Slashdot Mirror
Sensors Gone Wild
tulanian writes "forbes.com has an interesting article on networked, intelligent sensors. It mentions an experiment done by DARPA where several dozen magnetic sensors were scattered along a road and passing vehicles could be identified by their magnetic signatures."
a very MINOR operation by the car manufacturers could give each automobile a distinct magnetic signature, similar to a magnetic VIN. I dont think I'd want them able to track My driving habits...
Big Magnet is watching you...
live(free) || die;
Ok, from the article:
The net is relegated to a small screen and a keyboard. This will detect who you are and where you are.
Is this a Good Thing? I know that it could be used for some very good things, such as instant identity verification, missing & lost persons (the list goes on... I'll spare you) But it seems really, really, really, Big Brotherish, and I'm not so prone to like that very much....
Some new sensors are getting so small--some are invisible to the naked eye--that they will be able to run on 100 microwatts.
Great! So not only can we be watched incessantly, we won't even be able to know IF we're being watched...
At the 100-microwatt level they could gather energy from ambient heat and photovoltaic cells, says Stephen Senturia, a specialist in microsystems at MIT. His colleagues are working on making chips so small that they can power themselves, like watches that need only the kinetic energy generated by movements of the wearer's wrist.
ok, most thought provoking idea in this comment coming right up...
At what point is something sentient and self supporting enough to be considered life? I know that this is relying on a backbone of support, but really, this single feature is actually very interesting if you really think about it. It is capable of sensing it's environment, it's self supporting... has a definate life span... hmmm.. this is really somewhat one the edge of being electronic and creeping towards being alive...
Just my crazy thoughts, but I think this is something we all need to watch carefully, both for the positive aspects of it, and also to be sure (as sure as we can be anyhow) that this is not being used as just another minon of Big Brother... Of course a small amount of Big Brotherism is really quite acceptable, and if used properly this technology could really be a sign of great things to come... I just hope it is used in a way that we would all approve of...
basically hook up two wireless network cameras that would point to the street outside my house.
They would run motion detection software that would basically write to a database when it detected movement. By measuring the time between the two motion captures and knowing the difference in length between the cameras, I could calculate how fast people drive by my house.
By going to my homepage, you would see something like:
Last car went by at: 07:05:30 am
It was going 38.9mph. 3.9 over the speed limit!
Anyways, until the price of wireless network cams come down, I guess it's just a thought.
Live web cams
These tests were down with MICA sensor motes which can be purchased from Crossbow Technology.
These motes run TinyOS, which was developed at UC Berkeley.
More information about TinyOS:
Yes, my job does involve programming for these motes. I have four of them on my desk acting as an ad-hoc wireless sensor network now.
When Sensors Attack!
Be amazed by real live footage of sensors watching other sensors!
Be captivated by the secret sensor mating ritual!
(mount, fsck, unmount!)
Laugh at sensors hopping around the battle field like little metal frogs.
Be horrified by real live footage of sensors mauling some guy who sprayed himself with sensor musk!
The world's navies have been identifying ships using magnetic signatures for decades; sophisticated mines exist which can not only distinguish friendly ships from those of the enemy from their magnetic signature, but use a combination of of the acoustic and magnetic signatures of a vessel to identify a particular ship (e.g. to distinguish one Ticonderoga class ship from another). This enables the laying of a minefield that will ignore the signatures of low value units such as minesweepers, frigates and destroyers, and only explode when a particular enemy carrier passes overhead.
One imagines that an intelligence agency wishing to assassinate a foreign president/dictator could achieve similar success using the sensors described in the Forbe's article - they need merely tune the sensors to the signature of the target's limo, and lay them on a public road on the way to his residence.
A number of suburbs of Dallas, Texas (including Carrollton, where I work) are using computerized magnetic sensors to monitor traffic. They're temporary installations -- a box about 4" x 6" x 1" high is placed in the center of the traffic lane, and covered with a thick sheet of what looks to be asphalt-impregnated duct tape.
When they're done with the traffic survey -- 24 hours, typically -- the city engineers cut out the sensor, leaving the tape that was stuck to the ground. You'll see these squares all over town -- they don't seem to disintegrate for several months, even after heavy traffic driving over them. The busiest intersections have several of these leftovers.
A Dallas Morning News article a year or so ago detailed the city's use of the boxes, and noted that they could derive detailed information about the vehicles by their magnetic signatures. I didn't put 2 and 2 together, though, until Slashdot came to the rescue...
Dallas is one of the most insanely vehicle-as-status-symbol regions of the country (according to friends who have lived elsewhere). I thought that Carrollton was simply doing a traffic survey no different than the pneumatic roll-over count... but if you can tell a '82 Chevette from a brand-new Cadillac SUV, it adds a whole new dimension.
Anyone want to bet against the cities prioritizing road repairs based on relative driver income, as opposed to mere number of vehicles?
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
I talked extensively with a fellow who was maintaining a red light camera. He was very open, and largely responsible for implementing red light cameras in British Columbia.
There are two sensors about four meters apart, one just before and one just after the stop line. These sensors can identify speed and "weight" (magnetic mass) of the vehicle. The magnetic signature is unique to each vehicle model.
In BC, the sensors activate the camera only when the car actually enters the intersection on a red. If you've entered on a yellow, no camera.
Because of the speed-measuring capability, some Vancouver-district municipalities have also really put the screws to the boy-racer fuckups who are street-racing -- speeds like 140kmh through a red light. Ticket for running the red, ticket for reckless driving, ticket for speeding, etc.
Ticket revenue goes directly back to the red light camera operations. The municipalities and government see no money from this system, thereby eliminating any incentive to generate additional revenue by diddling the yellow-light timing and or going all heavy on the marginal cases. The camera supplier doesn't get money, either (and, thus, were of absolutely no use whatsoever when it came time to provide technical support.)
Camera-monitored red lights in BC are showing significant reductions in accidents. Indeed, the savings generated by not paying out claims is proving to be a remarkable value, and insurance companies across North America are starting to realize that spending money on accident reduction will increase their bottom-line profits.
All in all, it's a hella fine system. Our government-tamed insurance monopoly provides us with basic insurance and uninsured driver insurance, plus is mandated to work with municipalities and the RCMP to increase road safety and decrease accident rates. Our public insurer operates in a not-profitable manner: they're not expected to (and are, in fact, expected to not) produce profits.
All our other insurance (liability, collision, whatever else you dream of having) is provided by third-party insurers, so we really get the best of both worlds: a public insurer who's looking out for our basic needs and safety; and private insurers who compete to provide all else.
Sorry this turned into a bit of an insurance/insurer rant, but the public insurer aspect is crucial to the success of our red light camera system, because it eliminates the urge to use the cameras as a profit center instead of a safety tool.