September 30, 2005
Smart Cameras in a Train Station
From CIO | Seeing Is Believing:
Another excellent article from CIO full of anecdotes on the role of smart camera systems in Secaucus Junction train station in New Jersey.
Even with the security funding that followed 9/11, Transit couldn't justify buying IP-based cameras, and wireless cameras would have raised reliability issues as well as the price tag. Instead, Slack and Bober focused on camera density. They invested in dozens and dozens of inexpensive, fixed cameras, and in a handful of more expensive pan-tilt cameras that swivel and zoom.
The DVRs run software from Nice Systems that does intelligent video analysis. This means that the software can be set up to count customers, detect dropped bags, track intruders in secure areas such as tunnels, monitor cars stopped in no-parking areas, or detect unusually large crowds that might indicate some kind of problem.
Slack pulls up a stream of video he's downloaded from a DVR. It shows Secaucus Junction's passenger drop-off point. A yellow circle appears around an idling car in the kiss-and-ride area, and then later automatically turns red. Slack won't share specifics about how the system is set up, but he says the software can automatically trigger an announcement on the public-address system that parking is not allowed in the area. More important, it can send alerts to either a pager, mobile phone or wireless PDA. Then, an officer onsite can investigate what's going on, and either make sure the car gets moved or override the alert if the idling vehicle is a police car.
Bober says that during the Republican National Convention last September in New York City, the software also helped prevent an entire station from being evacuated. Transit police were able to quickly trace back, see who had dropped a bag and determine that the person was not a threat, just a forgetful employee.
In fact, says a spokesman for Transit, only half of the benefits of the system are related to police activities and security. There are as many other examples of benefits as there are passengers. If a passenger says the last train of the night blazed by, customer service can view the video of the tracks just after midnight and see whether the train did indeed fail to stop. If a passenger says a ticket booth operator was belligerent, customer service can pull up the video of the transaction. If a late-night train is running a little behind schedule, train operators (at least in theory) can hold another train to give passengers enough time to make their connection. If there's a storm, the maintenance crew can see how much snow has accumulated on the tracks. If an escalator breaks down, operations could even have the Nice software calculate how many people have travelled on the escalator since its last maintenance.
Slack couldn't provide specific numbers, but he says that the number of customer injury claims that are filed and paid out has decreased significantly. Once, for instance, Slack says that the cameras recorded a man try to catch his train by jumping off a platform, crossing Amtrak's high-speed train tracks and climbing up the platform on the other side. As Slack remembers, the man fell and cut his head, was nearly killed and missed his train anyway. "Without the video," Slack predicts, "he would have walked upstairs to station management and said, 'I tripped and fell and cut my head. Give me a claims form.'"
The surveillance system has transferred liability as well. In May, when the Portal Bridge near the Secaucus Junction station caught fire, disrupting service for the entire Northeast corridor, Chief Bober says he was able to prove that New Jersey Transit was not responsible. (Amtrak owns the bridge, but New Jersey Transit uses it - part of a delicate arrangement that often leads to disputes up and down the Northeast corridor.) "We were able to go back to the digital recordings and substantiate how the bridge caught fire," Bober says. "If we didn't have that system in place, New Jersey Transit more than likely would have been liable."
Posted by rshah at 02:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 28, 2005
Cameras and Art
From Times Online:
THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT Gallery had an artful nocturnal visitor this week. Watch the bank of CCTV screens now installed in the foyer and you will find that they monitor a mysterious intruder. The long Tudor galleries are stalked by a fox.
I know that this mammal has become pretty metropolitan these days. But this particular creature hadn’t simply popped in to admire a few portraits, to sniff at the sables and ermines of Elizabethan forebears. It was part of an artwork by Francis Alÿs.
Posted by rshah at 05:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Camera Operators Wandering Eyes
From 6abc.com:
Casino employees accused of using the wandering eyes of hidden cameras to violate women's privacy, faced a hearing in Atlantic City Tuesday. The surveillance camera operators allegedly used the cameras to scope out more than cheats. Instead, they're accused of zeroing in on specific body parts of female gamblers and employees.
Investigators for the Division of Gaming Enforcement told the Casino Control Commission that 4 Caesars security camera operators spent some 186 minutes over a period of time training the eye in the sky cameras on selected parts of the anatomy of hundreds of women instead of searching the casino floor for cheaters and protecting patrons. Magri's attorney says the cameras were turned into a peep show.
The 4 camera operators . . . no longer work for Caesars and the casino has agreed to pay a 185 thousand dollar fine.
This is the 2nd time Caesars has been punished for this kind of conduct by camera operators. In 2001, it paid a 95 thousand dollar fine and it is the only casino in A.C. that has faced these charges. Meanwhile the Casino Control Commission must now decide whether the surveillance tapes may be made public.
Posted by rshah at 05:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 21, 2005
Needle in a Haystack
From Schneier on Security: Cameras Catch Dry Run of 7/7 London Terrorists The original story is from the BBC
The article notes that detectives studied thousands of hours of film as part of the probe into the bombings. This is an incredible amount of work!
It also shows the difficulty of using the cameras as an investigative tool, when you don't have a specific time or place to study.
Posted by rshah at 01:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 19, 2005
Eptascape's Privacy-Enabled Video Camera
From the PR Department of Eptascape:
A press release on a software system for cameras that mask's people identities. However, a decryption key can be used by an "authorized" person to play back recorded video which reveals a persons identity. The Eptascape's web page is here, but provides no details (yet).
I would love to see a demo of this. Is the software smart enough to scramble identities without obscuring other important information? Relatedly, can camera operators still crudely leer at their subjects? I wonder what the tradeoffs are, because it seems a little tricky to me.
I am not sure about the target market for this product. Are firms going to use this on their internal surveillance networks? Is government going to spend the extra bucks to buy this software? If so, how will the authorized person be managed? Lots of questions, but at least Eptascape is thinking about privacy.
Posted by rshah at 03:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 07, 2005
Smart rooms and elevators
From Engadget, The violence-detecting elevator, links to Japan Today
Mitsubishi Electric Building Techno-Service Co said Tuesday it has developed a surveillance camera system that can detect violent acts and other abnormal behavior inside elevators.
A control device built into the camera divides an image of the elevator into up to 4,800 frames. When abnormal behavior, such as somebody punching another person, takes place inside the elevator, the device optically reads changes in the frames, recognizes them as resulting from irregular behavior and opens the elevator's door at the next floor.
Another similar concept, but different technology for prison cells was noted in Security Park
Holding cells fitted with specially-adapted sensors could provide early warnings if inmates become agitated or have a medical emergency. The sensors monitor movements in the cells, as well as inmates' vital signs such as respiration and heart-rate. If the sensor alarms and the police station is empty, a neighbouring police station is alerted by GSM.
The sensors - developed by Finnish company Emfit - are made of a nano-modified polymer film. The same technology is also being used to develop a cot that can keep a watchful eye on baby. In this case, a sensor is fitted to or under the mattress. Unlike sensors already on the market that can only sense a baby's weight, these sensors monitor breath and heartbeat. If the sensor alarms, an embedded GSM phone could alert the carer.
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Dorset school uses Bosch's AutoTrack CCTV cameras
From Security Park:
Bosch Security Systems' Autotrack CCTV dome cameras have been installed by a school in Wimborne to improve security and automatically track any intruders. Queen Elizabeth’s School in Wimborne, Dorset is the first to take advantage of these advanced cameras which can follow intruders as they move around the site including the grounds and sports fields.
The AutoTrack feature allows the cameras to automatically track an intruder and record their movements. This means there is no need to set up guard tours on the cameras – the cameras can simply watch for any ‘defined’ movement caused by an intruder and follow it, triggering recording and
According to Kevin Brougham, the school business manager, the AutoTrack feature is a valuable facility for schools and other facilities with sports fields or large grounds as it automatically provides alarms if an intruder is detected and then automatically follows them using the built-in pan, tilt and zoom to make sure they are tracked and recorded. “All too often intruders pass out of the capture area of CCTV cameras as they move around the grounds but with AutoTrack, they are actually followed so the video coverage is much better – no more intruders disappearing off the scene,” he said. “We can switch AutoTrack off at any time or use it at night only – and if there is a problem due to background traffic or trees moving we simply switch it off any individual cameras - giving us complete flexibility.”
Posted by rshah at 08:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 06, 2005
MisGuided Activists
From the AP: Activists keep eye on Big Brother:
Another story on the activists that want to spend their time mapping out the location of all the surveillance cameras. I think this is a waste of time! Everyone knows that they are always being watched. If they don't, I don't think they will care because the cameras are largely used to prevent crime.
I think the key issue is not the ubiquity of the cameras, but how they are being used. What is needed is a system where camera usage and data is subject to oversight, as well as, rules and regulations for how cameras are used. The ACLU should focus on making government setup internal processes. Are there published privacy policies on camera usage?
Consider the questions that Peter asked about the Chicago project:
How many of these cameras are actually "watched"?
How much staff has been added to watch the cameras, maintain the cameras, and respond to the cameras?
How are they responding to things they see on the camera? How often do they fail to respond?
How many crimes have they actually foiled strictly with the cameras?
Who has access to the cameras? Is it only the police? Are they able to deliver live video to federal agencies if necessary?
Do 911 dispatchers have access to this video?
Do the police have access to this video from their vehicles? From other mobile devices? Link
Posted by rshah at 01:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Why this blog has been slow
I haven't posted anything in the last few weeks. Its not because there hasn't been any news. There are lots of stories on rolling out smart camera systems since the London bombings. Instead, I have been rethinking my commitment to this blog.
Originally, this blog came about when I begin some background work on researching smart camera systems. I thought these systems were innovative, useful, and a great technology for me to test my own theoretical work. Once I started digging, I found that while these systems had been in labs for year, they were just beginning to move into real world implementations. In fact, Chicago was planning the largest smart camera system. Studying the Chicago project would have allowed me to test my theories on digital government as well as provide a roadmap for other agencies implementing large scale video surveillance systems.
But Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) has denied me access. I am very disappointed, but have no recourse. The OEMC simply doesn't want anyone looking over their shoulder. This means I have no project to study. So for now, I have decided to sit on the sidelines until I can find another research opportunity. After all, I can't justify spending time on a project with no publishable outcome.
I am going to try to keep up with this field. I will continue to post interesting new stories on smart camera systems. But this blog now moves into the hobby category and there won't be multiple updates in a day.
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