Smart Cameras Blog

[From In Hard Focus: Sitting Down with Rajiv Shah]

Stephen Russell of 3VR Security recently gave me the chance to ask him some questions on smart cameras. He has posted his responses over at his blog, In Hard Focus. HIs responses are very informative and insightful. I urge all of you to read his full responses. Here are the questions I asked:

1. Privacy: What should the industry approach be towards privacy? Should they incorporate features that protect privacy? Should they have default settings that protect privacy or delete information? Or should we not worry about this? Is there a need for an industry-wide approach to this issue?

2. Comparing Vendor Solutions: What can be done to make it simpler for end users to compare and contrast different solutions? It’s very confusing now for end users to sort through claims by tens of companies on effectiveness, costs, technology, etc.

3. Connections to Academia: Explain if anything needs to be done to expand the connection between industry and academia. After all, much of the engineering talent has come directly from universities. Are there any suggestions you have for universities and their research?

4. Future Growth of Smart Cameras: Have cameras hit a period of steady growth or do you foresee a potential boom ahead? If so, what are the crucial factors that you see that are limiting growth of that will cause growth to increase? Do we need to improve technology, better end-user experience, etc.

rshah Policy, Vendors

[From License Plate Scanners: Fighting Crime or Invading Privacy? - TIME]

A short story in Time magazine on ALPR. The privacy angle is very interesting.

Some basic background:

In a typical 10-hour shift, Gomez says, a police officer traditionally could run perhaps 100 license plates through the system — calling the information in or typing into a computer, then waiting for a response. In comparison, says Gomez, the APLR system can process between 2,000 to 2,500 license plate “hits” per patrol car in that same 10-hour shift.

The scanners, which cost about $20,000 each, are mounted on a patrol car and use character recognition software to read numbers and run them through databases. The LAPD has 26 scanners all over the city searching for stolen autos, cars associated with crimes and Amber Alert vehicles. In New Haven, Connecticut, police are using the scanners to track parking scofflaws, while Palm Beach County, Florida uses the technology to follow gang members.

The interesting part of the story is around privacy – I added the emphasis:

What concerns the American Civil Liberties Union and others is the accumulation and storage of the vast amounts of data collected by the scanners. “We were disturbed when we began to see the technology used as a generalized surveillance tool,” says Jay Stanley, a spokesman for the ACLU. Privacy advocates worry, for example, that the data could be used to examine who attended an political event or protest.

The LAPD’s data storage is a particular concern, Stanley says. Before putting the scanners in the field, the department met with the ACLU and discussed concerns, according to LAPD Police Commander Patrick Gannon. “We would like to be able to use them for other things, but there was a lot of push back on that and so they are limited to certain units and uses like auto theft,” Gannon says.

However, the database is maintained so that it can be reviewed in Amber Alert cases or mined for leads in certain criminal cases. For example, if a detective in a bank robbery case has a partial license plate number, he or she can request a review of scans in the vicinity of the crime. Gomez says the request must go through well-defined channels and protocols; investigators cannot simply call up the data independently.

I applaud the LAPD for its incorporation of procedures for accessing ALPR data. The ALPR data is really a privacy nightmare and a big brother issue. Hopefully, other agencies and departments will also ensure the data is properly utilized.

rshah ALPR

A few communities have limited the use of red light cameras. One strategy to removing cameras is to threaten area merchants and businesses that their business will be reduced, because people do not want to visit areas with red light cameras.

This was part of the decisionmaking for Schaumburg, IL, when visitors complained about red light tickets and said they were not going to visit Woodfield Mall. The city then shut down its red light camera program. Check out the work of the local activists for more detail:

“During this period, the Village received about 50 negative phone calls, letters, and e-mails. Many angry out-of-towners threatened to boycott Schaumburg as a shopping, dining, and entertainment destination.” Via Daily Herald.

In Heath, Ohio there are claims that businesses are adversely affected with the new speed camera tickets, via thenewspaper.

Goodwin said Heath had set up traps with the most productive camera placed in such a way as to snare out-of-town visitors as they enter the city on route 79. The camera is difficult to see on a curve where the speed limit suddenly drops from 50 MPH to 35. She believes this has already had a negative impact on the city.

“Many businesses are seeing fewer customers in their stores and less traffic on 79 due to the cameras,” Goodwin said. “Customers have called and told businesses they will not be back unless the cameras come down. We believe the voters will come out and support the issue to ban the cameras.”

So instead arguing over public safety, citizens can point out that they will not patronize businesses near red light cameras. This may push cities to more carefully consider the use of red light cameras.

rshah Red Light Cameras

[From Daily Herald | Studies show cameras reduce crashes, but local data scant]

I am in the process of summarizing the articles ran in the Daily Herald on Red Light cameras, but I wanted to pull this one out (mainly because I was quoted). Here is the link to the complete set of articles from the Daily Herald:

Here is my quote:

“If you look at the data on how these cameras are actually being used, I believe it is largely about revenue and not about safety,” said Rajiv Shah, a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago who studies surveillance and red-light cameras. “We all recognize that one of the big reasons it spreads so quickly is that it makes a lot of money while having a veneer of safety.”

Here is some of the reasoning the article cites for this:

The Daily Herald revealed this week how the majority of red-light camera tickets issued in most suburbs are for right-turn violations, a practice that can target drivers crawling through a turn who think they are driving safely.

At the same time, many cameras are going up at intersections where there are few crashes related to running red lights. In all, state data shows 20 out of 106 intersections for which information was available have fewer than four crashes a year related to running a red light.

rshah Chicago, Red Light Cameras

[From With New System, Digital Eyes Will Chart Baseball’s Unseen Skills - NYTimes.com]

A new camera and software system in its final testing phases will record the exact speed and location of the ball and every player on the field, allowing the most digitized of sports to be overrun anew by hundreds of innovative statistics that will rate players more accurately, almost certainly affect their compensation and perhaps alter how the game itself is played.

. . .

In San Francisco, four high-resolution cameras sit on light towers 162 feet up, capturing everything that happens on the field in three dimensions and wiring it to a control room below. Software tools determine which movements are the ball, which are fielders and runners, and which are passing seagulls. More than two million meaningful location points are recorded per game.

rshah Applications

[From Japanese railway company scanning employees' smiles | FP Passport]

Keihin Electric Express Railway Company is not happy with how their employees are smiling, and have introduced a “Smile Scan” to improve their grinning abilities:

The smile-measuring software has been developed by Kyoto-based precision equipment maker Omron Corp. The device analyzes the facial characteristics of a person, including eye movements, lip curves and wrinkles, and rates a smile on a scale between 0 and 100 percent using a camera and computer.

For those with low scores, advice like “You still look too serious,” or “Lift up your mouth corners,” will be displayed on the screen.

Some 530 employees of the Tokyo-based railway company will check their smiles with Smile Scan before starting work each day. They will print out and carry around an image of their best smile in an attempt to remember it.

rshah Facial Recognition

[From Tribune Exposes Suburban Red Light Camera Scam - Parking Ticket Geek]

But according to a fantastic piece of investigative journalism by the Chicago Tribune, many suburban towns are seemingly employing red light cameras for the revenue only, with only a wink and a nod toward the safety aspect of that equation.

I will have a more detailed analysis of this article in a bit. But its the start of a tidal wave of data showing red light cameras are more about revenue than safety.

rshah Chicago, Red Light Cameras