制成功。该中心指出在一份声明中表明：“这种防盗装置配有可以准确识别使用者步态特征的传感器。当装置第一次被使用时，它所获得的数据就储存在了记忆库里。”该中心指出，每年，有大约数百万件便携式电子产品被盗，而这种防盗装置的出现可以使小型电子产品失窃的局面得到控制。

    研究人员介绍说，一旦发现使用者的步态与原来的不同，防盗装置将会要求使用者输入密码，若密码再发生错误，机器将自动关闭。研究人员指出：“与常见的密码验证和传统的生物验证方式相比较，这种防盗装置使防盗工作变得更加简单：装有防盗装置的机器可以在工作的同时自动识别使用者的身份，而不需要使用者的附加操作。”