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Prototype EU Airplane Spy Cams Watch For Facecrime
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "You can't make stuff like this up. The EU is actually testing a prototype system of cameras in airplanes to monitor passengers' facial expressions in order to detect both terrorism and 'air rage.' The Security of Aircraft in the Future European Environment (SAFEE) project used an Airbus A380 fuselage with six wide-angle cameras to watch for people running or loitering near the cockpit door, as well as a camera in the back of every seat to watch for facecrime like sweating too much, or acting nervous. But that's okay, because the system won't alert anyone until it sees a 'combination of signs,' instead of just one stray expression, or they might accidentally catch a lot of people who are afraid of flying or of being watched."
because perpetrators wouldn't ever be calm or completely resigned to their fate/choice.
The A380 is a long haul aircraft and there isn't a lot to do up front with automated cockpits. So in the interests of "security", the pilots will probably "monitor" the cameras ...
keeping a particularly close eye on attractive females.
And how long until the first footage of the Mile High Club shows up on YouTube?
One of my all-time favorite "caught in the act" via webcam was Duncan Grisby using the opensource motion program to catch a burgler in his flat - technical details of his setup.
Speaking of cams, here is a nifty BirdCam of House Finches - look for baby chicks.
Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
thats all I have to say.
Well, we all realize it's very important for everyone (especially young children) to learn that being watched at all places and all times is normal and important for the functioning of civilizations. Airplane cabins are a convenient place to start since some people are sufficiently scared of flying to accept surveilance there.
1. How much does all of this equipment weigh?
2. If it detects a terrorist attack, what can anyone do about it while the plane is in the air?
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
Would "air rage" be the rage I feel after I've had my laptop and bags rifled through, a full body-cavity search, and after having my toothpaste confiscated and after pouring my water in a big bucket?
Better hope you're not susceptible to airsickness...or overly concerned about making your connecting flight...or mildly allergic to the airline peanuts...or worried that Big Brother might just single you out for having the wrong hair/skin color, or for "suspect behavior", and make an example of you, with no chance of appeal or redress...
I'm so glad my profession does not require large amounts of air travel...I would have to get another job.
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~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
Because it's easier to sell a security system that helps protect against a threat people have heard of, than to get people to listen to you about a threat that has not shown up.
Even before 9/11 planes have traditionally been high value targets. Originally this was probably because jet travel was regarded as sort of symbolic of the wealthy and privileged (the expression 'jet-set' though perhaps a bit dated, is a product of that mentality). So whatever the specific nature of your complaint, targeting a passenger jet was a way of focusing on high value targets, as opposed to, say, hitting a Greyhound bus.
Additionally, factor in some of the tactical benefits of an assault on a plane: you automatically have mobility and hostages, which affords you some protection against police or military who might try to intervene. And if your goal is widespread death, crashing or detonating a plane is pretty surefire, compared to a comparable attack on the ground.
Of course, common sense tells us that if we make planes terrorist-proof, terrorists will just strike elsewhere. There's a diminishing marginal return on airplane security, and products like this facecrime camera are probably WAAAAY out there in terms of cost/benefit.
... So, some sort of Post-It note with a smiley face on the back may be in order.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
Well, unless you carefully black out the camera before you sit, they'll have a picture of your face. Since the airline knows who was sitting in a seat, they know who you are anyway. If cameras start dropping off-line, and if they're monitored in real time, don't you think someone will notice?
Do you really not think that it will be a criminal offense to tamper with the airline safety system? And, clearly, people with good intentions would never do such a thing, so they'll presume you had bad intentions from the start.
I simply can't believe that they'd neither catch your nor fail to charge you with something. I'm not in favor of being on camera while in flight (I think it's an appalling idea), but I don't imagine the powers that be will react nicely to people mucking about with their security toys.
People seriously pondering something like this should accept the fact that their principled stand might find themselves in some trouble.
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Um, not to sound racist or anything, but wouldn't the terrorist just send their women to blow up the planes then? You know, the ones that cover their faces with veils? Epic fail.
For starters, I can't imagine you could get half of the people on an A380 to stir up that kind of shit. It's a big plane, and most people aren't that politically concerned.
I have no idea if you can easily request to be let off the plane or not. There are very strict rules to ensure that you can't have checked baggage that flies when you don't. They could conceivably have to empty the cargo hold to find your bag. If you kick up too big of a stink, well, disruptive passengers get arrested and can get fined for flight disruptions.
Activism is good. I'm sure someone will do the kinds of things you're suggesting -- I'm just saying, once you start messing about in airports/planes, you enter into a whole new level of ways to get into trouble.
Don't undertake such acts without seriously thinking if that is the best way to achieve your point and not end up in some serious legal troubles. The consequences could be well beyond what you're prepared to deal with.
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Word up: bring a tiny bit of modelling clay in your pocket, and then when you sit down, put it on top of the camera lens.
Or just sit there and pick your nose for THE ENTIRE FLIGHT.
RS
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
I'm not saying do nothing. I'm saying pick your venue and what you do.
Getting yourself arrested and kicking up a stink might help them say "See, the system is working, we found a crazy person already who had planned to disrupt the flight".
There's a huge gap between doing nothing, and doing something stupid which won't actually help what you're trying to do.
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
There is an answer to that. Whenever you get on a Qantas long haulflight to the US - even though it is an Australian airline flying under the Australian flag - they announce that US regulations prohibit people from congregating in the plane. This includes handing around the toilet waiting to use it. so technically you are already a Bad Person (tm) for doing so. The video surveilance just proves it.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
People seriously pondering something like this should accept the fact that their principled stand might find themselves in some trouble.
some 200+ years ago, some yanks threw some tea into the water. I think they caught hell for it, too. but in the long run, everyone was better off.
some indian guy, in our century, also did something disobedient. I seem to remember its outcome was positive even though individuals did catch some hell for it, in the short run.
is our freedom to NOT be watched every damned minute of our lives not worth fighting for? I'm starting to wonder, what IS worth fighting for, then?
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
easier solution:
Don't Fly.
Flying is noisy, uncomfortable, irritating, you get overcharged, patronised, lied to and sometimes they lose your luggage. you get delayed, people try to sell you lottery tickets and alcohol (on a plane ffs). The food is inedible. the seating is awkward and has no legroom.
Plus it fucks up the environment.
Sleeper Trains FTW.
DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
Let me reframe this line of thought in a way which isn't quite so funny.
One member of a dedicated and well trained team is tasked with being 'nervous.' He fidgets, he twitches, pulls out a holy book and begins chanting prayers for courage and wisdom. The plane's security complement arrives at his seat, while the other team members, having now identified, quantified, distracted and virtually cornered the opposition calmly make their move.
Brilliant!
...I don't imagine the powers that be will react nicely to people mucking about with their security toys. The powers that be are in the wrong. We can muck with impunity. People seriously pondering something like this should accept the fact that their principled stand might find themselves in some trouble. Feel free to submit to any authority you like, no matter how unreasonable you find it; that is your prerogative. Others will cover the camera with a post-it note, and defend this reasonable action in court if some fear-mongering lawmakers are unreasonable about it.For everyone, there is some threshold of governmental stupidity beyond which they will tolerate no more. For some that might require repeated physical violation, but for others the very quality of stupidity is intolerable. Most are probably closer to the former than the latter, and that explains both why the concept of "sheeple" exists and why it is mocked.
The rate of false positives would be so ridiculously high its a completly useless project and waist of money.
This is the problem. They force all manner of bullshit on us and set up laws to make it illegal to have a low tolerance to their bullshit. Then, the rest of the sheep who don't even notice that there's a problem enforce your punishment. It sucks. I just cannot get across how much it sucks. All of it.
Requiem for the American Dream
Uhhh, today I'm actualy more anxious of anti-terrorism than of terrorism.
OK, we're in mid-air, I take the gun, that I slipped through customs, from wherever I hid it and start walking towards the cockpit.
What, at this point, is the idea behind the camera?