DARPA Contract Hints At Real-Time Video Spying 73
The Washington Post has a story picking apart a DARPA contract document to assert that advanced video spying from the sky is on the way. The contract in question was awarded last month and involves indexing video feeds and matching feeds against stored footage. The example given is for an analyst to ask for an alert whenever any real-time Predator feed from Iraq shows a vehicle making a U-turn. "Last month, Kitware, a small software company with offices in New York and North Carolina, teamed up with 19 other companies and universities and won the $6.7 million first phase of the DARPA contract, which is not expected to be completed before 2011. During the Cold War, satellites and aircraft took still pictures that intelligence analysts reviewed one frame at a time to identify the locations of missile silos, airplane hangars, submarine pens and factories, said... an expert in space and intelligence matters. 'Now with new full-motion video intelligence techniques, we are looking at people and their behavior in public,' he said. The resolution capability of the video systems ranges from four inches to a foot, depending on the collector and environmental conditions at the time, according to the DARPA paper."
Cloudy (Score:4, Insightful)
Not very scary (Score:5, Insightful)
Sorry to say that I just can't be paranoid about "spy satellites" in the cellphone era. Satellite imaging won't give real-time coverage of a large area, so it is useless for mass surveillance.
These days, there's no point inventing new privacy threats to worry about, since you already carry an radio tracking device, and there's already at least one database with a list of your recent movements in it. But by all means, do continue to keep your passport in a tin-foil wrapper...
It is useful to distract (Score:5, Insightful)
Let everyone worry about the tracking and data gathering. It stops people from actually worrying about the slide to a goverment that might use it.
A total surveilance system that is NOT used is harmless. But a goverment that WANTS a total surveilance system can introduce one anytime they want to.
Focus on keep democracy going, not worrying about what some goverment might use someday. Prevent them from coming into power.
Remember that the phone-tapping done by the bush administration didn't use any new tech. Phone taps have been around since phones have been around. Hell, telegraphs and telex was tapped. What happened is that a goverment was allowed into power that used the tech.
Fighting the tech is impossible unless you want society to stop advancing. Stop the wrong people from getting into power instead.
Of course, that would require you to vote for someone on other grounds then the one promising you a tax cut or who seems to a be a likeable guy. America, were a guy looses the election because he just seems to smart.
Re:Cloudy (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, if by "crime" you mean "making a u-turn in Iraq" then I don't think clouds will help you. I'm sure Predator drones are equipped with infrared cameras as well as traditional ones.
Resolution (Score:5, Insightful)
"The resolution capability of the video systems ranges from four inches to a foot"
Although impressive to myself, who doesn't keep up with the latest and greatest satellite technology, this is hardly a cause for concern. Imagine yourself from above in four-inch pixels (assuming the accuracy of that statement and that the hardware can *actually* do that in non-laboratory conditions). Maybe a handful of dots total, one or maybe two pixels wide? You'd be able to "spot" a car, but you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell it's make, occupants, etc. You'd be able to spot a person wearing normal clothes in the open air (JUST) but you'd have a hard job telling *how many* people were in that blob of pixels and you'd have no chance at telling *who* they were and if they were adequately camoflauged... no chance. You'd spot more of their shadows, to be honest.
You *might* be able to spot if a vehicle in the desert does a U-turn if you have an AWFUL lot of processing power and a very limited area to monitor. You might be able to easily spot a rush of tanks on your position. You *might* be able to find some WMD's if they are being moved. But, to be honest, I don't see how this is any better than what the military have now except being "real-time" (which just seems to multiply the costs of everything from the satellite to its maintenance to the radio bandwidth required and the processing power needed with little benefit over "snapshot"-style systems if they are quick enough). Although real-time intelligence like this would have a place, it's hardly Enemy Of The State even if we assume a 2x "liar factor".
Useful in wartime - no doubt about it. Useful in peacetime - Highly dubious. And for the conspiracy theorists: Useful for spying on the people - No.
Patents to Movie Writers? (Score:3, Insightful)
Seriously, how many science-realities do we have today that were science-fiction a few years (or decades) ago? Did the film writers or book authors get any royalties when corporations suddenly took out patents on their ideas?
Any technology will be abused in the wrong (i.e 'human') hands, so I'm just not going to bother complaining about the huge privacy concerns (I'm sure others will do enough of that, it's Slashdot afterall), instead, I'm going to say it's interesting to see another science-fiction technology become science-reality.
At last - something that wont worry us in the UK (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Resolution (Score:4, Insightful)
This isn't insightful, this guy didn't even read the /. front page.
This video analysis doesn't have to be from satellites, the example in the submission is explicitly a Predator which is a UAV. The video has the resolution to see your every movement, just maybe not tiny objects in your hand. In fact the goal appears to be to analyze video from UAV's like Predator and Global Hawk, and there are a number of similar systems for blimps and high altitude balloons. This surveillance isn't even remotely new, its been going on in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the U.S. on the Mexican border for years. In fact its been happening in the U.S. from news and police helicopters since the 70's. I'm pretty sure they've had Infrared video for years too. It sounds like DARPA is just advancing the state of watching the video with computers especially to go back and scan archive footage for an event of particular interest to kick it back to a human to look at to save expensive human time staring at video playbacks, and maybe to allow a dramatic increase in the number of surveillance cameras deployed....somewhere....without the corresponding expensive increase in humans to watch them.
Its not particularly of concern for spying on Americans in their homes since most of the DOD UAV's are in Iraq, Afghanistan and on the borders, unless you live on the border. On the other hand there is nothing stopping it from being turned to spy on people in the U.S. in the name of homeland defense, other than a few flimsy laws, the Bush administration has probably already thrown aside. I news pieces on the blimp video systems were definitely being aimed at the domestic market to watch big sporting events and the like. Of course since we've had news and police helicopters spying on us since the 1970's nothing new here, move along, other than DARPA is funding moving image recognition software.
If you value your privacy close your curtains and buy lots and lots of insulation.
Re:no new news here (Score:4, Insightful)
What are the people of Iraq considered to be?
Oh, I see, if you CALL someone something other than civilian, they're fair game. No way THAT can be abused.....