Airport Video Surveillance Goes Hi-Tech

conq writes "BusinessWeek has a piece on new tech used in the airport of Helsinki to monitor behavior and alert people when predefined situations arise. From the article: "The system can alert staff to events which may need further investigation without the need for every camera to be observed by staff. For example, suspect packages or vehicles left unattended will be flagged up and staff alerted. Similarly if the system detects queues growing beyond a pre-defined length in the security zone staff will be alerted of the need to open another lane""

Comments

A better use for it

[gooman]

...if the system detects queues growing beyond a pre-defined length in the security zone staff will be alerted of the need to open another lane

Forget the airport, I want this at my local supermarket!

Re:A better use for it

[jftitan]

Hell yes!

    I was in the local supermarket today, and I had to stand in line for a good 30 minutes. I stopped a manager 'looking' person and asked them "why the hell was there only 3 tellers open when there are 20 teller stations, and over 45 people standing in line for just the 3 open ones" Her reply was, no one had told her to open another teller to ease the wait.

"WTF, someone has to tell you, "there are 45 people waiting in line for only three tellers, go open one or two more.", your an idiot." -My reponse.

Still I waited only to finally get to the front of the line only to see one more teller getting to a station to open, but by the time he was ready to open, no one was left to be taken care of.

All I can say is, if it wasn't for my ipod (and the soft, easy going music I was listening to.) I would have snapped and killed someone. Or even worse... snapped and killed myself.

Re:Huh?

[StikyPad]

Can't the actual human employees at the head of the line make this determination and alert whomever has the authority to open another lane?

That's not in the job description.

Re:I'm always amused at the airport...

[Rix]

People are replaceable, 767s cost millions of dollars...

Re:Huh?

[FidelCatsro]

Going by personal experience here, They seem completely unable to know when another line need's opened.
Even if you ask you them about it or paint a big banner with the word's "OPEN ANOTHER LINE YOU BASTARDS".

Re:I'm always amused at the airport...

[damian cosmas]

Exactly. People can be easily mass-produced with unskilled labor; airplanes cannot. (With apologies to Wernher von Braun)

Re:Old Systems. Reinventing the wheel.

[MImeKillEr]

I'd be more impressed if they had a system that could scan and tag/match all faces/voices that it sees and hears in an airport.

Hell, I'd be impressed if they had a system that didn't lose luggage.

As for matching faces to voices in the airport, who really wants their conversations overheard by some lackey in a monitoring room?

We'll all be safer...

[slipangle]

...once these cameras are connected to Skynet.

Re:Huh?

[0110011001110101]

oooh oooh can I play???

Quick test: What hangs from the ceiling quite prominently in the checked-in waiting area?

Your balls? As you've clearly got a massive package, which is diverting the blood from your brain, as the parent was quite obviously making a generalized comment with an attempt at humor about airport security lines, and not your precious Helsinki...