May 30, 2006
Intelligent Scarecrow
From Engadget:
A fun application for smart cameras:
students and faculty at the University of South Florida in Tampa have built a computer-powered model that can detect incoming birds and employ non-lethal countermeasures to protect their wards. The Intelligent Scarecrow, as it's known, was developed to combat the problem of nervey birds trying to feed themselves at the expense of Florida's $42 million fish farming industry . . . uses a networked camera linked to image recognition software for identifying winged menaces in the vicinity, and attempts to repel them with a mix of annoying sounds and even more annoying blasts of water.
Posted by rshah at 10:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 21, 2006
Public Eye on Airport Cameras
From Public Eye
Peter has a nice post on the role of smart cameras at airports. It was a reaction to the recent Slashdot post on smart cameras at Helsinki airport, also discussed here. He argues the following:
- Lots of smart camera algorithms are not useful, such as package detection because of the false positive problem
- He suggests the most useful algorithms are for detecting people/vehicles entering restricted areas and flow control
- This biggest value for smart cameras is not real time alerts, but managing camera footage (think 1000 cameras each storing 120 days of video) to allow operators easy access to relevant archival footage
While I am personally interested in the real time alerts feature for cameras, I think Peter has some excellent points and we can all benefit from his knowledge and experience.
Posted by rshah at 09:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 17, 2006
Secure Border Initiative Update
From The New York Times:
With a rising interest in border control, the NYT covers the promise and reality of using technology to secure the border. I previously discussed the problems with video surveillance at the border here. This article provides insights into the scope of the government initiative, the approach of various contractors, and past problems with securing the border using technology.
Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, three of the largest, are among the companies that said they would submit bids within two weeks for a multibillion-dollar federal contract to build what the administration calls a "virtual fence" along the nation's land borders. [Boeing and Ericsson — are expected to submit bids]
. . .
The equipment these Border Patrol agents use, how and when they are dispatched to spots along the border, where the agents assemble the captured immigrants, how they process them and transport them — all these steps will now be scripted by the winning contractor, who could earn an estimated $2 billion over the next three to six years on the Secure Border job.
Posted by rshah at 11:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Smart Cameras in Barcelona
From SecurityInfoWatch.com:
The press releases are in full force with examples of how smart cameras are being deployed. Today's news is from ObjectVideo and the project is in Barcelona. The story states:
the Metro will use the ObjectVideo system to identify intruders in what the Barcelona Metro considers "employee only" areas, such as tunnels, restricted station areas and train parking lots . . . including the surveillance of station platforms, abandoned luggage and even "abnormal behavior by passengers."
The story also notes that accuracy has improved in recent years. For example, ObjectVideo "has written algorithms that are not false-tripped by recurring elements, such as arriving trains."
Posted by rshah at 08:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cameras Extremely Popular
From Philadelphia Inquirer:
While it should be no surprise, through a nonbinding ballot question in Philadelphia voters have overwhelmingly supported the use of cameras to deter crime. (The unofficial returns suggest a margin of 4 to 1) I don't know the exact wording of the ballot question, but it really doesn't matter. Cameras are extremely popular.
Posted by rshah at 08:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 16, 2006
Reducing Wait Times with Smart Cameras
From SecurityInfoWatch.com:
A nice simple application for smart cameras from Vidient. Helsinki airport will use smart cameras to automatically alert security officers of long wait lines at security checkpoints, so they can open more lanes. A nice simple application that allows cameras to do the routine work and free up security personnel for more complex tasks.
Posted by rshah at 09:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 12, 2006
Airport Security
I ran across a couple of articles today on smart cameras and airport security. The first was at silicon.com and discussed the role of smart cameras at San Francisco airport. The article notes that:
Vidient claims its algorithms can monitor what those cameras are seeing and can flag up any suspicious events. Most commonly they are looking for individuals "tailgating" - following another person through an opened door - or static objects, either in secure areas or at kerbside. Foster said a "one swipe per person" system for passing through all doors is rigorously enforced. The cameras can detect if two people pass through an open door, and can even differentiate between one very large person and two smaller people. Even staff who are entitled to pass through that door must swipe, in order to prevent an alert being triggered. And those who do trigger an alert, Foster said, are "admonished" for failing to follow security best practice. "People now know we have a system in place," he said Foster, adding that alerts have fallen considerably after some re-education and admonishment.
Another article from the Wall Street Journal discusses various technologies for securing airports. The articles notes the privacy issues with backscatter xray technologies. This is an issue I posted about several times, 1, 2, and 3. In response to the privacy concerns:
Rapiscan Systems, a division of OSI Systems Inc., of Hawthorne, Calif., and American Science & Engineering Inc., Billerica, Mass, have worked to develop proxy images that mask private parts. The image created would show the outline of foreign objects on the body, but not the body itself. Pilot testing on these machines, which cost $70,000 to $100,000, should begin in early spring.
Posted by rshah at 10:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 08, 2006
VideoNEXT
From Newswire:
A press release for videoNEXT notes a few applications of smart cameras:
-- Airports currently employ guards to prevent people from entering the secured gate area by entering at the exit. Often this exit is a corridor that immediately adjoins the entrance, which is also manned by guards who are clearing passengers for entrance to the secured gate area. The videoNEXT object identification and tracking technology can be deployed to detect persons moving in the wrong direction. Upon detection, the system would alert guards stationed at the entrance. These guards could intercept the intruder. There are more than 400 airports in the United States. The exits are guarded seven days a week for 16 or more hours per day. The potential savings are considerable.
-- At border crossings, one problem for US Customs agents is that cars often ride up to a security point, then make U-turns. Law enforcement agents suspect that they are engaged in criminal activity, and run after seeing more security than expected. The object tracking technology can alert a person at a remote location that a U-turn has occurred and will record the make and model of the car, as well as the license plate.
-- The Army is also exploring ways to use the technology on the battlefield. If the system is monitoring an area, for instance, it can alert commanders when something or someone has moved in one of the areas being monitored.
Posted by rshah at 09:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Smart Traffic System in Dubai
From AME Info:
A smart traffic system is going to be installed in Dubai. It will consist of cameras, sensors, and electronic signboards. The motivation is that this system should initially reduce traffic congestion by 15%. The article states that in other countries these systems have reduced traffic jams by 30%. Here is one very cool application of smart systems:
To ensure that emergency vehicles like ambulances reach accident sites in the least possible time, the Smart Traffic System will detect the presence of such vehicles and inform the center that controls traffic signals, which will time the automatic signals in a way that will give priority to emergency vehicles.
Posted by rshah at 08:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 05, 2006
Chicago To Install 70 More Cameras
There were several stories on additional cameras in Chicago last week. This post summarizes the stories in the Sun-Times (1,2) and Tribune(1,2) to provide details about the new cameras and the current state of the Chicago's surveillance network.
1. Existing Camera Network:
- Over 2000 cameras
- Currently 100 “Operation Disruption” cameras installed in high-crime areas with microwave antennas.
- Keep in mind that there are 37,000 intersections in Chicago and roughly 148,000 different corners.
- Have a dozen suitcases for monitoring cameras from crime scenes
2. Adding More 70 Cameras:
- 50 are next generation and are smaller (35 vs. 100 pounds) and cheaper ($20,000 versus $34,000).
- 20 are the older generation.
- Both versions have zoom lenses, night vision capability and the ability to rotate 360 degrees.
- New cameras are upgradeable to gunshot detection, but until the bugs are worked out the city has only 25 cameras with this feature.
3. Effectiveness:
- Since Jan. 30, officers have made 76 camera-related arrests according to statistics provided by the police department.
- Only half the cameras are monitored around the clock.
- The police department now publicly acknowledges that cameras are not enough and just one tool:
Police Supt. Phil Cline said it’s not enough to “simply install a camera” in a high-crime area. Video surveillance needs to be conducted in tandem with other crime reduction strategies — like flooding an area with personnel from a “targeted response unit” or conducting special undercover operations to disrupt open-air drug markets, he said. “When we put up a camera, that means we’re also implementing strategies to ensure that crime simply doesn’t move down the block or around the corner,” Cline said. “We’ve installed cameras in areas where gangs, guns and drugs are most active with one idea: to hit the gangbangers in the pocketbook by disrupting their narcotics trade.”
4. Work Under Development:
- Allow police officers to monitor cameras from their squad cars.
- Testing software that detects “suspicious and unusual behavior.”
- Finalizing contract for “Operation Virtual Shield”, which will link 1,000 miles of fiber into a core network for future security expansion.
- Signing up companies for having their cameras monitored by the 911 center. Currently 50 corporations including Boeing, utilities, and the LaSalle Street financial district have agreed to join the camera network.
Posted by rshah at 03:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack