China to Install World's Largest Security Network with 500,000 Cameras

Chongqing in southwest China plans to build a $2.6 billion security system with 500,000 surveillance cameras -- the world's largest security network -- by 2012.

The Xinjiang region already has a network of 40,000 security cameras that was installed last year.

The new network will watch over 30 million people and will be used for crime prevention and emergency response.

China has increasingly started to embrace high-tech security measures. For the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the government employed facial recognition technology.

Company Introduces Mini Radar/Surveillance System

Mantissa Ltd. has developed a mini radar sensor, the MSHRS-300X, which measures precise range and range rate for every pixel on the scene along with course angle. For every detected target, fully reliable
parameters of range, velocity, angle and course of movement are calculated for transfer to a command and control center. A unique Micro-Doppler processor further analyzes suspicious targets and determines whether the target is human or nonhuman.

Weighing 1 pound and measuring about the size of a personal camera, the system combines high-frequency millimeter wave technology with software that enable the radar to function in day and night, as well as all weather conditions, to identify threats with great precision.

The miniature sensor is suitable for critical infrastures, urban security and borders.

The system can identify vehicles from a distance of up to 650 yards and can distinguish people from animals at 325 yards.

Converting 2-D Photos into 3-D Faces for Security Applications

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University were able to construct a 3-D face from 2-D images. The discovery could be used for biometrics in security applications or in forensic investigations.

A computer algorithm analyzes the viewing angle and illumination of a face in an image and generates a 3-D view of the face based on the results.


National Internet ID Cards to Come?

National Internet ID cards -- much like driver's licenses -- are being proposed by the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. Propoents say this is an attempt to enhance online security and privacy, while opponents fear privacy concerns.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is quick to say this is not a national ID card.

"We are not talking about a government-controlled system," he told CNET. "What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy, and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities."

In the proposal, private online retailers would offer customers an account they could use for multiple -- or even all -- vendors, eliminating the need to remember numerous usernames and passwords.

Verizon, Google, PayPal, Symantec and AT&T are some retailers that support this measure.

But is this a convenience or a privacy nightmare?

Researchers Develop New Model to Assess Urban Water Security

University of Adelaide water engineering researchers have developed a model to estimate potential urban water supply shortfalls under a range of climate change scenarios.

The model should help water supply managers plan for future water security despite the uncertainty surrounding the impacts of climate change.

"Urban water supply is closely linked with climate variables, so climate change is expected to have a major impact on urban water security," said PhD candidate Fiona Paton. "Rainfall is obviously particularly important in determining water supply, but there is considerable uncertainty about how rainfall patterns will be affected by climate change."

The researchers have developed a method to incorporate rainfall projections under a range of possible climate change scenarios into an urban water supply model. The model makes use of multiple probability-based daily rainfall sequences combined with historical rainfall data.

"Water supply managers are struggling to revise future water plans as they seek to take into account the likely impacts of climate change on future water security," Paton said. "This is made more difficult by lack of agreement surrounding various global climate models and emissions scenarios, as well as the need to balance various conflicting objectives of water supply system planning.

"We hope this model will help water managers estimate some of the climate change effects on supply security."

In the paper "Sensitivity of Estimated Urban Water Supply Security based on Various Global Circulation Models and Emission Scenarios," the researchers applied their new approach to Adelaide's Southern water supply system to the year 2100 in a case study including alternative water sources. This research won best paper award at the recent Engineers Australia's "Practical Responses to Climate Change" conference.

The future Adelaide supply system includes reservoirs fed from catchments, water pumped from the River Murray, household rainwater tanks, stormwater reuse schemes and the desalination plant.

The researchers, who are all part of the eWater CRC, said that recent moves towards diversification of water sources and demand management were commendable but there was a need for a more rigorous scientific approach as climate change further threatens supplies.