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
 |
Onboard Threat Detection System For Big Brother Airlines
An Onboard Threat Detection System is under development for the Paris-based Security of Aircraft In The Future European Environment (SAFEE) project. The intent is to provide pilots and cabin crew with an early warning of terrorist activities.
Here's how it would work. While you sat in your seat just before and during the flight, a tiny camera that would be virtually undetectable would focus on your face and upper body. Every facial expression and twitch would be scrutinized, as well as any suspicious body movements. On-board software would compare your behavior with known or theorized terrorist behavior.
A microphone would hear and record even the most lightly whispered remarks. Apparently, Islamic terrorists are known to whisper texts from the Koran just before going into action.
"We're trying to develop technologies that indicate the differences between normal passengers and those who may be a threat to others, or themselves," said Catherine Neary of BAE Systems. She also noted that all video, audio and other recordings would be destroyed at the end of every flight so passenger liberties were not infringed.
The development of this system is being carried out by British and German researchers; approximately $US50 million has been budgeted. BAE Systems already specializes in Deployable Surveillance Units that integrates a wide range of sensors (radar, EO/IR cameras and motion detectors). SAFEE is an integrated project with several dozen partners throughout the European Union.
(InFlight television screens)
If SAFEE engineers could just combine the little LCD displays already present in the seat backs on many planes with George Orwell's telescreen, we could perfectly monitor everyone.
And, if this system works in the air, it would work in other places where we are afraid of terrorists. For example, buses, trains, subways and other transit systems. Then, of course, there are the other terrorist targets, like nightclubs, restaurants and even cafes...
The Chestnut Tree was almost empty. A ray of sunlight slanting through a window fell on dusty table-tops. It was the lonely hour of fifteen. A tinny music trickled from the telescreens.Winston sat in his usual corner, gazing into an empty glass. Now and again he glanced up at a vast face which eyed him from the opposite wall. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said.
(Read more about Orwell's telescreen)
Apple Computer has applied for a patent for a display screen that could also capture images; see Apple Apparently Working On Orwell's Telescreen. Read more about Watching you fly, Security of Aircraft in the Future European Environment and BAE Systems Deployable Surveillance Systems.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/18/2007)
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 ( 1 )
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
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
Heat Waver - The First Ever Combo Solar Collector And Wind Turbine
'...like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Tesla 'Fleet Response Agents' Bolster FSD Autonomy
'You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life... in his hands.'
Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'
Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.'
Scary Grid Safety Robots
'The ultimate horror for our paranoid culture...'
Does AI Provide A Way Forward For Talk Therapy
'And there in the next room by the sofa sat a familiar suitcase, that of his psychiatrist Dr. Smile.'
