hi, So where does that put privacy to.Your whole life outside the house can be monitered-when there are many cameras.
May be the worlds air getting polluted isn't so bad-atleast we could put anti-pollution masks and protect our identity :) Regards Sarath. --- Eugen Leitl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4883623.htm > > Security cameras are getting smart -- and scary > By Dean Takahashi > Mercury News > > From wealthy private homes to military > installations, security cameras are > going high tech. > > Prompted in part by new fears after the Sept. 11, > 2001, terrorist attacks, > camera makers, security specialists, hard-disk > makers and chip designers > are transforming the art of video surveillance, long > known for its grainy, > black-and-white images and reams of tape. > > With the new smart cameras, data is recorded in a > digital format on hard > disk drives so that reviewing hours of surveillance > is much easier. Solar > batteries let cameras run without the risk of > failing because somebody cut > the power. > > Data can be sent over the Internet -- often through > wireless data networks > -- directly to a company's hard drive archives. > Processing chips inside > the cameras make the images much easier to discern, > and new software > analyzes faces so that the cameras can send alerts > to security guards when > they spot known criminals or suspicious movements. > > ``On one level, this is taking analog camera > technology and adding digital > capabilities with new chips,'' said Bruce > Flinchbaugh, a fellow at Texas > Instruments in Dallas. ``On another level, it's > adding new intelligence to > redefine security.'' > > Geoff Beale, owner of The Alarm Company in Los > Gatos, has installed a > whole digital setup at the San Jose estate of one > client. > > If someone moves past the light beams that line the > home's perimeter, the > movement will activate the estate's 15 security > cameras, which work even > at night and record their data onto hard disks. The > motion detector will > also trigger the garage door to let out the owner's > German shepherds. > > A camera trained on the road leading to the house > can discern a car's > license plates and cameras trained on doors can > capture faces. The cameras > send alarms to the owners with varying degrees of > urgency based on the > nature of the security threat. > > ``If they have an incident, I can jump to the spot > on the hard disk drive > where the video is recorded and deliver the scene to > them by e-mail,'' > said Beale. > > Road patrol > > Concerned about homeland security, the California > Department of > Transportation is installing video cameras that will > monitor the Bay > Area's transportation infrastructure and transmit > the data to Caltrans > engineers and the California Highway Patrol. > > Hundreds of cameras will watch over the Golden Gate > Bridge and the Bay > Bridge. Proxim, which makes wireless networking gear > in Sunnyvale, will > provide wireless Internet networking technology for > the project, saving on > huge wiring costs. > > Nick Imearato, a research fellow at the Hoover > Institute, said he expects > the federal government to require cameras be placed > every 400 feet or so > in airports to monitor all aspects of airport > security, from cargo areas > to boarding areas. Over time, as the technology gets > cheaper, he said, > ``This will migrate to millions of businesses and > even homes.'' > > Such constant surveillance, even in the name of > homeland security, scares > civil libertarians, who feel it amounts to an > illegal search of everyone > who passes within view of a camera. > > ``Our position is this kind of continuous recording > can be very dangerous, > especially if coupled with technology to recognize > faces,'' said Lee Tien, > senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier > Foundation, a technology > watchdog group in San Francisco. ``You have to > always ask what is the > compelling justification for such surveillance.'' > > But the surveillance business continues to grow. > Last year, the > closed-circuit TV camera market generated about $1.5 > billion in revenue, > according to JP Freeman, a market researcher in > Newtown, Conn. While > sophisticated cameras that use technologies like > Internet connectivity are > only about 10 percent of the market today, they are > growing at 30 percent > a year, or twice the rate of standard security > cameras, said Joe Freeman, > president the firm. By 2005, the market could top > $500 million in the U.S. > alone. > > Specialized market > > The market for smart cameras is fragmented. Leaders > include big companies > like Panasonic, Sony, JVC and General Electric. But > the niche is small > enough for companies like Rvision of San Jose, > supplier of cameras to > CalTrans, to compete. > > At the heart of the smart cameras are > video-processing chips from > companies like Texas Instruments in Dallas, National > Semiconductor in > Santa Clara, Pixim in Mountain View, Equator > Technologies in Campbell and > Smal Camera Technologies in Cambridge, Mass. > > Equator designs media-processor chips that security > companies use inside > cameras that monitor entrances to buildings. The > camera detects motion and > determines whether two people walk through an open > door when only one > flashes a security badge over a card reader. If it > finds a possible > violation, like someone walking the wrong way in an > airport corridor, it > can flag guards with an alarm. > > Wide image range > > Avi Katz, chief executive of Equator, says that > security application > revenue are generating a substantial portion of the > closely held company's > revenue, with money coming in from customers like > Siemens in Germany, > which is installing cameras to monitor smoke, fires > and accidents in car > tunnels. > > John O'Donnell, chief technology officer of Equator, > notes that cameras > need good processing intelligence because cameras > need to distinguish > between truck exhaust and car fires before they send > an alarm to those > monitoring cameras. > > Cameras come with image-processing chips like > Equator's as well as sensor > chips, which capture the image in digital form. > > Pixim makes an image sensor that has the benefit of > wide dynamic range, or > the ability to capture an image whether there are > bright or dark spots in > the picture. > > ``Bad guys like to hide in the shadows,'' said Rob > Siegel, executive vice > president of marketing at Pixim. ``Dynamic range > brings out the images in > the shadows or those that are obscured by glare of > the sun.'' > > Human error > === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? 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