Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Precrime CCTV Cameras Now In Britain
'Precrime' CCTV (closed circuit television) cameras and their associated software are now able to "predict" if a crime is about to be committed. The system is the product of Smart CCTV.
Rather than merely analyzing individual frames, the software can alert operators to suspicious behavior, like unusually slow walking or loitering.
In this first frame from one of Britain's 'precrime' CCTV cameras, two men appear to approach one another on an otherwise deserted street. Could a meeting of criminal masterminds be in the offing?
(Precrime CCTV frame 1: A meeting?)
In the second frame below, the two men are exchanging words and possibly more. Is this some sort of transaction? The system alerts the operator.
(Precrime CCTV frame 2: A transaction?)
British officials are beside themselves with joy at this new toy:
Councillor Jason Fazackarley of Portsmouth Council said: 'It's the 21st century equivalent of a nightwatchman, but unlike a night-watchman it never blinks, it never takes a break and it never gets bored.'
British citizens, who are currently being watched by 4.2 million CCTV cameras, are understandably a bit concerned. One Daily Mail reader comments on the story:
The presence of fully trained Police is the proven best deterrent. Britain is the most 'spied on' nation in the EU - some say the world - the results being the highest crime and drug rates recorded. Proposals are, therefore, a total waste of taxpayers money and a gross infringment on privacy and freedom for all law abiding citizens. Spend the money on recruiting fully trained (not cheap, profit making versions) of police officers ...... criminals can immobolize CCTV cameras but not police presence.
Nick Hewitson, managing director of Smart CCTV, which has created the technology, denied it was a further infringement on privacy.
SF readers of course remember the somewhat more labor-intensive precrime analytical wing from the 1956 story Minority Report, by Philip K. Dick. In the story, precognitives (precogs) who could see into the future were used to predict crimes of passion before they happened.
Doors opened and closed, and they were in the analytical wing. Ahead of them rose impressive banks of equipment - the data-receptors, and the computing mechanisms that studied and restructured the incoming material. And beyond the machinery sat the three precogs, almost lost to view in the maze of wiring...In the gloomy half-darkness the three idiots sat babbling. Every incoherent utterance, every random syllable, was analyzed, compared and reassembled in the form of visual symbols, transcribed on conventional punchcards, and ejected into various coded slots. All day long the idiots babbled, imprisoned in their special high-backed chairs, held in one rigid position by metal bands, and bundles of wiring, clamps... (Read more about the precrime analytical wing)
In Steven Spielberg's 2002 movie Minority Report made from Dick's story, Precrime police officer Tom Cruise uses a cool glove gesture interface to find the visual images needed to make a case. Take a look at this gesture interface excerpt from Minority Report to see how the computer system can be used to find crimes before they happen.
Peruse this retrospective of real-life 'precrime' systems:
- 'Precrime' Database For London Homicide Prevention Unit
This pilot project seeks to identify people who will in the future commit serious crimes. - Computer Predicts Robbery
"He predicted it and he was right," Police Commissioner Robert Taggart said. - Future Attribute Screening Technologies
A fusion of sensor technologies that would allow operators to detect malicious intent or "hostile thoughts" on the part of people passing through a checkpoint.
From Daily Mail; thanks to Moira for the tip on this story.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/28/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 9 )
Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")
India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
'It is necessary... for your own protection.' - Jack Vance, 1954.
LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.
Chameleon Personalized Privacy Protection Mask
'...the Virtual Epiphantic Identity Lustre.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Spherical Police Robot Rolls In China
'Rand could effectively be in several places at once...' - Niven and Pournelle, 1981.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
'Betty's slapdash style.'
Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (NASA Prototype)
There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
'It is necessary... for your own protection.'
Amazon Will Send You Heinlein's Knockdown Cabin
'It's so light that you can set it up in five minutes by yourself...'
Is It Time To Forbid Human Driving?
'Heavy penalties... were to be applied to any one found driving manually-controlled machines.'
Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'
BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.'
Google's Nano Banana Pro Presents Handwritten Math Solutions
'...copy was turned out in a charming and entirely feminine handwriting.'
Edible Meat-Like Fungus Like Barbara Hambly's Slunch?
'It was almost unheard of for slunch to spread that fast...'
Sunday Robotics 'Memo' Bot Has Unique Training Glove
'He then started hand movements of definite pattern...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
