Software to Randomize Police Operations at LAX

owlgorithm writes "A USC research group has created software, named ARMOR (Assistant for Randomized Monitoring over Routes), that will be used at LAX Airport to make security and police operations there truly unpredictable. The software records the locations of routine, random vehicle checkpoints and canine searches at the airport, and police provide data on possible terrorist targets, based in part on recent security breaches or suspicious activity. The software then makes random decisions (which are thankfully based on calculated probabilities of terrorist attacks) and tells the police where to dispatch and when. The most notable detail is that terrorists who had access to ARMOR still wouldn't be able to predict the searches."

Comments

Dupe damn you!

[FoolsGold]

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/30/138233

My first Slashdot dupe report. I'm so excited! What do I win?

Dupe

[ginoledesma]

This topic was discussed several months back: http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/30/138233.

Re:Wait!

[ralewi1]

This article is about game theory. The professor behind the program is an AI expert, who should be up on game theory and risk analysis. In any case, there are instances where, in games, generating actions using random distributions can result in a better expected outcome than what may appear common sensical. If you do a risk analysis of a public place, such as an airport, you get events that are rare and extremely damaging (eg 9/11 attacks) and things that are more common but less lethal (eg. pipe bombs). You have fixed resources to protect against any of a number of high level threats... pick those with the most risk and make it hard for the bad guy to find a clear opening to cause harm. From the article, it sounds like the software helps ensure security forces truly act in a random manner and avoid routine.

Re:I leaked the algorithm:

[Anonymous Coward]

So they are targeting all bearded men until they can get close enough to check if you're brown?

A plain old while loop would be better.

while(guy.hasBeard() && beardedguy == brown || self.needToFillQuota)
{
goAfterTheBeardedGuy();
}

Re:US airport security theory:

[Dekortage]

Maybe someday they'll fix Amtrak....

As someone who commutes regularly on Amtrak (in fact I'm on the train as I write this, thanks to EVDO), you just made me laugh. Bush has nearly killed Amtrak. Maybe the next President will be nicer to it, but currently, Amtrak is fighting to get even a few hundred million dollars of support, while other countries are putting billions into their systems. *sigh*