government
FTC to investigate privacy implications of face recognition
According to the Washington Post, Senator John "Jay" Rockefeller has asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to examine privacy implications of face recognition technology. The FTC is to provide its finding after a workshop that it is hosting on the same subject. The concern comes amidst new face recognition technology being announced by Google, Facebook, and other web companies. Google, for example, is planning to use this technology in the Android 4.0 operating system. Senator Rockefeller has also introduced a "Do Not Track" bill for consumers to stop tracking activity by online marketers.
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Computer vision system aids in criminal investigation
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK and investigators at the State Office of Criminal Investigations in Berlin are working on a system to detect child-pornographic images. The system, desCRY, removes the time-consuming task of reviewing a suspect's computer to find illegal content. Using pattern-recognition algorithms to look for facial and skin-tone features, combined with contextual and scene analysis, suspicious content can be automatically filtered for later review. DesCRY searches all files in a computer including email archives, and it organizes the results according to size and type. The system is expected to be a valuable tool to help investigators and prosecutors, and several police departments have already expressed interest. More information is available in a press release.
Facial recognition provides tools for police
Facial recognition software is being used by police in the UK to track down riot suspects. However, according to a New Scientist article, the CCTV footage suffers from poor quality. The article mentions a new system called Photoface, which uses multiple 2D face images to recreate a 3D model that produces more robust recognition under different lighting and viewing angle. Photoface is being developed by the University of the West of England, under Lyndon Smith.
More information is available in a news article by Tucone.com. Also reported in the article is research at Carnegie Mellon by Alessandro Acquisti, in which facial recognition software automatically links student volunteers directly to their Facebook profiles.
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Los Angeles to shut down red light cameras
ABC News reports that one of the largest cities in the United States, Los Angeles, is shutting down its red light cameras that use computer vision software to detect drivers who disregard traffic lights. The issue at hand is not technical but legal: the courts ruled that a traffic fine disputed by the recipient of the citation could not be proven against that person without a live witness in court. The article states that nine U.S. states have banned the cameras, and others are placing limits on their use.
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Massachusetts revokes drivers' licenses based on face recognition false positives
IEEE Spectrum reports that the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) uses face recognition software to identify people whose driver's license image appears similar to another person. This results in a revocation of the license. However, the article suggests that the only recourse to a false positive result is for both people to appear at a government office and prove that that no fraud has taken place. As the number of police and governmental bodies using face recognition software to flag similar faces grows, the number of people adversely affected by false positives is expected to grow. Massachusetts is currently being sued for damages and an injunction by one victim of a false positive identification by face recognition software.
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Facial recognition previously spotted Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan
According to the New Zealand Herald and Fox40 news, Osama bin Laden was spotted exercising in the yard of his Abbottabad compound in September 2010 by a satellite armed with face recognition software. US officials have confirmed that bin Laden's Abbottabad compound had been under surveillance for several months.
The details of the chain of events that led to the 40-minute operation that killed bin Laden are evolving as conflicting reports and clarifications are being issued by the government over time.
Can computer vision address privacy concerns of airport body scanners?
The Atlantic reports that U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) head John Pistole testified that using target recognition software could be a solution for the privacy concerns about the new airport body scanners: computer vision systems would analyze the images so they would not be viewed by people. The surprising claim is that Pistole said "I'd like to say months, but it's all technology driven." The article argues that a timeframe of months would be highly unrealistic due to the challenges of detecting carefully shaped explosives given the range of variation of human bodies.
Hyundai Mobis develops chip for image recognition
ET News reports that South Korean auto parts and automation manufacturer Hyundai Mobis has developed two chips, for parking assistance and lane and image recognition. The semiconductor designs were developed in partnership with Hyundai Motor Company, Samsung, and C&S Technology. The project was funded in part by the South Korean government to reduce imports.
Computer vision scientist David Mumford wins National Medal of Science
The White House announced that Professor Emeritus David Mumford of Brown University is one of 10 National Medal of Science Laureates this year. The National Medal of Science is the highest scientific honor awarded by the U.S. government. David Mumford has contributed to computer vision, pattern theory, mathematics, and brain sciences. He is also the recipient of the Field Medal, often referred to as mathematics' Nobel prize, and the 2009 Longuet-Higgins prize in computer vision.
The full text of the official White House press release follows:
New high speed camera software developed to improve weapons testing
U.S. Army researchers, John Curry and Jeff Kenney, at the Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) have developed a software program that can determine the positional and angular motion of relatively stationary test objects during different stages of a weapons firing sequence. The system uses high-definition digital imagery to provide detail information in 3D. More information is available in a YumaSun.com article.