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
 |
Blob Analysis Key To Next Generation Computerized Lie Detectors
Computer-based lie detectors are in the Homeland Security budget this year. A $3.5 million grant has been given to Rutgers scientists led by Dimitris Metaxas, director at the Center of Compuational Biomedicine Imaging and Modeling. They are researching how body movements, such as shoulder shrugs, hand gestures or slight changes in facial expression, may indicate that a subject is lying.
The system will capture these images digitally, and have the computer provide real-time feedback on whether a subject is telling the truth. It is hoped that by tracking the faces and hands of an individual, objective behavioral indicators of deception can be isolated, extracted and synthesized - accurately detecting human deception.
(From Blob Analysis Paper [pdf])
"Blob analysis" refers to using computer systems to picture essential elements (hands and faces) and track them. After extracting the hand and face regions from an image sequence, the system computes elliptical "blobs" identifying candidates for the face and hands. From the blobs, the left hand, right hand and face can be continuously tracked throughout a session. From positions and movements of the hands and face further inferences about the torso and the relation of each body part to other people and objects can be made. This allows the identification of gestures, posture and other body expressions.
(From Blob Analysis Paper [pdf])
Two theories guide the development of automated systems for detecting deception through identifying agitated and controlled behavior - Interpersonal Deception Theory (IDT) and Expectancy Violations Theory (EVT). IDT states that deception is a dynamic process. Deception is portrayed as a game of moves and countermoves where the deceiver adjusts the message in response to the perceived trust or suspicion of the receiver. EVT is concerned with what nonverbal and verbal behavior patterns are considered normal or expected, what behaviors constitute violations of expectations, and what consequences violations create.
The modern lie detector was invented by Dr. William M. Marston in 1917. The machine was also called a polygraph - literally "many writings", referring to the method of recording several physiological responses at the same time. He also wrote under the pen name Charles Moulton - creating the Wonder Woman comic strip. Wonder Woman, as you may recall, had a magic lasso that caused anyone she caught with it to tell the absolute truth.
Lie detectors entered science fiction as well, in the form of the truth meter from Robert Heinlein's 1954 juvenile classic The Star Beast, and the Veridicator in H. Beam Piper's fine novel Little Fuzzy:
There was a bright conical helmet on his head, and electrodes had been clamped to various portions of his anatomy. On the wall behind him was a circular screen which ought to have been a calm turquoise blue, but which was flickering from dark blue through violet to mauve. That was simple nervous tension and guilt and anger at the humiliation of being subjected to veridicated interrogation.
(Read more about the Veridicator)
Read more at ZDnet and in this paper - Blob Analysis of the Head and Hands: A Method for Deception Detection.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/12/2005)
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 ( 7 )
Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")
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.
Vietnam To Have Full Biometric Transparency
'inscriptions too small to be seen with the naked eye; microscopic data...' - Eric Frank Russell, 1939.
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
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
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship
'There was no wheel, and no steersman!'
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...'
DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available
'They tied the memory to the bloodline and that was their record!'
AI Computer Chip Designs Passeth Human Understanding
'It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings.'
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needed Now
'...the spot was a lonely one in an uncharted region, far from the normal lanes of space traffic.'
Fine-Tune Your Infinite Book The Way You Want It
'I squatted down beside the roller and tried to make some sense out of the knobs. There were thirty-nine of them...'
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the long, flexible, glittering tentacles...'
Holland Factory 3D Printing 500 Tons Of Steak Per Month
'...I don’t understand technical things — tell me, does it ever feel anything?"
Stratospheric Solar Geoengineering From Harvard
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
