If It's Broken, Fix It

Just caught this article (via @abc7newsBayArea) that surveillance cameras on more than half of MUNI buses were broken or only "partially operational" as of September 2009.

According to documents that the ABC I-Team received, 22 percent of buses and light rail had no working cameras on board, while 30 percent were listed as only "partially operational."

Yes, MUNI is facing a $129 million deficit heading into the new fiscal year that began July 1, much to do with the many fare cheats costing it $19 million annually, but the buses must have working cameras in order to deal with the violence and fights that break out, like this one on the 20-Columbus. It's obvious just having an empty, inoperable box in buses is just not doing the trick these days.

SFO Receives $5 Million in New Funding for CCTV Equipment

SFO travelers may see some additional surveillance equipment as they make their ways from curbside to board their flights this holiday season.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), last week announced SFO will receive $5 million in additional funding to enhance its existing closed circuit television (CCTV) system to help in 'providing a high level of threat detection and enhancing emergency response and risk mitigation.'

SFO is only one of many airports to receive funding from a $241 million TSA program, which is based on airports' 'critical need to increase operational efficiency, their readiness to begin and complete the project, and the airport's ability to cost share, to use their own funds along with what we provide,' according to TSA spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino.

In addition to SFO, John Wayne Airport, in Orange County will receive $8.8 million for a new baggage system and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is in line to get $6 million to fund a similar system to that planned at SFO.

As I've written before, with political obstacles and the budgetary limitations that frequently deter airport security initiatives, it's great to see these projects taking shape.

Not sure how long roll-out will take, but something to watch out for with the holiday travel season fast approaching. Santa Claus won't be the only one with his eye out.

"As of right now there is no arrest and no anticipated arrest"

Here's a tragic story hitting headlines everywhere -- however, no stories I've found have seriously discussed the surveillance technology at play nor the length of time this investigation has taken.

Late last week, a Yale pharmacology grad student's body was found hidden in a wall in the basement of a Yale medical research building after she had been missing for almost a week.

However, due to the access control restrictions on the building, investigating officers believe this not to be a random act, but rather one committed by someone in the Yale community. Yale University President Richard Levin was quoted on Monday as saying, "We know everyone that was in the basement. There were limited number of people in the basement and we passed that on to police. There is an abundance of evidence."

And as CNN has reported, security cameras registered Le entering the building, but after searching hours of surveillance tapes, had been unable to find images of her leaving the building. The NY Daily News even reported that more than 100 FBI investigators and three police departments spent over six days pouring through building blueprints and surveillance footage -- and even used bloodhounds to search the building. Six days is a long time.

What does this tragic event teach us? While we await the murder details (expected to be revealed today), the value of using analytics and more sophisticated surveillance tools to search and comb through footage may have reduced the time needed to come to the conclusions we reached in seven days to maybe only a couple of hours. While even the tightest access control restrictions and clearest surveillance cameras cannot prevent a human from taking another's life, technology has the ability to hasten investigations and also equips security personnel with the eyes and ears needed when the human equivalent is not an option.

Using a variety of facial recognition, color tracking and other analytics, we may have been able to identify the student upon entering the building and followed her whenever she appeared on camera. We also could have also identified each person's face that entered and exited the building that evening, as well as tracked articles of clothing by color. We might not have an answer for the cause of such a brutal and senseless attack, but we do know that more stringent access control and surveillance technology may have helped in the investigation process.

Sitting Down with Rob Jenkins

I recently connected with Rob Jenkins, a lecturer at the University at Glasgow and leading authority of facial recognition technology in the UK, to pick his brain about different topics in facial recognition, namely airport security, the future of biometric technology and privacy/related concerns.

Rob had some very insightful, innovative answers to my questions, and I'm excited to share them with the growing IHF readership. Going forward, I'm hoping to have other thought leaders and readers contribute content and commentary to this blog, as I'd like to make this more of a forum for biometric, facial recognition and other technology discussions rather than a one-sided conversation. Feel free to make comments on any of the responses or questions, and I will be sure to address them!

Also, check out Rob's departmental Web site for selected publications on gaze perception and other facial identification topics. Very interesting stuff.

In response to Manchester Airport lowering their matching thresholds, The Telegraph quoted you saying that lowering the passport match level to 30 percent would make the system almost worthless. Another perspective is that the previous levels were causing horrendous queues and customer dissatisfaction. Is there a middle ground here?

There is certainly a middle ground in the sense that we can choose where to strike a balance between rejecting genuine matches and accepting false matches. But reducing either type of error generally increases the other, so it’s a trade-off. There is no ‘sweet spot’ where both types of error are reined in.

Despite the advanced nature of this technology, do you believe that there should still be a human element involved in security checks? If so, do you believe we will ever reach a point where this will no longer be necessary?

The main problem with referring the difficult cases to humans is that humans cannot do the task reliably either - even if we’re trained and experienced. Humans are fantastic at matching familiar faces, but our performance with unfamiliar faces is very poor. If we can somehow incorporate the benefits of familiarity into the technology, then it could be transformed.

Facial recognition technologies are popping up all over -- club entrances, bathroom faucets, online photo services, using cameras in lieu of passwords to access computers -- have they hit the tipping point? Is it only time before we use the technology to unlock our front doors and open our car trunks? What trajectory do you see it taking? Staying in security-based deployments, infiltrating everyday life or a balance between the two?

To some extent I think a tipping point is being ushered in, mostly by people who have something to sell. And it is an idea that some sectors are keen to buy into. So in that sense there is a lot of good will wishing the technology to work. I don’t find the gadget market especially troubling, provided that errors are of relatively little consequence. The real danger is in rushing to large-scale security deployments. For applications such as passport control or forensic face recognition the stakes can be much higher, and we know that the available technology is not yet up to the task.

In the same vein, has facial recognition reached a point where accuracy and reliability now line up with the media's expectations?

In my experience, identification errors tend not to go down well with the public. I often ask audiences how often they would be prepared to be the subject of a misidentification. The answers are in the order of once a decade, even when the imagined consequences are minor. That’s a tall order, given the number of identity checks that some proposals entail. It comes as something of a shock when these demands are compared against current capability. As far as media expectations are concerned, I think there has been a change in tone. Traditionally, the emphasis has been on the implications face recognition for privacy, with the unspoken assumption that it is reliable. These days there is more of an awareness that the technology simply is being phased in, whether it works or not. That changes the focus of the debate.

The "Big Brother" argument -- that citizens are losing their individual privacy rights due to increased public security efforts -- is always present in a discussion about surveillance. Is there a point at which facial recognition and biometric technology infringe on personal freedoms and the right to privacy? Is blurring faces enough? Are there places where surveillance should not be allowed?

I don’t think facial recognition and biometric technology necessarily infringe on privacy. It is certainly possible to imagine applications where privacy concerns don’t arise. However, for the security and surveillance applications that have been at the forefront of public discussion, the tension with privacy is fundamental. The whole purpose of identifying someone is to connect them with some other information, and the nature of that information is a major issue. We can think of face recognition as a key to identity. But focusing on the key tends to distract us from other questions, like What’s behind the lock? As more and more information is stored behind the lock, the reliability of the key becomes increasingly important. As does the question of who has access to the key.

The practice of blurring or pixellating faces to protect identity (as in Google Streetview) is often poorly informed. Although such manipulations can make it more difficult for observers to identify people, this is only the case when the observer is unfamiliar with the faces concerned. When the observer is familiar with the face, blurring or pixellating the image does surprisingly little to impede identification.

People have very different ideas about where surveillance should be allowed, and which places should be out of bounds. I don’t really foresee any wide agreement on the extent of coverage that is desirable or acceptable. The general trend is for rapid expansion, especially in the US and the UK, but my impression is that this trend is not driven by public demand.

The UK has over 4 million cameras -- that's one for every 14 people in the country and 200,000 in London alone. Chicago is working to improve its 'Virtual Shield' and include the entire metropolitan area in its surveillance grid to cut down crime. Yet, criminals still often get away with murder -- literally. Are expectations set too high? Are surveillance grids more of a scare tactic in preventing crime from happening rather than proactive in catching criminals in the act?

It has been known for some time that the unprecedented CCTV coverage in the UK has had little or no effect on crime rates. A recent Home Office report revealed that only 3% of crimes were solved using CCTV footage, and suggests that simple improvements to street lighting would be more effective. Part of the problem is that it is unrealistic for police to monitor CCTV footage on the scale that it is produced. But more importantly, little thought has gone into the use of CCTV evidence in court. It has only recently become clear how poor humans are at matching unfamiliar faces, even when the images are far higher quality than could be obtained from CCTV. We’ve already looked at machine performance in this context. Establishing a match that will stand up in court is very difficult indeed.

The deterrent argument is interesting because the figures imply little or no deterrent value in CCTV. The standard explanation for this is that people assume the cameras are not working, which is a reasonable inference to make if they are not reducing crime. However, I wonder if there is also a paradoxical effect of increasing coverage. After all, the more cameras there are, the less likely it is that any particular camera is being monitored.

London Watching

With 4.2 million CCTV cameras currently in operation in the UK -- that's one for every 14 residents -- what's a couple thousand more?

Recent news out of the UK (via @Steve_Hunt and @kasrar) is that within months a national grid of cameras will be able to automatically read and record license plate numbers. Thousands of cameras are already operating in the UK, and soon enough that ANPR metadata will be shared and available to England, Wales and Scotland via one central computer.

With cameras scanning over 10 million plates daily, it won't matter whether you're driving a stolen vehicle or your mom's Volvo -- the plate number will be logged and stored for two years.

Not surprising that the new implementation is drawing red flags from folks concerned about the lack of regulation and personal information protection -- and for good reason! Even if the technology is intended for criminals rather than law-abiding citizens (police have already seen a 40% increase in arrests!) the public have the right to ensure that personal privacy rights are not infringed upon and that proper regulation of information is enforced.

Many details are still to be worked out, such as a regulatory code for the grid -- the system is far from flawless in nature -- but it looks like the UK is well on its way to effectively utilizing CCTV to cut down on crimes. Let's hope they use it for tracking down criminals and stolen vehicles rather than stopping red-light runners and other minor traffic offenses. We already have enough of that in the US.

IHF Roundup: Facial Recognition Infiltrates Household Items, Facial Scanners Find the Bar Scene & Other Top Headlines This Week

Been a busy week of travel for me -- great chance to get caught up on the news of the world. Seems that every week, new ideas are being brought to the table in terms of where surveillance systems are being deployed and for what reasons -- Korea's most recent biometric initiative, for example. Take a look at other stories from around the world!

Facial recognition technologies are continuing to take online photo programs by storm. Announced this week, Flickr users can now import their photos to Polar Rose. This Swedish start-up identifies individual faces and names show up next to faces in the photos once the user has identified the faces based on the matching of 3D models. Yes, Google Picasa and Apple's iPhoto already do something similar to this, but Flickr's version of this technique demonstrates the depth of the technology's infiltration into popular culture and its growing momentum. Plus, these new improvements will save hours of time individually marking faces to names. I'm thrilled that Facebook might be next to jump onboard with Faces.com (still in alpha)!

Facial recognition isn't only on your computer, but also in your bathroom. Introduced this week, the SmartFaucet is capable of facial recognition to enable tempered water to avoid scalding hot temperatures -- and even enable users to access email, see weather predictions and update calendar events -- all while washing your hands! Although, I'm not quite sure wet skin and electronics mix?

And from faucet to front row at your favorite club, a Melbourne nightclub recently hit headlines with its new facial recognition deployment, the world's first nightclub installation. With Chasers nightclub already equipped with metal detectors, this new software is meant to fight violence common at the venue and keep out troublemakers. According to the article, "patrons' faces are scanned by a camera and the image and driver's license details are stored on a computer for 28 days." Also, police have access to the biometric data should an incident occur -- interesting collaboration between public and private institutions to keep the drinks flowing and glass un-shattered. I like it.

As I wrote yesterday, airports are well on their way to creating a common security system across the entire US aviation community -- and Singaporean IT is jumping onboard as well. While currently operating five individuals databases, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will be creating the 'Bio-Hub' to integrate all facial and fingerprint images for Singaporeans, permanent residents and foreigners. Plans are also in the works, "to introduce a non-intrusive facial capture system at checkpoints, to deter imposters from finding their way into the country." Interesting initiative. Be interested to see if any other countries lobby for similar projects.

IHF Roundup: Airports Ponder Universal Access Control, Researchers Design 'Wearable' Robots & Other Top Headlines This Week

Here's a quick rundown of the headlines that caught my eye this week (click on the links to check out the articles in full):

Airport credentials: What's going to happen?
SecureIDNews
Zack Martin

• How airports identify employees has been a concern since 9/11 and other incidents have shown that there are potential security vulnerabilities. The Transportation Security Administration is working on a specification for airport access control systems that would use biometrics and smart cards. The specification calls for an interoperable credential that could be read at airports throughout the country.
• The incident pointed to most often when it comes to better securing credentials at airports is an incident at O’Hare International Airport in 2007. In that case, 23 employees from a staff-outsourcing firm were using ID cards from employees who had quit.
  
• There are already a number of different projects running -- The TSA has the Airport Credential Interoperability Specification (ACIS) and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) created the Biometric Airport Security Identification Consortium (BASIC). The AAAE is working with the TSA on its efforts. Too many acronyms if you ask me.

Wearable bot said to make you stronger
CNET (Crave Blog)
Leslie Katz

• Through a sensor attached to the skin, "HAL" (Hybrid Assistive Limb) captures faint biosignals on the skin's surface that result from messages sent from the brain to muscles when a person attempts to move. A computer analyzes how much power the wearer intends to generate, then calculates the amount of torque needed to put limbs into action.
• Especially noteworthy here is that the suit responds to intended motion, rather than actual motion.
• "HAL" is currently being used by people in Japan with weakened muscles and disabilities related to strokes and/or spinal cord injuries. It's also expected to report for heavy-labor duty support at factories, as well as rescue support at disaster sites.
• Do they come in different colors and/or patterns?

Noise from our ears a basis for biometrics
ZDNet
Chris Jablonski

• The concept is based on otoacoustic emissions (OAE), which are sounds emitted by the mammalian inner ear in response to an audio stimulation.
• According to the researchers, OAEs offer some unique opportunities when applied as a biometric system. For one, it can be embodied as a telephone handset or headphones, which is something everyone is familiar with. And secondly, it can be employed in a challenge-response dialogue.
• However, watch out for waxy build-up and BAC level after a night out on the town -- with both, emissions are deadened. Also, different drugs alter the amplitude of OAEs.
  

How Kiva Robots Help Zappos and Walgreens
BusinessWeek
Jessie Scanlon

• Robots have been around a long time, but what's interesting about Kiva, which has four patents, with another 14 pending, is the way in which Kiva Founder and CEO Mick Mountz's team has integrated three technologies: WiFi, digital cameras, and low-cost servers capable of parallel processing.
  
• The servers work in real-time, receiving orders, immediately dispatching robots to bring the required pods to the worker fulfilling the order, and then returning the pods to their storage locations. The robots receive their orders wirelessly, while using cameras to read navigational barcode stickers on the warehouse floor.
• Roughly 20% of the 8,000 commercial U.S. warehouses are automated, including Walgreens and Zappos, meaning that after workers pull goods off of the shelves, they are put on conveyer belts, carousels, and/or other automatic sorting systems that move the products through the warehouse more efficiently.

Alaska introduces bill protecting citizens’ biometric data
ThirdFactor

• Alaskan state senator, Bill Wielechowski, has introduced a bill to the state congress that intends to protect Alaskan citizens from having their biometric information collected or used without their knowing and consent.
• The congressman’s hope is that the bill will assuage fears over the misuse of biometric information such as potential employers using DNA samples to determine one’s tendency towards certain ailments or the tracking of citizens via facial recognition and video surveillance.

Cameras, sensors spark government surveillance debate
Democrat & Chronicle
Brian Sharp

• The Rochester (NY) Police Department's reliance on data-crunching computers and license-plate reading scanners triggered a backlash this week from a citizens group called Activists Against Racism Movement.
• In a statement to the media, the group labeled the targeted enforcement a "dragnet" and "absolutely racist in nature," predicting that it will predominately snare minorities for minor offenses.
• Doubt remains about whether the technology actually prevents crime, or just relocates it. People do tend to feel safer, experts say. Witnesses are more likely to cooperate with police if they think a camera also caught the action, and so property crime declines, but research has yet to document a corresponding drop in violent crime.

Plus, don't forget to scroll down and check out 3VR's anouncement around our technology's performance in recent South Korea NPA/SK Networks facial recognition technology testing. More details coming soon.

South Korean Study Delivers a Face Rec First (90%+ Accuracy Using Surveillance Video)

Those following the South Korean government’s most recent biometric initiative know it to be one of the most ambitious facial recognition testing and deployment projects ever conceived. The project, in its various phases, has been featured quite extensively on Korean television here and here.

Under the project, the Korean National Police (NPA) sought to deploy facial recognition technology against Seoul’s plentiful video surveillance cameras, both to generate alerts to the presence of targeted individuals, as well as provide a mechanism to quickly search city surveillance archives for persons identified after the fact.

Though the NPA has been quite public on its facial recognition project in general, details regarding the specific technologies and testing results have been closely guarded. However, today after much anticipation, the NPA has finally made its initial findings public. According to the NPA and SK Networks spokesmen, 3VR's facial recognition platform demonstrated the highest percentage of accuracy of any of the eight tested technologies in trials run by the NPA and its testing partner, South Korea's IT giant SK Networks.

Indeed the results, at around 90% accuracy, would seem far better than those achieved in any previous public video facial recognition study. After a grueling multi-year testing process, in 3VR SmartRecorders and SmartCams provided between 85 percent and 92 percent accuracy in recognizing and matching faces in a few crowded, highly-trafficked public train stations in Seoul. In each case, the images analyzed were of fast-moving groups of commuters entering or exiting various transit areas en masse.

Said Sung-Ho Kong of SK Networks:

“In 2008, we performed a live, uncontrolled test of 3VR's facial recognition technology in Seoul subway stations, where the solution was an impressive 85-92 percent accurate, depending on conditions. No other solution approached this level of accuracy, vastly improving our ability to track, find and thwart crime in subways and other highly populated areas, which had previously proven extremely difficult to monitor.”

To better appreciate just how impressive the NPA’s results are, we need to compare them to the best previous facial recognition study. In 2006-2007, a similar facial recognition-use case was evaluated by the German Federal Police. After months of testing in a German subway with lighting and traffic much more controlled than in South Korea, a mediocre 60 percent accuracy rating was achieved.

The improvements in accuracy afforded by 3VR are the result of a unique approach to video facial recognition. While most face rec vendors offer technologies optimized for the comparison of flat, normally lit, passport-style photos, only 3VR's software was built from the ground up to address many of the unique challenges presented by real-time surveillance video.

According to Tim Frederick, director of engineering at 3VR:

“This study demonstrates the breakthrough power of 3VR’s patented facial surveillance technology. Unlike other attempts at high-volume face surveillance, which re-purposed still-image face recognition algorithms, the South Korean study benefited from 3VR’s end-to-end video analysis system, specifically designed for this type of demanding video application.”

Expect more details from 3VR and the NPA shortly, but in the meantime, please check out SDN's Rhianna Daniels' feature story on the announcement, as well as a quick diagram of how the technology works and even some up-close and personal screen grabs of the UI.

UPDATE June 22, 2009:

Here is a translation of the South Korean National Police's Phase 1 testing results:

Daily Headline Update: April 13, 2009

Starting today, I'll be posting the latest news updates a few times per week in order to make sure everything I report here is as timely as possible. Nothing too detailed, just a few highlights on anything I find fascinating -- anything from surveillance and physical security to robotics and UAV news. Let me know what you think!

DMV Announces New Secure Driver License and Identification Card System
Hoy En Delaware
April 13, 2009

• The Delaware DMV is in the process of implementing a new secure driver license and identification card system. Similar to initiatives in California and Indiana, the DMV hopes to implement a new system that will increase the security process by which the DMV issues driver's licenses.
• According to the article, the new system will employ enhanced facial recognition technology in order to protect Delaware residents from identity theft. In doing so, the system will compare the applicant’s current photograph with the division’s entire photograph database to ensure the applicant does not have a driver license/ID card in another name and to ensure the individual is not trying to commit identity theft.
  

The hidden features in Apple's latest iPhoto update
ComputerWorld
April 10, 2009
Ryan Faas

• Last week, Apple announced more "overall stability" and fixes for "minor issues in a number of areas, including Faces, Places, photo sharing, and slideshows."
• Specific areas include the ability to tell iPhoto to rescan pictures and detect missing faces, recognize manually added faces by drawing a box around a person's face and tagging them when Faces doesn't recognize them. Tagging misidentified people allows users to simply click once or twice on each photo to indicate whether Faces' guesses are correctly identified and also trains iPhoto to recognize the person going forward.
  

Cameras, sensors spark government surveillance debate
Democrat & Chronicle
April 10, 2009
Brian Sharp

• Locally, the Rochester Police Department's reliance on data-crunching computers and license-plate reading scanners triggered a backlash this week from a citizens group called Activists Against Racism Movement.
• In a statement to the media, the group labeled the targeted enforcement a "dragnet" and "absolutely racist in nature," predicting that it will predominately snare minorities for minor offenses.
• Doubt remains about whether the technology actually prevents crime, or just relocates it. People do tend to feel safer, experts say. Witnesses are more likely to cooperate with police if they think a camera also caught the action, and so property crime declines, but research has yet to document a corresponding drop in violent crime.
  

IHF Roundup: Robots Hitting the Crop Fields, Airport Facial Scanners Slowing Security Lines & Other Top Headlines This Week

Phewf! Finally catching my breath after the whirlwind of ISC West and sitting down to read all the headlines that hit this week.

Lots in the research fields -- literally, fields -- in the news this week. I actually wrote about this robotic work a few weeks back, but the AP reported more on MIT's work with robots that can water, harvest and pollinate cherry tomato plants. According to the article, each plant is connected to both a robot and computer network to enable sensors that know when it is time to water the plant, pick the ripe fruit, or need fertilizer. This is the first big initiative I've heard about using robots for agricultural purposes, and while its currently exclusive to tomatoes, I'm curious if the technology will be adapted to other fruits and vegetables moving forward.

Biologists are hitting the books and looking at old laws of flying to further understand how birds, insects and other winged-animals keep themselves in flight in order to apply to future biomimeric-flying robots. Using high-speed video to see the asymmetrical flapping that hummingbirds and others are capable of to make turns mid-air, they hope to apply these locomotive maneuvers to future robotic developments.

And from wildlife and agriculture to babies -- Japanese scientists have created a child robot with Biomimetic Body (CB2 for short) capable of developing social skills from continuous human interaction. The robot can watch and record facial expressions using embedded eye-cameras and match them to corresponding physical movements to understand emotion, mirroring a developing mother-baby relationship. Wow.

In the surveillance realm, some feathers being ruffled this week, particularly in the UK.

According to a leaked memo, Manchester Airport allegedly re-calibrated its facial scanner machines from alerting security personnel if the passenger had less than a 80% likeness to their passport photograph to only calling out matches at less than 30% due to an overwhelmingly high number of "false positives" and particularly long queues at checkpoints. However, the UK Border Agency responded, saying that "neither the software nor the machines have been recalibrated or changed since the trial began in August 2008." Either way, lines are apparently out the door and there are rumors that 30% thresholds aren't high enough to tell Winona Ryder from Osama Bin Laden. If that's the case, I'll have no problem getting through as Colin Firth (if I had his passport, that is).

As noted by Leischen Stelter of Security Director News, biometric technologies, like facial scanners, address challenges airports face in providing the utmost security to its passengers, and more and more airports are adopting various technologies to do so. Whether its access control, iris and fingerprint readers or facial scanners, biometrics are enabling greater confidence in airport security efforts. In fact, the Biometric Airport Security Identification Consortium (BASIC) was initiated last year to test many different biometric technologies at airports nationwide and has grown from six initial participants to 32 airports. BASIC will move this one step further and present its findings to the TSA, which has promised to provide an approved vendor lists going forward. Exciting stuff.

Standardization in video surveillance has been an ongoing issue, but camera regulation is another rising matter, particularly down under. The Victorian Law Reform Commission in Australia proposed that an independent regulator oversee all public surveillance to ensure no footage is recorded without authorization. With tens of thousands of surveillance devices across the state, it is vital that no video falls through the cracks and into the wrong hands. Great to see.

So many headlines to summarize every week that it's almost getting overwhelming! I'm going to aim to summarize important headers a few times next week and moving forward -- hopefully this will keep everything timely and ensure I don't miss anything. Wouldn't want to let the readers down.

Robobugs Do Surveillance

Via YouTube:

The following is derived from a promotionalvideo from BAE Systems, a Europeandefence contractor. It depicts the use of robotic bugs for surveillance in an urban terrorist scenario.

The person who posted this video seemed pretty upset by it. But, in the end, it's really just a computer generated imagining. Not really that scary. Now if it were an actual live action shot...or maybe if the robotic insects had little bit more hair and sported some ominous fangs.

That would be scary.

You are being watched...in 3D

I just got back from the International Security Show, ISCWest. I’ll be writing up some more thoughts on that in a bit, but in the meantime, I thought I’d tide you over with you a few cool videos I found from one of the exhibitors there.

Feeling Software got its start in 2005 building 3D technologies for video games and the entertainment industry. So, it’s no surprise that their offerings to the world of high-tech surveillance look a lot like a 3D shooter.





The demos are still a little rough around the edges, but in them, I think, one can see the beginnings of a new interface paradigm for surveillance monitoring that succeeds in providing both detail and context in one interface. It's huge potential advance over the brain-numbing eyeball-burning video walls that sit at the center of modern security rooms today.

And in addition to offering better situational awareness, the interface abstraction might be used to provide other features from privacy to integration, as well. 3D tracked models might be highlighted, tagged, or even obscured or removed from monitoring model based on security policies, privacy law, or real-time information from other systems.

One more note: For those interested in facial recognition, tracking, and modeling, you should also check out Feeling Software’s Face Flow demo. Though not quite up to the standard of the Benjamin Button tech I commented on the other week, it's pretty cool none-the-less.

IHF Roundup: Robots Invading the Job Site, Surveillance Cameras Busting Fuzz and Other Top Headlines This Week

Robots were all over the place this week -- construction sites, ORs and warzone terrain. Engineers at Virginia Tech have designed 'Hydras' robots capable of rolling up and down poles and columns with the goal of deploying them at construction sites in the near future. Going forward, they hope to outfit these robots with ultrasound scanners and cameras to inspect bridges and buildings for flaws, tasks that kill over 1,000 workers each year. Brings new meaning to the term, 'pole dancing', don't you think?

In the Japanese healthcare sector, researchers plan to implement new safety rules for robo-nurses, which they expect to be a long-term solution to the lack of caregivers for the growing elderly demographic in the country. And from hospitals to front lines in Afghanistan, BigDog robots -- four-legged robotic creations capable of navigating the rocky terrain -- are being tested as potential danger alert monitors in battle zones. They can walk, lie down, have a great sense of smell and can even climb inclines. Grab them a collar and teach them to 'play dead' and they could make a great pet. Although probably not quite the friendliest or furriest companion I've come across.

As Geoff Kohl of SecurityInfoWatch.com wrote earlier today, biometrics may have reached the tipping point. When something becomes as mainstream as an iPhone, you know it's infiltrating popular culture -- and biometrics are doing just that. The Apple Insider blog reported today that Apple filed for a patent for a biometric reader to install in either an iPhone or Apple computer to secure the devices with either fingerprint or facial recognition. No passcodes required. Still a ways off, but I'm excited to think that instead of typing in a four-number passcode to make a phone call, my iPhone might someday be able to recognize the shape of my ear or authenticate my fingerprint on the screen instead.

Also, a fascinating look at how surveillance footage isn't just busting criminals, but also being used as evidence against cops lying on the witness stand in the New York Times. Instead of implicating suspected criminals, footage has established cases against the police officers committing perjury about their actions instead. The camera never lies.

Taking off for ISC West this weekend. Shoot @TheSteveRussell a direct message on Twitter if you want to meet up or just stop by the 3VR booth (#12081) -- hope to see you there!

UAV Showcase Hits the UK

UAVs are becoming a military staple to improve reconnaissance and intelligence, particularly in the US. Not only are spy blimps soon to become common in arsenals, but much more compact and cost-effective models are also in the works.

At the National Science and Engineering Week, the UK Ministry of Defense showcased the past, present and future of UAV history, including aircrafts currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and models to look out for going forward.

Fascinating chart from BBC News outlining the specifications of different-sized UAVs:

Very cool stuff. Check out the rest of the models displayed, both current and next-generation, right here.

Giant Eye in the Sky

Spy blimp. Seems like an oxymoron, doesn't it? However, the US government is planning to give new meaning to the term...

The Pentagon is looking to spend $400 million to purchase a 450-foot-long dirigible to keep a constant eye on boats, planes and even people twelve miles below without interruption. Plans include a trajectory 65,000 feet above sea level and it should be more than 20 times the size of the Goodyear Blimp. Wow.

Announced last week, ISIS (Integrated Sensor Is the Structure) will be produced through an agreement between the Air Force and DARPA and will be able to focus in on a diameter hundreds of miles wide. According to officials, the military blimp will greatly improve reconnaissance abilities and enable constant monitoring of small movements in exceptionally large, open areas.

"It is constant surveillance, uninterrupted," Werner J.A. Dahm, chief scientist for the Air Force, said. "When you only have a short-time view -- whether it is a few hours or a few days -- that is not enough to put the picture together."

As the LA Times points out, this project represents a definite shift in Pentagon spending allocations and a push to improve military intelligence and surveillance operations -- while remaining sensitive to carbon emissions concerns and potential military dangers. Not visible to the naked eye, the unmanned aircraft won't be threatened by handheld missiles, most other surface-to-air missiles or many fighter jets. Plus, it will operate on hydrogen cells and solar panels and can stay in the air as long as ten years. Ten years!

While still many years from official release, if the initiative proves successful, ISIS could be just the beginning of an airship fleet! Amazing stuff.

Cameras, Cameras Everywhere!

Interesting news out of the UK — a select few people have now been fitted with "bionic eyes" to cure their loss of sight.

In the video above, a doctor explains how 73-year-old Ron, who lost his sight due to retinitis pegmentosa, is able to see for the first time in 30 years. Amazing stuff.

This medical innovation, coupled with a filmmaker's move to install a mini camera into his prosthetic eye to "make documentaries and raise awareness about surveillance in society," show that technology can really go anywhere.

Soon enough, cameras really will be…everywhere.

Shield Yourself From Prying Eyes: The EFF Launches Surveillance Self-Defense Effort

Earlier today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) launched its Surveillance Self-Defense project. Designed to "educate Americans about the law and technology of communications surveillance and computer searches and seizures, and to provide the information and tools necessary to keep their private data out of the government's hands," the online guide informs readers on many ways to shield personal data from government eyes.

Ways to avoid security risks to your computer? Check. Tips to protect personal data form law enforcement officials? Check. Defensive ideas around surveillance and terrorism investigations? Check. Check.

"You can imagine the Internet as a giant vacuum cleaner, sucking up all of the private information that you let near it. We want to show people the tools they can use to encrypt and anonymize data, protecting themselves against government surveillance," said EFF Staff Technologist Peter Eckersley. "Privacy is about mitigating risks and making tradeoffs. Every decision you make about whether to save an email, chat online, or search with or sign into Google has privacy implications. It's important to understand those implications and make informed decisions based on them, and we hope that Surveillance Self-Defense will help you do that."

It's can be as simple as managing account passwords securely, but staying abreast of your privacy rights as an individual and taking steps to protect them are two critical ways to ensure these rights aren't infringed upon.

We may live in an increasingly paperless world, but that doesn't mean information exchanged via the Internet is any safer from spying eyes. Take the hint and peruse the guide to learn what you're not doing to protect yourself.

It's A Small World After All

Alton Towers, a UK amusement park, has started offering a personalized movie to each park visitor who wants to chronicle their day at the park.

Families are issued an RFID tag that is automatically scanned and registered as they walk through the park. The RFID numbers are then used to collect any relevant surveillance video from areas and times when the RFID tags are scanned. Even on those high-speed rollercoasters, the video cameras use "super slow motion" to capture quality footage. The video is then assembled together into a “YourDay” DVD to take home upon exiting the park.

Every traumatic interaction with a park mascot, every meal on a stick and every painstaking minute of waiting in line can now be yours, starting at the low price of £6.99. Quite the deal.

Do it Yourself UAVs Explained

Have RC aircraft, radio transmission systems, camera phones, and other navigational programming techniques and technologies become so cheap and available today that we are witnessing a homebrew UAV boom?



Yep!

Camera Meet Robo Beetle

I've looked at robotic insects before, but getting "bugged" is really starting to take on new meaning with this one.

Via Technology Review:

Most previous research in controlling insect flight has focused on moths. But beetles have certain advantages. The giant flower beetle's size--it ranges in weight from four to ten grams and is four to eight centimeters long--means that it can carry relatively heavy payloads. To be used for search-and-rescue missions, for example, the insect would need to carry a small camera and heat sensor.

Weekly News Summary from Around the Globe

Thought I'd highlight a few of the headlines that caught my eye this week -- including a little of our own news!

On Tuesday, we announced that Al Shipp, former VP of the Enterprise Divison at Apple, would be taking over my position as CEO, and I'll be continuing on as chairman. It's a pivotal stage in the company's development, and we're thrilled to have Al onboard! Check out an informal interview between Al and myself here.

Also, lots of chatter with regards to driver's licenses recently -- last week, California's proposal to use biometric technology to create a database containing facial and fingerprint information had privacy advocacy groups up in arms. In Oklahoma, a Senate bill to eliminate fingerprints as a requirement to receive a license at all was passed. On the other hand, across the border in British Columbia, as part of the government's latest efforts to prevent identity theft, both identification and driver's licenses will now incorporate facial recognition technology. With the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles cracking down on smiles and acceptable apparel, it looks like each state (and province) will continue to have its own technological and political battles to fight.

While national airports have deployed advanced security systems for years for border protection, California's southern coastal borders are now looking to implement similar security technologies.The Port of Long Beach this week opened a $21 million command center with 115 cameras to monitor the port's 3,200 square feet -- and are claiming to be able to read badge numbers from over two miles away! Impressive stuff.

In the same vein, surveillance cameras may soon have a new use in the hospitality industry, particularly hotels. This week, a UK security firm revealed that one of their hotel clients installed their system not for security purposes, but rather the improvement of guest services -- in order to recognize and properly greet returning customers.

Let's hope those cameras have higher accuracy readings than those I received on MyHeritage earlier this month.

Every Step You Take, Someone (Or Something) Will Be Watching You

Just came across this feature on wireless surveillance cameras taking on some unusual forms around the industry.

A teddy bear that captures video through its left eye? Cameras in such innocuous household items as a boombox, a set of computer speakers, or a wall clock? An air purifier capable of 420 lines of resolution? They all exist. Even jacket buttons and Clorox Bleach wipe containers are now capable of carrying cameras!

Next time you're snooping around a friend's house or checking out their medicine cabinet, you might want to think twice before whether the mantle clock or Pringles can might be catching you in the act.

$9,000 Net-shooting Sentrybot

For the budget conscious crime fighter, Japanese firm Alacom just unveiled the T-34 automated surveillance robot...complete with a high-power net gun.



According to the company, plans for the follow up T-100 are well underway. We'll all look forward to that.

Pole Dancing Surveillance Robots!

In London, often referred to as the most surveilled city in the world, the cameras really are everywhere:


"Hey Buddy, my lens is up here."

Via BBC

What’s Working and What’s Not in Facial Surveillance

Facial recognition technology has certainly been a hot topic in 2008 – and one that will likely only continue to make headlines as more companies and organizations recognize its unique value within their security infrastructures.

When most people think of facial surveillance, however, what often comes to mind is the technology’s very public failure at the Super Bowl and other large-scale public venues over the past several years. Though the technology has certainly improved, we are still not much closer to being able to spot a bad guy in a crowd than we were then, and this points to the fact that it is facial recognition’s role within the larger security platform that allows the technology to function most effectively, and ultimately most accurately.

Nonetheless, there have been some important facial rec successes over the past year that deserve mentioning – let’s take a look at what’s working, what’s not, and most importantly, why.

Identifying Suspects: Using Facial Rec to Compare Captured Images to Police Database Mugshots

The Sagem Morpho MorphoFace Investigate (MFI) system has scored its first arrest in Pierce County, Washington. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department used the MFI biometric facial recognition application to identify a suspect by comparing an automatic teller machine (ATM) photograph against the department's digital database of 350,000 mug shots.

In the past, the only way police could conduct these types of investigations was to endlessly flip through mugshot books -- this is a major improvement and compelling evidence of the next generation of crimefighting taking place.

Identifying a Suspect Using Commercial Surveillance and Transaction Records

Just the other month I learned about the following incident from a 3VR customer. A man had been followed home from a large African bank and subsequently robbed after making a large withdrawl. While the victim didn't recognize the thief, he was able to point him out in bank surveillance footage leaving the bank after the victim. Normally, this is where the investigation would have become difficult; actually identifying the suspect. However, in this instance, the bank was able to perform a facial search against it's own surveillance archives using its 3VR system. The thief, it turns out, was actually a bank customer. Even though he was not in any police database, they were able to identify him using bank transaction records. You see, this robber's tactic was to spend a lot of time in the bank doing small transactions and other petty business while he watched and waited for his victims to withdraw a large amount of money. But once even a single image was of him was captured, the robber's face led bank officials and law enforcement right back to those trasactions...and the theif's real identity.

Alerting Security When the Bad Guys Arrive

Though an uncontrolled venue such as the Super Bowl may provide too difficult a context to do real-time facial alerting, in more controlled venues like banks and some retail establishments and using relatively targeted top-quality watch lists, it is now possible to use facial alerting successfully.

Only two days after pilot installation of the 3VR platform at another large international bank, a person wanted for check fraud entered the bank accompanied by an accomplice, approached the teller and began a transaction. The 3VR system being utilized in the branch recognized the person and immediately sent an alert to the bank’s security personnel, who compared the image to photos in order to confirm that it was indeed the suspected fraudster.

The bank’s security personnel were able to quickly contact the police, apprehend the woman at the branch and question her. She ultimately admitted to the fraud — case closed.

Looking Ahead

Facial surveillance has developed significantly with new technology and new approaches making up for many past failures. And while still certainly not perfect, modern "facial surveillance" represents a quantum leap forward from they days when all police had to go on were “WANTED” posters, mug shot books, and their own eyes and energy.

Getting San Fran Surveillance Right

Surveillance cameras mounted at First and Mission Streets in San Francisco

Big news. Despite doing many things wrong, San Francisco has still managed to reduce non-violent crime by an average of 24% in areas where they deployed surveillance cameras. Yet, a main objective to reduce violent crimes has yet to be accomplished. But, what would it mean if the city did everything right? That question wasn't addressed in a substantial piece in the SF Chronicle today, but the statistics the article provides are making for some pretty interesting food for thought.

The article cites a recently released study that shows that San Francisco's surveillance program has failed in its primary goal of reducing homicide and other violent crime, although it has succeeded in reducing such lesser offenses as burglary, pickpocketing and purse-snatching. While this statistic is important, it should be noted that San Francisco's cameras are not monitored in real time, but rather the footage is ordered by investigators only after the crime is reported; privacy controls prevent city police from monitoring the city's surveillance cameras in real-time. The privacy controls are so stringent, in fact, that I recently wrote about a man forced to spend 69 days in a San Francisco jail waiting for access to surveillance video footage that ultimately exonerated him. The city can and should be doing much better.

Protecting Privacy With Technology vs. Non-Use

There is very little excuse these days for deploying city surveillance and then not monitoring cameras or granting police and attorneys access to footage that helps convict or exonerate. That's because identity protection and search engine technology exists today that enables police to actively monitor and query city surveillance systems without sacrificing privacy. The ACLU recently wrote about one example of this kind of technology from 3VR Security, and these kinds of approaches are getting better every day. Had San Francisco deployed its surveillance system with this kind of privacy protection technology, it would not have been necessary for the city to take the extreme step of locking police out of its surveillance infrastructure.

The Value of Image Quality and Data Storage

In San Francisco, image quality and data storage are two other major concerns. The cameras the city purchased and installed for $700,000 in 2005 are high-resolution, but produce only three frames per second and thus the footage appears choppy (movies are shot at 24 frames per second), making it difficult to identify even license plates – forget about trying to recognize a repeat car thief or vandal. Again technology may provide an answer for the city. Instead of storing everything and an equally poor frame rate and video compression level, why not use face and license plate detection algorithms to smartly track and store relevant information when, and only when, it is detected. Intelligent approaches that separate what is important from what is not have been proven to dramatically improve both the quality and storage longevity of surveillance archives.

A Fully Integrated Platform

Traditional surveillance systems often require an army of people to patrol the system and report suspicious activity to a security manager. However, by using networked systems that apply analytics and reporting, municipalities can service security functions of hundreds with an army of one. By incorporating the latest innovations in face recognition, license plate recognition, video motion alarms and other new technologies to make systems more effective and efficient, municipalities can vastly improve the results of their security systems. As John Honovich points out in a recent contribution to Government Security News, "cameras enable officers to assess and respond over much greater areas at much lower cost. Even in the U.K., famous for its mass public deployment of surveillance cameras, video surveillance costs are only one one-hundredth of police costs."

Creating A Better Solution

Ultimately, video surveillance is nothing new and many cities are capturing hours and hours of footage on a daily basis. However, that endless volume of footage must be managed to be valuable, and even if a surveillance system features the highest quality cameras, the best image resolution, and a fully integrated network, the resulting video footage isn't going to be useful unless it can be stored, analyzed and searched – in real time. Search and analytics would dramatically improve the usability of the footage and make the surveillance network that much more effective in achieving its objective of crime reduction.

With the right ingredients, municipal surveillance has the potential to significantly counter criminal activity, but it takes that correct formula and a scientific approach to have such results. Despite its inefficiencies, the San Francisco municipal surveillance system isn't a disaster by any means. If Newsom can bolster its allotment of the 2009 budget and add the aforementioned features into the existing infrastructure, San Francisco has the opportunity to have one of the largest municipal surveillance systems out there operating smoothly, meeting and perhaps even surpassing expectations.

CyberExtruder Gets 2D to 3D Face Patent

At the end of November, CyberExtruder announced that the company had been granted a new patent on their process for creating reliable 3D models of a person’s face from a single or series of 2D images.




Though the enforceability of this patent has yet to be tested, CyberExtruder’s 2D-to-3D conversion is certainly an important innovation to the security and biometrics technology industries. Why? It enables better matching between offline photographs and surveillance video. While the matching of "watch list" images against surveillance video has traditionally achieved mixed results as a result of inadequate lighting, angle, expression, etc., this patent could signify a leap forward in terms of the quality and value of 3D facial images.

In June of 2007, I wrote on how XID was using a similar technology in the “world’s largest” facial recognition access control project. In that instance, XID literally generated hundreds of thousands of variants of an enrolled employee’s face rather than using just a single 2D photo converted to a 3D model. Each day when an employee arrived for work, his or her photo would be taken and compared to the database of generated images rather than a single original. Interestingly, this approach generated huge improvements in the performance and accuracy of the Thailand access control system.



We’ll see if these two companies come into conflict over the new patent, but I don’t think they will. XID’s approach to 2D-to-3D is very different than CyberExtruder's-- almost quick and dirty by comparison. CyberExtruder, on the other hand, has become famous for its hyper-realistic…if sometimes creepy…generated floating 3D heads that lend themselves to applications well beyond security including gaming and movies, and even boast a fan in Phillip Rosedale of SecondLife.

Penguins Under Surveillance

Yet another new and creative use of surveillance and biometric technologies. At the University of Bristol, scientists have designed an unobtrusive surveillance system that can be subtly integrated into the environment of various endangered species. The systems will help scientists observe and track endangered animals, starting with the African penguin, of which there are only 170,000 remaining. Though the project was initially designed with penguins in mind (it's called the Penguin Recognition Project), the scientists are confident it could have wide-ranging benefits for the conservation of other species.

Newark Uses Cameras to Deter Crime

Amidst reports of cameras not doing anything at all to deter crime, Newark opened its new Surveillance Operations Center last week, and released a report claiming that murders and rapes had declined since the installation of cameras in its high violence areas in 2007. The city's mayor also talked about a recent armed robbery that was thwarted thanks to the cameras. As I've said before, just having cameras doesn't do anything, but having usable footage helps close cases and deliver arrests, which typically helps to deter crime in the long run.

Too Much Information Makes Us Less Secure

How many cameras do you need to have before you can't see anything? How much video do you need to store before you can't find what you were looking for? Whatever that level is, the Brits passed it a long time ago when, as the author of this piece quips, the answer to the needle in the haystack problem became to "collect more haystacks."

"The answer in both America and Britain has been to collect more haystacks: useless, indiscriminately acquired information on people who've done nothing to arouse suspicion," he writes. "We even inveigle our citizens to become amateur curtain-twitchers and pecksniffs, demanding that they report "suspicious" activity to the authorities. Between DNA databases, mandatory fingerprinting for visa seekers, CCTV carpet-bombing, and Oyster card data, we've never collected more "security" information than we do today. But does this really make us secure? Is it possible to know too much?"

I think the question is not "Is it possible to know too much?", but rather "Is it possible for too much information to overwhelm our ability to know anything at all?". In which case the answer is a resounding yes! The delta between what security professionals can collect today and what they can process is called the "Security Gap" and it's getting bigger every day.

But, I'm not sure it's time to hoist the white flag just yet, however. A few years ago, after the bombing in London, closing the Security Gap meant assigning over one thousand MI-5 agents to manually review surveillance video. The process took over 6 weeks. Today, using new search and video analysis technology, just a handful of those agents could have probably completed much of the same work in a few days. Search technology in particular is rapidly closing the gap between the data we can collect and store and what we can "know". It's not unlike what happened with the Internet when tools like Google have made sifting through billions of images and pages as simple as typing a few key words. Suddenly this huge heap of information that had been sitting there unused by most became hugely useful when we could quickly and easily sift through it.

The prospect of these same advances in video search being applied to security is likely to greatly tame America and Britain's current jumble of haystacks, but such technology will of course bring with it a new set of problems. For those who have spent years working to close the Security Gap, I am reminded of another question about a dog chasing a firetruck.

"What's he going to do if he catches it?"

Surveillance as Handy Marketing Tool

A lot of new products are coming out that help companies use existing CCTV surveillance technology for marketing purposes--capturing everything from basic data about how many people stopped at a promotional display to more advanced details about particular customers. In addition to the camera-and-box equipped billboards being piloted by TruMedia and Quividi, Google recently announced its partnership with a company called Xuuk to produce a palm-sized camera called the Eyebox that will track how many times people look at both billboards and products in stores. The idea is to provide brick-and-mortar stores or companies the same tracking abilities in real life as they have with Google ads online. Personally, I think using face recognition with an already existent system (like, I don't know, a 3VR system!) makes better financial sense than spending $25,000 for a separate system and cameras, but even above and beyond that, using surveillance systems as marketing tools doesn't exactly help to assuage the public's "Big Brother" concerns about surveillance.

Finally, A Balanced Take on Security Cameras

Okay, in this case, Fox News actually is providing a "fair and balanced" take on things. Apparently security camera neither put a complete stop to crime nor are completely useless privacy invasions. In known, high-crime areas, the deployment and use of surveillance systems can actually help fight crime. Maybe not all crime, but at least enough to make it worth doing. Obviously, privacy is important. I get that. But I think the way to get folks on board with privacy protection is not to make unfounded statements like "cameras have absolutely zero effect on crime." That's just absurd and patently false. Extreme statements like that will just keep people on opposite sides, not solving either the privacy problem OR the security problem.

On a lighter note, with the suggested increase of cameras in Lynwood, Paris Hilton's crime spree may finally come to a halt.

Surveillance Rocks

This is a pretty clever idea and sort of cool, but on a more serious note, it brings up some interesting aspects of the freedom of information act. I think I'd rather that surveillance just be more targeted, rather than something that rock bands and divorce lawyers can use to get footage.

The Costs and Benefits of Face Recognition

Most people think face recognition is great when it's catching baddies and weird or invasive when it's tracking innocent people. The technology has sparked debate after debate over whether privacy or security is more important. Honestly? I think we can have both.

First off, people need to understand what facial recognition can and can't do. This ABC story about a face rec system analyzing someone's face and telling a clerk that they're underage is bogus. If the kid had been in the store previously and been busted for buying liquor then yes, the system could alert the clerk, but no one is suggesting that face rec can tell the difference between 17 and 18 any more than a human can.

One thing face rec can do, which hasn't gotten a ton of press, is include simple privacy measures. We have been working on this at 3VR and I wrote recently about a team in Canada that's working on a similar project. Basically, software engineers can write a password-protected program that blurs faces and when an incident occurs, an investigator can unblur faces in particular pieces of video. This way, while people may still feel uncomfortable about being on camera, at least they will not really be watched unless they happen to be present during a robbery or some other incident, in which case they'll typically be glad the cameras were there to help catch the bad guys. Also, because this type of application can also have auditing capabilities written into it, it provides a crucial and often overlooked capability: a way to "watch the watchers," if you will.

The same could feasibly work in the grocery store situation described in the ABC story - if someone was a match with a suspect in the database, then the system could alert the clerk. For everyone else, faces could be blurred, and if someone is caught buying liquor or cigarettes underage, then the store manager could unblur the face and save it to the suspect list.

There has also been a lot of press recently about the rise of surveillance that risks privacy without actually improving security. I agree. Thing is, the bulk of new cameras installed are meant to catch traffic violators and raise money for municipal governments, not improve security. These cameras misfire fairly often, sometimes costing a city more than they're worth, and invading citizens' privacy for no good reason.

During the bombings in London, however, investigators were able to use video footage to find their suspect. If they had had face recognition and video search capabilities, that investigation would have been far shorter. And as banks have begun installing surveillance systems, they have seen a marked increase in the number of fraud cases they're able to solve.

Surveillance clearly has a place in modern society, but I do think that the industry needs to continue to work towards securing both people and their privacy.

Surveillance as Voyeurism

I knew it was bound to happen - the security industry finally found a way to hobnob with celebrities and artists.

Why Fuzzy Footage Is Useless

The fact that even with several minutes of video footage the police are stilling calling a suspect in a recent Palm Springs robbery Hispanic or African American is a prime example of why poor quality surveillance systems are a huge waste of money. Even if they catch this guy, the video evidence will not be enough to prosecute him.

Here's hoping he cracks and confesses during the interogation.

The Science of Face Generation

Advancements in facial recognition are not the only interesting face-related technologies making some astounding leaps these days. Driven by demand out of Hollywood, start-ups like Image Metrics are now taking the first steps to generate near perfect artificial faces that can be animated in real-time. The technology gives actors the ability to effortlessly bring digital characters to life with astounding realism; transferring every muscle movement and twitch to their digital puppet-selves.

For a look at what’s possible, check out this demo reel:



Hollywood and the gaming industry won’t have a monopoly on this technology though. I fear that these same tools might be used to undermine the evidentiary value of traditional surveillance video and even perpetrate new kinds of identity theft. When faces and bodies can be swapped in an out of video clips with this level of ease, and interactions that never existed in the real world can be recorded to video using only a laptop, it will be come even more critical that law enforcement find ways to separate face-fact from face-fiction.

Challenges and developments in "intelligent video surveillance"

Referred to variously as "intelligent video surveillance" or "intelligent scene analysis", video analytics employs algorithms and vector partitioning to detect unexpected movement or unusual behaviour that may pose a threat to people, property and infrastructure.

Common scenarios observed by analytics suites include border security, abnormal pedestrian or vehicular motion, suspect packages, and many forms of street crime or deviation from social norms. Such deviation can cover prostitution, kerb crawling, drug dealing and trackside intrusion. Here, ATM loitering and platform suicide behaviour are depicted.

As analytics continues to improve and the leading providers respond resourcefully to a broad range of user demands, scene analysis will gain wider acceptance in both government and commercial spheres. The scenarios detected will become increasingly subtle, allowing innovative end-users to improve public safety by employing this exciting technology.

Axis study claims that IP cameras save costs

Axis Communications has released a study that claims an IP-based system of 40 cameras offers a lower total cost of ownership than an analogue-based surveillance system. It also claims that if IP infrastructure is in place, the IP surveillance system will always cost less.

Axis UK managing director Steve Gorski said: "This study shows that on a like-for-like basis where cost is the only consideration, IP-based systems make sense at a relatively low number of installed cameras. In our experience, most end-users will have some IP infrastructure to integrate into already, which network cameras can take immediate advantage of. When you add in the wider benefits of IP-based systems, such as scalability, remote monitoring and image quality, solely basing a comparison on cost becomes less and less relevant."

The study's findings suggested that the cost to acquire, install and operate an IP-based system was 3.4 per cent lower than a traditional system consisting of analogue cameras and DVR-based recording. Overall, it says, an installation with 32 cameras is the break-even point for IP-based systems versus analogue systems.

Video surveillance gets smarter in Verbania, Italy

Verbania, the capital of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy, was created when the towns of Intra and Pallanza merged. As one of the most idyllic and famous tourist destinations on Lake Maggiore, the town relies heavily on holidaymakers to fill its streets and generate income. To ensure the safety of visitors and citizens, the town council decided to launch a community surveillance project based on a system of network cameras.

Monitors linked to the ten Sony SSNC-RX550 network cameras are installed in the Verbania Municipal Police control room, which is currently undergoing restructuring. Even so, the system does not require the intervention of dedicated security operatives. The human element only comes into play when real-time monitoring is needed (for example during a major event), or when an automatic alarm is triggered.

Today the Municipality of Verbania can be assured that those who commit crime will be identified, thanks to technology which directly recognizes objects and reads vehicle registration plates. In fact, the town's network cameras have been positioned so that they can monitor all arrival and escape points in every area of the town. Intelligent image analysis functions now enable allow the city to keep special areas such as no-stopping zones under control. Using these features, live images can be monitored in unattended mode until suspicious activity occurs, at which point the operator is proactively alerted to the threat by means of an appropriate alarm.

Justice Chief Wants Cops Monitoring Cameras

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's new anti-crime adviser said Wednesday that he will recommend a major change to the city's beleaguered video surveillance program, allowing police to watch footage in real time as officers do in other cities. San Francisco, in deference to privacy concerns, only allows detectives to request footage if they have information that a crime occurred on camera.

In part because of a lack of costly data storage space, San Francisco achieves 80 percent of the resolution that its cameras are capable of producing and gets choppy footage comprised of, at best, two to four frames per second, telecommunications officials say. The problem is not with the manufacturer, but with the implementation of the cameras on a tight budget. The hearing made clear that city officials, and residents, have tough choices ahead on how much money to put into surveillance.

While informative, this article neglects to include an important option that could solve San Francisco’s dilemma—intelligent video surveillance.

Rethinking Surveillance

Video surveillance has become a fact of everyday life. Each time you withdraw cash from the corner ATM, travel through an airport or visit a national monument, your image is probably being recorded. But you may be surprised to learn that there are no federal laws governing how these images can be used, where they should be stored, with whom they may be shared and when they must be destroyed. In this age of YouTube, TMZ and "Cops," it's hard to know where your image might reappear.

The laissez-faire approach of our national legislators is no longer an option. As an increasingly sophisticated surveillance blanket covers more of the United States, we need federal laws to preserve an individual's right to privacy while setting principles governing the use of closed circuit television and other surveillance technologies for bona fide security purposes.

Surveillance technologies will continue to gain in capability -- and become more intrusive. Issues of privacy and public surveillance may appear vexing, but the United States must move forward with laws to effectively adapt to the inevitable spread of this technology. If the public is to trust business and government to watch over us, we need to follow the lessons of Britain and protect video images as we do other private data.

Video Focuses on Storage

With digital video on the rise in enterprises, storage teams will play a key role in accommodating the petabytes of data that can be generated by video surveillance systems.

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/magazineFeature/0,296894,sid5_gci1293369,00.html?offer=STWNB1 (Registration required)

The need to store 30GB to 40GB per camera per day isn't unusual. That comes to 1TB or more per camera per month. Now, if a retail organization has 30 to 40 cameras per store and 1,000 stores, you're looking at multipetabytes of storage, even if you're rewriting over some old data.

No matter who controls the video surveillance budget, the storage team will be asked to build out the necessary capacity to store video. And they'll have to learn the idiosyncrasies of surveillance storage because it's not going away.

Video Surveillance Trailer Provides Visual Backup

Law enforcement agencies across the country can now rapidly deploy a live remote mobile surveillance trailer in high risk locations. Russell Turner, Vice-President of Sales for NetVision Mobile, states that "Law enforcement professionals at the National Association of Police Chiefs Annual Conference remarked on how the NetVision Remote Surveillance System 'will help protect personnel and property during large public gatherings, covert operations and in high risk situations.'"

Officers can view the cameras from within their vehicles. Monitoring companies, such as Securitas, can automatically dispatch EMS resources to the exact location while providing vital real-time information for effective planning & preparation. Should priorities change; the entire system can be taken down in five minutes, rapidly deployed at another location, and set up in five minutes.

The NetVision Mobile Security Surveillance Trailer is just skimming the surface with Law Enforcement & the Construction Industry because this mobile security solution will be used by many other types of businesses that need an 'Eye in the Sky' for their piece of mind.

FBI Wants Palm Prints, Eye Scans, Tattoo Mapping

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia (CNN) -- The FBI is gearing up to create a massive computer database of people's physical characteristics, all part of an effort the bureau says to better identify criminals and terrorists. But it's an issue that raises major privacy concerns -- what one civil liberties expert says should concern all Americans. The bureau is expected to announce in coming days the awarding of a $1 billion, 10 year contract to help create the database that will compile an array of biometric information -- from palm prints to eye scans.

Given the recent request for a $3 trillion budget, $1 billion doesn’t seem like all that much anymore.

Biometric Powered ‘Medicine’ Dispenser…Dude

Biometric technology stands ready to change forever the way we visit the pharmacy…potentially rendering a lot of people in white lab coats obsolete in the process. Anytime Vending Machines or AVMs went into operation in California today and employ a variety security features designed to make the automated vending of controlled and prescription medicines possible without any human intervention. The first product to benefit from AVM technology, however, might catch you a little by surprise. It’s marijuana, and here is how the process works:

Patients have to present a prescription and be fingerprinted before they are issued with a pre-paid credit card that stores the dosage and type of drug prescribed. […] Vince Mehdizadeh, owner of the Herbal Nutrition Centre in Los Angeles, where one of the first machines is based, said patients could get access to prescribed drugs after hours. "They'll be greeted by a security guard right there. They'll slide the card in and they'll fingerprint in to verify that it's them,'' he said. "A camera takes a picture of them, verifying that they're actually at the machine. And they get the medicine and they move on.''

AVMs are a very cool device, though I think they might end up with an interesting reputation given their market entry strategy. In any case, I would I am not sure the necessity of a full-time security guard standing next to the AVM fits terribly well with the automation concept being pitched.

Storeowner Posts Video on YouTube to Catch Thief

The owner of a computer store outside of St. John's, Canada has uploaded surveillance video to the popular online video website YouTube in an effort to catch a thief.

A screengrab from the YouTube video shows a man leaving the Computer Depot M.D. store with a computer component.

Using video surveillance content on the world’s most popular video distribution platform to catch a thief – smart.

Top 10 Asian Telecom Predictions for 2008

IDC has revealed its top 10 telecommunications predictions for the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan (APEJ) in 2008. These include greater demand for Web 2.0 and unified communications applications such as collaboration tools within the enterprise, as well as increasing awareness in IP-surveillance products.

8. IP surveillance With IP-surveillance tools currently being deployed in Beijing, China, as part of the 2008 Olympics security plan, 2008 is set to be a "big" year for the technology. "Businesses will be receptive to IP surveillance due to increased security concerns, as well as IP surveillance's cost effectiveness," IDC said.

IP surveillance technology will become popular in the
gaming, financial services, and retail industries, the study noted, citing
physical security as a primary concern for these vertical industries. I would
add banking to this list.

No Place to Hide for Camera-shy Criminals

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20080121035546155C224410

CCTV cameras, commissioned by the Tshwane Metro Council three years ago, have helped to reduce crime and traffic violations in the inner city. And now the council is hoping to get public support to extend their range into neighboring areas.

“We have 68 cameras and we are negotiating with business and CIDs (city improvement districts) to expand the coverage,” said Tshwane Metro Police spokesperson William Baloyi.

In contrast to many stories where video surveillance has not been effective, Tshwane, South Africa is having nothing but success. The township’s city council credits video cameras for capturing 640 incidents that led to 45 arrests, 129 tickets for driving offences, and the capture of 2 car thieves and three robbery suspects—all from just 68 cameras.

Australian Government Revs up LPR

CrimTrac, the Australian government's criminal information and intelligence agency, is taking the first steps toward developing a nationwide automatic number plate recognition system to capture the vehicle details of suspects and citizens alike.

"We looked at the U.K. experience as part of the study; it's probably the most advanced integration of ANPR technology anywhere in the world, and we'll draw on those experiences, but primarily it will have to suit the Australian context," said Darren Booy, ANPR Project Manager for CrimTrac.

Australia is studying its Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system to determine the feasibility of implementing a national network. If approved the rollout should take one to four years. With regards to civil liberties, the study will also include a comprehensive privacy impact assessment after widespread use of the technology overseas raised the concerns of privacy
advocates.

Facebook: The New Look of Surveillance

http://www.alternet.org/story/72556/

Facebook sparked an immediate national uproar when it was launched in 2002. Today, the activism has waned, and the surveillance continues largely unabated.

People know their actions are tracked online, says a Facebook spokesperson, just
as they're tracked on streets filled with surveillance cameras, whether
privately controlled through an ATM or publicly controlled [for] legitimate
anticrime or anti-terrorism purposes. In an era of massive top-down
surveillance, posting information on a website may feel downright redundant.

Facebook's growing dominance reflects a society that is increasingly complacent with spying. And while social networking is a free and convenient service, abdicating control of personal information, photos, writing, videos, and memories seems like a high price to pay

Smokers, Cell Phone Users, Foot Drivers Beware!

Traffic cameras in the UK are now being used to fine drivers who are caught engaging in prohibited or dangerous behavior…you know things like driving with your feet.

Popular Mechanic’s Panopticon

This month’s Popular Mechanics features a video camera on its cover and asks the question as to whether our “surveillance society” has gone too far.

James Vlahos, writes:

We have arrived at a unique moment in the history of surveillance. The price of both megapixels and gigabytes has plummeted, making it possible to collect a previously unimaginable quantity and quality of data. Advances in processing power and software, meanwhile, are beginning to allow computers to surmount the greatest limitation of traditional surveillance—the ability of eyeballs to effectively observe the activity on dozens of video screens simultaneously. Computers can't do all the work by themselves, but they can expand the capabilities of humans exponentially.

I think Vlahos does a pretty interesting job exploring both the benefits and pitfalls of some of our nation’s security initiatives and new technologies…and I am not just saying that because of his mention of my company, 3VR Security.

Here is what he had to say about us though:

Used by banks, hotels and retail stores, 3VR’s “searchable surveillance” systems automatically create a template of every face that passes in front of security cameras (it caught our author here at a Chicago hotel check-in counter). The system creates a mathematical model based on the geometry of each person’s face that can be compared to a central list of known suspects for instant alerts. The technology can also automatically log events based on an automated object recognition analysis of an entire scene—for example, Frank Jones met with Doris Meeker at 12:45 pm; Meeker arrived in a blue sedan. Because all events are cataloged, several months’ worth of data can be analyzed in minutes.

One point Vlahos doesn’t make in his article, however, relates to the dual-benefit of many of these new surveillance technologies. While traditional security approaches are not particularly effective or conducive to privacy, new more effective technologies don’t necessary bring with them even greater privacy issues. For instance, the use of search engines and video analysis greatly increases the chance of catching bad guys before they strike. But, these same technologies can be used to help audit surveillance monitoring efforts and generally limit their abuse, as well.

Hollywood’s New Look

It seems that video surveillance has become so prevalent that even movie producers are depicting life from the eye of the camera. Whether this is a hit or a flop doesn't really matter--the film itself is a statement of how pervasive cameras have become.

Movie director Adam Rifkin poses in New York, Monday Oct. 29 , 2007. His new film "Look," was created entirely from the perspective of surveillance cameras. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Look!

The new trailer is out:

Cameras, Cameras Everywhere: Uganda Edition

Police in Entebbe and Kampala had to defend themselves recently against accusations that the municipal CCTV system crashed just before a visit from the Queen. Quite the scandal, the purported failure drew the attention of civic leaders and the press.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200712060082.html

Journalists were also shown footage captured during the Queen's arrival in Kampala. The system has 50 surveillance cameras installed by Ssekanyolya Systems in Kampala and Entebbe. The control centre has three giant monitors, which are partitioned to show footage from the cameras. There are also 11 computer units that officials use to analyze the footage.

After proving the systems operational status during the Queens visit, police officials shared some thoughts on the future of CCTV in their country.

Flanked by acting commissioner for communications, Paul Nasimolo, Kasingye said the cameras were meant to boost the other methods of deterring crime. "We are in an era where technology can be used to investigate and deter crime. Gone are the days when you had to deploy hundreds of Police officers in an area."

Welcome the new Uganda.

Planes, Trains, and Robotic Surveillance

An Israeli company Planum Vision, has developed an unmanned "overhead train" capable of providing surveillance of large fixed perimeter installations, or even national borders:



Interesting approach...and evironmentally friendly too!

More Security in Soft Focus

Police in Ocala, Florida recently released surveillance photos of this man. He is the suspect in a recent assult and robbery at an area Kwik King.

Have you seen him?
Would you know if you had?

Not very likely.

Sex on the Beach

In addition to sand flies and the occasional tsunami, devotees of beach-front-fornication in Palm Beach have something else to worry about… talking surveillance cameras.

The Era of Searchable Surveillance

From my article in Security World Magazine:

At present, security systems are inefficient, lack integration and are not
scalable to meet the needs of large or geographically dispersed
organizations. The challenge is heightened by the rapid convergence of
physical and IT security systems. Existing reactive alarm systems and raw
video review are insufficient for overcoming the wide and diverse range of
threats facing companies and government organizations, leaving them vulnerable
to security breaches.

3VR on Fox News

Tim Ross, EVP and Co-founder of 3VR, was interviewed today on Fox News:

The Road to Southend Pier

In his new book, subtitled “One Man’s Struggle Against a Surveillance Society,” Ross Clark chronicles an attempt to walk from his East Anglia home to a Pier in Southend…all the while avoiding surveillance cameras and the other various instruments of Britian’s so-called police state. In London, sometimes called the most surveilled city in the world, it is said an average pedestrian might find him or herself photographed more than 300 times per day. Along his way, Clark thoughtfully discusses some of the inconsistencies, inefficiencies, and absurdities of his country’s security policies.

Mick Hume of the London Times makes the point that Clark’s funny and insightful critique is hardly that of an extremist, however.

His book is less a militant's pamphlet than a protest on behalf of respectable Brits about the absurdities of the surveillance society. He is appalled that while millions are herded on to a DNA register, police cannot take samples from terrorist suspects on control orders. “It is bizarre to think,” he writes, “that the Government is planning to let credit agencies advertise the contents of our bank accounts — yet will not allow police forces to name convicted criminals.” Clark is most dismissive of the bureaucratic pointlessness of the “virtual” police state, with cameras that nobody watches taking pictures that nobody can use. He observes that the “peculiar effect of surveillance, both on us and our leaders” is that “it gives the impression that everything is under control, when in fact it isn't”.

So, if not a “virtual” police state, does Clark seek a “real” one… none at all…or none-of-the-above. His views, like those of most, are decidedly more interesting and complex. And of course it's true, when it comes to our security and privacy, we can do better…and should.

Cell Phone Surveillance

Researchers in Switzerland have announced software to take your cell phone in an entirely new direction. In addition to texting, playing music, watching videos, and surfing the Web, you will now also be able to create your own ad-hoc wireless mesh intelligent video surveillance network...all with the same device you use to call your mother. Their software package is called Facet.

When a Facet-enabled phone detects an object entering or leaving its field of view it communicates the information to adjacent phones via Bluetooth. In this way, the message can be passed to the whole network. The system can collectively analyze data. Each phone determines how far it is away from its nearest neighbor, based on how long it takes a person to walk between phones.

I think I’ll wait for the iPhone edition.

San Francisco Rail Agency Doubles Down on Surveillance

My hometown is looking to make another $5.4 million investment in cameras and surveillance infrastructure at the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, better known as BART.

BART will spend $5.4 million to upgrade and expand its security camera system to help protect Bay Area transit riders from terrorist attacks and everyday crimes, officials said Monday. The regional rail agency will deploy the cameras in stations, on the trains, along tracks, in the Transbay Tube, in parking lots and at other facilities. The new system will make use of sophisticated software that allows the cameras to detect such suspicious activity as an unattended backpack on a boarding platform or trespassers in areas off limits to the public.

Previous investments in cameras and recording equipment at BART are credited with a 98% drop in graffiti, and the prosecution of a variety of criminals, among other benefits.

Cameras have also helped solve crimes on transit systems. In August, for example, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority used video footage to help find two suspects who assaulted a passenger. And earlier this month, cameras picked up people breaking into cars in BART's parking lot at the Coliseum/Oakland Airport Station. Police then apprehended the suspected culprits at the scene, Johnson said.

Despite privacy concerns, the investment will likely meet the approval of most Bay Area travelers who appreciate the benefits of genuine technology. And the new system is certainly far superior to BART’s other controversial anti-crime strategy…the slowing down transit thieves through the exclusive use of Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea dollar coins in all transit ticketing and change machines.

Another Robbery in Soft Focus

These surveillance photos of a Wilmington robbery suspect just don’t do him justice.

Thief Targets Surveillance Company

A Charleston surveillance technology company was robbed yesterday morning despite cameras and bustling office activity.

"It's very brazen. He came in like 9:38 in the morning with people all over the place," said co-owner Grady Crunk. Crunk says the thief came in through the front door, sat on a couch, apparently plotting his next move. He then got up, went into a nearby room, grabbed a computer monitor and went outside. The burglar hid the monitor under some outside steps, then went back inside to look for more stuff to steal.

I guess not everyone is deterred by video cameras…that, of course, is why we elected to deploy armed robot sentries at 3VR.

McDonalds Using Surveillance to Control Shrinkage

If only their customers could do the same thing.

Grenades, a Bicycle, and the Cover of Darkness

Surveillance tapes will likely provide little help in determining the identity of culprits behind Thursday night's ‘grenade’ attack on the Mexican Consulate building in New York City. In circumstances eerily similar to a 2005 incident at the British Consulate, novelty grenades filled with explosives were thrown through windows at approximately 3:30AM. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

The detonation blew out several windows and sent debris flying into the building, located in the Murray Hill section at 27 E. 39th Street between Madison and Park avenues. […] Ramon Xilotl, Mexico's Consul General, tells CBS 2 that the early morning attack, which left explosive fragments on the sidewalk, broke three windows and was captured on surveillance video. "They showed the explosives but nobody is seen in the camera. But there is a witness that saw the individual," he said. (via WCBSTV.com, Video)

Like the 2005 attack at the British Consulate, a person on a bicycle was seen
peddling away from the explosion. Beyond that detail, however, meaningful
leads in the case are few and far between.

I find it somewhat amazing that in this time of heightened security and seemingly
ubiquitous surveillance a man on a bicycle can conduct an attack like this
without leaving behind so much as a single image. Perhaps the next consulate
will fare better.

New Tech Helps Fight California Wildfires

Firefighters in Southern California are using a new surveillance tool called 'FireWatch' in the area around Laguna Beach.

Using the solution, more than 20 square miles of highly vulnerable green belts, parks and open space that encircle the City are being covered by the network to monitor for fire in real-time.

“Our goal is to prevent and minimize wildfires out in the hard-to-spot areas before they can spread and destroy local residences and businesses,” said David Horne, founding chair of the Laguna Fire Safe Council and professor of marketing at California State University Long Beach. “With this network, we will have, for the first time, the ability to monitor the wilderness areas around the Laguna Canyon during high fire danger days and, hopefully, stop any fires before they cause damage to the community.”

Warrantless Surveillance Down Under

Via ABC News Australia:

Premier Morris Iemma says the new laws will give police greater power to
install, monitor and retrieve a range of surveillance devices. […] Under the
changes, police will be able to use surveillance devices without a warrant if
there is an imminent threat of serious violence to a person or substantial
damage to property.

SF Cameras Prove Innocence...69 Days Too Late

Despite a clear fascination with red light cameras and other video traffic tracking systems, San Francisco policy makers can’t quite figure out how to use city surveillance systems in the pursuit of actual criminals. Even worse, it seems, the city's backward policy now prevents the exoneration of the innocent.

Here is one case in point:

Butler and Dillon were positively identified by the robbery victims, according to the public defender's office. They were then booked for robbery and assault with intent to commit great bodily harm.

During Butler's primary court appearance a witness informed deputy public defender Eric Quant that she had been with Butler during the time of the robbery and that surveillance cameras at 16th and Mission streets could prove this.

Quant then requested copies of the tapes, but was denied because city policy restricts the release of the tapes. According to the public defender's office, Quant was informed that all tapes are erased after seven days.

He then requested that the Department of Emergency Management, which is in charge of the tapes, not erase them pending a formal request. The videotapes were reviewed and showed that Butler and Dillon were at the corner of 16th and Mission streets at the time of the robbery.

Charges for both men were dropped Oct. 16. Both men were imprisoned for 69 days before being released.

69 days? Really?

Worlds Dumbest Criminals (Liquor Store Edition)

Not So Fast Ontario

The $21 million Toronto Transit System is on hold after Privacy International filed a complaint with the city’s privacy commissioner. They believe “that the installation of cameras on the scale proposed by the TTC fundamentally violates privacy law.”

The TTC, which provides 1.4 million rides each weekday, is in the process of installing up to 10,000 security cameras in its buses, streetcars and subway system, adding to its current network of about 1,500 cameras. The system, which was approved by the TTC last spring and is expected to be operational by June, will be capable of snapping photos and recording video – and in some cases, audio – of any of the TTC's daily riders. The federal government kicked in $6.5 million for the project.

Like all previous attempts to slow and or block city camera implementations, this effort is probably doomed to failure.

TTC chairman Adam Giambrone defended the system today, saying the information is centrally collected and accessible only to police, and that the cameras are part of a larger security plan that involves such measures as increasing the number of transit constables. "We were the last of the major transit authorities in North America and Europe – who are way ahead – to install a major camera program," he said. "So clearly, the consensus out there is that this is a positive."

Given their track record and the inertia behind these urban camera rollouts, privacy advocates might want to try a new tact. Maybe…something like this or this.

Philly Touts Cameras in 37% Crime Drop

Philadelphia is aggressively adding city surveillance cameras, 250 of them, after the success of its initial rollout of just eighteen cameras last year.

The city installed 18 video surveillance cameras last year, which resulted
in an 8.4 percent decline in reported crime at 8 of the locations and a 37
percent decrease in violent crimes. (via Philadelphia Business
Journal)

I think Philly's aggressive monitoring and prosecution efforts might have had a little something to do with the decrease too.

Wi-Fi Brings Cameras to Tough Neighborhoods

Wi-fi Mesh technology is bringing down video deployment costs and making surveillance possible in some fairly rough neighborhoods. Contrary to some other reports, this seems to be having some effect:

"The cameras have made a difference," contends Pastor Mike Cummings, a former
gang member who for nine years has been escorting students to and from Jordan
High in a program known as Safe Passage. As school lets out on a sunny Friday
afternoon, Cummings, a large man wearing a gang-neutral yellow shirt and holding
a walkie-talkie, watches over large groups of youngsters walking home on 103rd
Street. They're going either to the weathered apartment buildings at Jordan
Downs, barrack-like structures fitted with barred windows and satellite dishes,
or to modest detached homes in the neighborhood. Several blocks from Jordan
High, Maricela Vargas is pushing a stroller with three grade-schoolers in tow.
"About a year ago, there was a lot more violence," she says in Spanish, pointing
to what had been a dangerous area just down the street. "Now, it's calmer." (via
FastCompany)

An interview with a Chicago Police officer sheds some light on why some communities are having success with cameras and others, like San Francisco, are not:

"Someone has to watch (the footage)," said Garbauski, who runs missions once a
week. "If there were no arrests, people would say, 'There's no one watching
this. It's just for show.' "

The San Francisco cameras installed at Newsom's request are facing scrutiny
because they have helped police make just one arrest, for an attempted murder,
in more than two years. A city law, prompted by civil liberties concerns, allows
police to request footage only after a crime occurs.

Records show that,
as of Sept. 18, San Francisco inspectors had asked for footage 58 times since
the cameras were installed in mid-2005. Chicago police said that, as of the same
day, they had used camera footage in 1,407 arrests, including at least five
homicides, since the city began tracking data in February 2006. (via
SF Gate)

San Francisco doesn't seem to have any problem using cameras to hand out traffic infractions though.

Beware the Cross Dressing Bandit

A cross dressing bandit robbed a check-cashing store in Milwaukee. I am sure these pictures don’t do him/her justice.

Have You Seen this Man?

Despite recent advancements in camera and encoding technologies, most organizations still can’t provide law enforcement with a decent picture. Here is another example of that. Even if they catch this guy, it will be an uphill battle to use these images in court.

“Police are searching for the person who stole an 83-year-old man's wallet in
Washington County and then used it to purchase more than $100 worth of goods
from a Target store.”

Be on the Lookout For?

Toronto police hope their CCTV cameras and surveillance systems will be sufficient to help solve a murder. But with these kinds of pictures, I have my doubts. Meanwhile, back in the US, the images FBI Agents are using to solve a bank robbery aren’t much better.

The Maginot Line Part Deux

Andre Maginot has nothing on the virtual defense being mounted by French police.
Alliot-Marie said the Paris public transport network would expand its surveillance network to 6,500 cameras, while systems operating in provincial cities would be progressively linked to police control rooms. France stepped up security measures after the 2005 attacks in London's transport system that killed 52 people.

Cameras, cameras, everywhere.

Six Minutes to Midnight

Today, the ACLU released its report “Even Bigger, Even Weaker: The Emerging Surveillance Society,” and with it unveiled a Surveillance Society Clock on its website – set at six minutes to midnight. While a great attention-grabbing device, the ACLU’s privacy doomsday clock and report warn of the dangers of technology without showing the other side of the argument – that new advances in surveillance technologies can also be used to strengthen privacy. At least, compared to the current situation – in which surveillance is not particularly effective at either catching bad guys or protecting civil liberties.

Take CCTV and video surveillance. Today, 30 million cameras in the United States create 4 billion hours of video per week, and the number of cameras is expected to more than double over the next few years, according to market research and consulting firm J.P. Freeman.
Yet until now, the only way to make use of the video generated has been for people to manually review it. Video surveillance helped identify the perpetrators of the London Underground suicide bombings of July 2005 – but police officers had to spend thousands of hours looking at CCTV footage to find the relevant information. Manual review of video evidence is inefficient and expensive. Moreover, there’s no good way to track what the viewer is actually looking at. But new advances in video search, storage, and analytics not only make it easier to find important information, they also make it easy to keep an auditable record of the type of footage the reviewer searched for and replayed.

Human nature is what it is. Yet knowing that there’s now an accessible record of what someone has looked at (or emailed or downloaded) could make people think twice – about reviewing non-relevant titillating CCTV footage again and again, rather than checking for suspects to a crime that’s occurred. Or sending suggestive emails to teenage congressional aides, or downloading pornography at work.

The ACLU’s concerns about privacy and civil liberties are not unjustified. But as with just about all new technologies, tools for better surveillance can be used for good and ill.
Evidentiary DNA testing and DNA databases generated controversy when they were first proposed. Yet without them, the Innocence Project and its affiliates could not have gotten more than 200 people – many of them on death row – exonerated from the serious charges they were previously convicted of. The Innocence Project has been doing this since 1992, only a few years after DNA evidence was first used in the legal system, after being created as a pro-bono clinic by DNA legal experts Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld of the Benjamin R. Cardozo law school in New York. Clearly, this is a case where people saw how a new technology with significant potential effects on privacy could also be very effectively used to restore and strengthen civil liberties.

Another example is the ability to retrieve people’s online search records. That too led to controversy about loss of privacy – but when properly used with a warrant to identify murder suspects like Robert Petrick (shown to have googled “neck snap break” shortly before the death of his wife) or child pornographers, people clearly approve of the technology’s social worth.
And Home Electronic Monitoring Systems (a.k.a. ankle monitors) to maintain house arrest conditions were called Orwellian when they were first introduced in the 1980s. Since then, they’ve effectively worked to keep non-violent criminals off the streets and out of overcrowded prisons.Instead of merely decrying them as privacy-killers, those who fear new advances in surveillance technology that make more efficient tracking of individuals’ activities possible should take a good hard look at their context.

In a more enlightened era, privacy advocates and surveillance-tool users and creators should all be strongly encouraged to look at the context and history of similar advances. Instead of shouting at each other from opposite sides of the fence, or ignoring the other side, we should initiate forums for true discussion about these tools. There, we should take into thorough consideration both the effects on privacy and the societally valuable uses of the technologies for security and law-enforcement. Finally, ensuring that the use of these surveillance tools is auditable, both technologically and by law, is crucial.

If we commit to bringing more balanced views to the debate, carefully hearing both sides of the privacy vs. security argument, we can avoid the doomsday clock scenario. With better analysis of surveillance information and strong, automated auditing of that analysis, we can have both better surveillance, to help catch and foil people who are doing genuinely bad things, as well as strong civil liberties and privacy.

I agree with the ACLU that the U.S.’s spotty, patchwork laws around privacy need to be of the privacy vs. security argument, we can avoid the doomsday clock scenario. With better analysis of surveillance information and strong, automated auditing of that analysis, we can have both better surveillance, to help catch and foil people who are doing genuinely bad things, as well as strong civil liberties and privacy. overhauled, made consistent, and stronger – so that we at least catch up with just about every other developed country. And when we do, the new technologies the ACLU cites as cause for concern are also what could save the day in helping protect privacy.

ACLU Surveys California Surveillance

The ACLU issues a report today entitled “Under the Watchful Eye.” While not terribly thoughtful in their analysis, they do manage a few interesting data points on California’s surveillance infrastructure:

The ACLU conducted a public records survey of 131 jurisdictions throughout the
state. Among the key findings:

· 37 cities have some type of video
surveillance program
· 18 cities have significant video surveillance
programs of public streets and plazas; an additional 10 jurisdictions are
actively considering such expansive programs
· 18 cities have systems in
which police actively monitor the cameras