Sound Surveillance For The Spots That Cameras Can't Quite Get

from the they're-listening dept

There seems to be tons of innovation these days in the surveillance industry. New technologies are springing up that allow law enforcement to detect the presence of microscopic (but incriminating) objects, like drug residue, and in the future, surveillance cameras may be able to automatically recognize when suspicious activity is going on. But any technology that relies on a line of sight will fail to detect someone lurking behind a building, or in a shadow. That's where ShotSpotter comes in. Using a network of sensors, the technology instantly identifies the exact location of a gunshot and relays it to police. So where it's hard to capture every square foot of an area with cameras, sound can fill the gap. Of course, false positives will probably be a problem, unless it can be certain of the difference between the sound of a gun, and other loud noises that are often heard in a city. Update: Turns out this is fairly old news. We had stories about it nearly four years ago.
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  • identicon
    Sea Man, 26 Oct 2006 @ 10:08am

    Well...

    You beat me to the punch with the update but...FIRST!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Trouble Maker, 26 Oct 2006 @ 10:12am

    two cents worth

    What about modified Doppler Radar?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    sceptic, 26 Oct 2006 @ 10:47am

    This first came from military applications. Popular Science covered it a while back.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Donald Duck, 26 Oct 2006 @ 12:10pm

    Criminals Invest in boom speakers

    from the posting: Using a network of sensors, the technology instantly identifies the exact location of a gunshot and relays it to police.

    'Sounds' like if you was going to do a crime, I would invest in some really loud car stereo speakers and some Gangstas Lyrics. OR I would get some one else to make enough noise to draw them away from the real scene of the crime.

    Of course I can be airborne in moments heading towards the new mexican wall that won't stop me :)

    ps mouse over my name

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    chris (profile), 26 Oct 2006 @ 1:58pm

    some surveillance (intelligence) basics

    there are two phases to intelligence gathering: collection and analysis.

    collection is easy. video cameras can run 24/7 and probably catch all sorts of interesting things. you could photograph every car you see on the highway and no one can stop you. you can tape record interviews with hundreds of people rather easily. this is easily automated by machines.

    analysis is not easy. you have to go thru the data that you have collected and separate what is useful from what is not useful. THEN you have to see if the useful data generates any connections. often, analysis has to be done by trained professionals to interpret the data, which can be problematic if the data collected requires specific skills are somewhat rare like the ability to speak a certain language or read the output from a sophisticated peice of equipment for example. analysis can take a long time if the data has to be anaylzed in real time, like recorded telephone calls that have to be listened to.

    the more data that you collect, the more data and the longer it will take you to anlayze.

    so, anyone who is worried about the US becoming a surveilance state, just generate more useless data :-)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    charlie potatoes, 26 Oct 2006 @ 1:59pm

    since this crap is old ..

    im gonng jump topics and say something about rush limbaugh....
    i charge him with faking being fat and stupid.. i have reasons to think this.. for one, no one as fat and stupid as he is could get as far as he has...i think its all an act....or else he just stops taking his anti-fat and anti-stupidity medication before he goes on the air....
    what a piece of shit he is.
    just when i think ive seen all the sleaze possible he comes up with something new..

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    PhysicsGuy, 26 Oct 2006 @ 2:08pm

    Re: since this crap is old ..

    don't tell me this is about the michael j. fox deal... i heard the radio segment... he really didn't say anything bad about him... fox has admited to not taking his medication to exemplify the effects of his disease before certain events... not that i like rush... he's a hypocritical idiot who blames liberals for things in which he's also guilty of and for things in which it's really the conservatives who are generating the mess... not that i like liberals... they're a bunch of whiny dim wits who couldn't understand that 1+1=2, never mind that a model that's missing several variables in something as complex as the climate is guaranteed to be inaccurate and not represent reality in any way what so ever.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Donald Duck, 26 Oct 2006 @ 10:05pm

    You can challenge the tech in court

    If this technology is the 'wave of the future' there is a serious problem with what they 'think' is the truth they probably really can't prove!

    I just recall a story where a lawyer for a man in Florida challenged the breathalyzer test machine it self. The County rejected giving the breath machine to the defense attorney so the County lost the DUI case.

    After reading some of these pro's opinions and comments about the breath test. Their opinions make a lot of sense.

    [google search man challenges DUI breath test]

    Like the breath test machine does not know if you’re a male or a female which with the weight there is a big difference between the two and drinking.

    I'm not for drinking and driving but I have heard some stories that make you go WTF. Because they have these 'Toys" they F. your life up.

    [cnn.com has a story about a flash light breath test also]

    So if something new comes along all you have to do if they try to get you into some sort of trouble is challenge their technology. To see if it is really is as perfect a tool to use or not.

    Besides that point the idea of just pointing these new toy's at the innocent till proven guilty is just not right in a 'free' society.

    Imagine the possibilities they could use this technology to detect. That you’re a smoker of tobacco ban you from a bar. Or that you use KY lotion on your self while your posting things about Rush Limbaugh.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    joshgerson, 7 May 2007 @ 10:40am

    surveillance

    There's a great site where you can get everything you'll need for a top notch CCTV surveillance system. www.gvcards.com

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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