Smart Cameras in Taipei
[From Taipei Times - archives and Taiwan News and China-Taiwan News]
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin announced on April 8 that his government would spend NT$1.6 billion (US$50 million) to install 13,000 “intelligent,” high-performance cameras in the city. Of the 13,000 cameras, 1,500 will be high-resolution one-mega-pixel models. The city is replacing 12,000 existing security cameras.
Here are the scenarios for the smart cameras:
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) technology is so far advanced nowadays that it’s possible to search for certain actions in recorded video. For example, when investigating an ATM crime, police can set a search condition for “a person staying near a machine for longer than 10 minutes” and the system will find all video meeting the criterion.
It’s also possible to have the system to alert police automatically when a car matching a previously entered description appears in the camera lens, helping to solve car thefts more quickly.
The article notes there are still concerns about privacy and how footage will be used.
Asked whether the new equipment would mean a further erosion of residents’ privacy, Hau said that no one will be given access to the recorded tapes without a justifiable reason. He added that all the video footage will be recordings of activities on public roads and will not infringe on people’s privacy in their homes.
According to police executives, the new cameras, linked to a computer terminal, will be able to home in on suspected targets and will have the ability to detect cars thefts by reading the number plates of vehicles and sounding alarms.
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