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Sensor Networks For Surveillance And Security
gpmap writes "Small Times has an article on the coming age of all-pervasive sensor networks that will feed information of all sorts to monitoring networks. Technology advances have generated intense interest in sensor networks: 'the magic words are surveillance and security.' The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) hosted the second Information Processing in Sensor Networks workshop this week amid anticipation of significant funding grants from the National Science Foundation. Most believe miniaturization, whether through conventional methods, MEMS or nanotech, will drive the spread of sensor networks. But plenty of issues need working through, on the hardware, software and social fronts."
It does me.
Especially the rationalization that its ok to trade privacy for so-called security.
Its not a trade-off as the story states, its simply unacceptable.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Just read "Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson, it features a nice version of nanotech-sensornetworks. It's a good book, too.
In two words: Information leaks.
It's been demonstrated that you can predict, to a high degree of likelyhood, when a military strike is about to happen by counting how many pizzas are delivered to the Pentagon.
It's somewhat like the before-mentioned leaky abstraction concept, but applied to information.
It's going to get alot worse long before it gets better. Those who believe that true privacy is possible in the future are delusional.
For a well though-out article on the subject, try reading this Wired article that
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
We could tell if prisoners are out of their homes, if people using cars are speeding, or if infected people have fevers and are contagious.
This will literally change our lives. As long as we don't all die of smog first.
Why slashdot? Why not?
Other unanswered questions involve how companies will filter the data generated by large networks of sensors...
Leaving aside the other interesting bits of the article ("Videocams 1 sq.mm large? I'll crush them under my sandaled feet!"), this unanswered question is actually very, very important. For far too long both military* and non-military intelligence has focused far to much on gathering information and far to little on actually going thru it and learning from it. During WWII and the early part of the cold war each and every bit of gathered intelligence was a treasure, troughtly analysed and carfully matched with what other bits of intelligence that was gathered before, letting the analysers build up a pretty complete picture (so good in fact, that towards the end of that war the allies often knew better than the germans where the german troops were). But as we got better at collecting information, through ELINT, satelites and such, we 'drowned' in the sheer amount of information... succumbing to the idea that seeing something was as good as knowing what we saw (hint; it isn't). So I sure hope someone out there figures out a way to both filter and interprent the information they may gather with this - otherwise it is useless.
*) Come to think of it, the idea to 'sow' enemy territory with a sensornetwork like this before and during an attack might be quite usefull - if they don't figure out a way to jam it off course.
Everything in the world is controlled by a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one you know belongs.
How are these sensors powered? From reading the article I would assume that they draw there power from a central battery of sorts.
And why would you want a sensor network in your bedroom? I am thinking they are something like a bunch of small video cameras... No?
Use of pervasive sensor networks by governmental and corporate organizations is inevitable (it's appearing in increments everyday in the US). The crucial difference between Big Brother and Transparency is who has access to the raw imagery / sensor data and the processed information. See David Brin's site for more information.
Is it just me or does this sound way to much like the "Sensors" on Star Trek. They're mentioned, they're there, but no one really knows what they sense.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
The real advantage of sensor networks will come if they provide information that helps companies make better products, or if the increased amount of data gathered actually provides useful information on how things work so that we can advance our knowledge.
The security issue is a ruse. Security is what is selling today...so it is what you put in ad copy and press releases. It is like the B2B craze...remember when B2B appeared in the investor relation pages for all the dot bombs? Today, you need to have the word security in your ad copy.
Of course, the fact that we are twisting more and more fundamental research into security concerns is itself a cause for concern. It means the applications will not be benign.
I suspect that, when all is said and done, the devices themselves will tend to add more reasons to feel insecure than they will do to add reasons to feel secure. The programs will be used as much for spying as for defense. The result is that the primary use of such networks will be to detect and counter the other sensor networks trying to spy on your sensor networks.
It will be a white-spy black-spy sort a game.
1. Get Microsoft the contract (they'll run it on Windows.)
2. Salvation (not in the religious sense though.)
See, no ??? part.
Look a monkey!
We could root out all the criminals, misfits, homeless, and other undesirables.
We could create a new service under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security.
We'll call it the S.S., and it can use double lightning bolts for its insignia. Wouldn't that be lovely?
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
Score: -1 100% Flamebait
*ANY* breach of privacy is unacceptable. Even if its minor, and supposedly with 'good intentions' it doesn't discount it as part of a slow encroachment with the ultimate effect of total lack of privacy/rights/freedom.
.. It just means you are aware of it, and only by diligent efforts will the rights and freedoms of the individual be preserved.
In my case, I blame both the technology AND its improper use, I'm not blind to reality.. Once the technology is in place, then it WILL be misused.. this is human nature..
Paranoia does not mean one is wrong or that they are not out to get you
---- Booth was a patriot ----
... for me to walk around with my own personal EMP backpack - maybe something similar to what the Ghostbusters use?
But then, they'd be able to find me by looking at the ever-moving deadspot on their network.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
I'm as paranoid as the next slashdotter, but not for the same reasons. I'm only worried about my privacy when there is an imbalance, as there seems to be now. I'll submit to complete surveillance when the whole world does likewise-- and that means you too, Mr. President. Privacy is only an issue when the "other side" still has theirs. If we could all keep tabs on the government, why should we care if they keep tabs on us? Until TIA is really "total," and I can watch them as easily as they watch me, I'll continue to argue for privacy rights.
Would be interesting to have sensors with included WLAN technology. This would make the technology very easy to install, surely this wouldn't eat much bandwidth.
>> Had I been going to bed earlier every night? Have I been sleeping later? Has Tyler been in charge longer and l
Gives the little guy too much power
Sig:
Navy nuke sub lifestyle?
Perhaps it would be nice to move away from wild, unfounded speculation and Sci-fi references to discuss how these things are used in the real world. Last summer I worked at a research station where we set up a network of these things to remotely monitor ground-nesting birds in their burrows. Privacy of the birds aside, these are great tools for scientific observation in sensitive areas -- observer effect is minimized, cost is minimized, and you can monitor many different locations constantly, without having to check them again every day. If you're wondering what the limitations of these systems are, powering them is a big one. The motes run on battery power, so the size of the battery puts a restriction on both the size of the mote and the amount of time it can run before it needs to be replaced (and the site needs to be disturbed). And size is important too, as they are not yet quite small or cheap enough to throw one in every locker room (despite what you may have heard).
You are worried how technology is misused by people. Right so far? And you blame the people who misuse it AND the technology, as you've stated elsewhere in this thread?
Well, what is your stance on guns?
why run from Vincenzo?
However I hope that in the future as our first world societies incorporate these technologies we don't become overly dependent upon them. We're going to become increasingly susceptible to terrorist type attacks in the future and imagine the havoc that could be wrought on a society completely dependent on electronics and nanotech by a few well placed EMP bombs.
Back to the stone ages, Baghdad-style riots, bludgeoning your neighbour to get that last sack of rice and so on.
Bump post up one level.....
It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
I found the article's comment about the need for the NSF to motivate standards in wireless sensor networks to be strange, since the IEEE 802.15.4 standard is due to be published any day now (the final draft is alread for sale at the IEEE online store). The IEEE 802.15.4 standard is designed for low cost, very low power consumption wireless sensor networks; it has a raw over-the-air data rate of 250 kb/s, operates in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz ISM band, and can support peer-to-peer multihop (so-called "mesh") networks with device duty cycles below 3 ppm.
The IEEE 802.15.4 standard is being used by the ZigBee Alliance, an organization of more than 50 large and small companies, to establish networking and application profile interoperability standards, much like Wi-fi has done with IEEE 802.11. The ZigBee Alliance will have a session open to the public at its next meeting, in Berlin June 3.
The IEEE 1451.5 wireless sensor standard, which will standardize sensor discovery and data formatting, is at an earlier stage of development; proposals are now being presented.
With all this activity, it's not clear to me just what the NSF is expecting to standardize.
In a few years YRO will probably be featuring an article on this.
So, do I get to monitor the monitors?
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
I travel quite a bit all over the Europe. Ever since the latest airport security measures were put into place last year, I've given up flying. I have traded enough of my privacy and comfort for security. The airlines are not going to get any more of my money if I can just help it.
With the increased time it takes to actually get through the security and board your plane, trains at least in the core continental EU the high speed trains are very competetive both in the price and speed and completely outclass the planes when it comes to comfort.
Secondly, I'm fed up having to feel like a criminal or that I have entered a war-zone every time I fly. Seeing guards walking around the terminal carrying shoulder-slung automatic weapons makes me feel apprehensive. The metal detectors are set so sensitive now that even the small metal studs in my shoes set them off. This, of course, is followed by an embarrasing body search. Ridiculous regulations such as banning nail clippers, small scissors or practically any sharp object from the hand luggage doesn't make traveling by air any more comfortable. I bet one could do much more damage with a ball-point pen (which is not on the forbidden items list) than with nail clippers if one were properly trained and determined. Any this doesn't make me feel safer. I've lost my privacy, I've lost my comfort -- why fly anymore?
The owls are not what they seem