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Shadow Analysis Could Spot Terrorists
Hugh Pickens writes "An engineer at Jet Propulsion Labs says it should be possible to identify people from the way they walk — a technique called gait analysis, whose power lies in the fact that a person's walking style is very hard to disguise. Adrian Stoica has written software that recognizes human movement in aerial and satellite video footage by isolating moving shadows and using data on the time of day and the camera angle to correct shadows that are elongated or foreshortened. In tests on footage shot from the sixth floor of a building, Stoica says his software was indeed able to extract useful gait data. Extending the idea to satellites could prove trickier, though. Space imaging expert Bhupendra Jasani at King's College London says geostationary satellites simply don't have the resolution to provide useful detail. 'I find it hard to believe they could apply this technique from space,' says Jasani." Comments on the article speculate on the maximum resolution possible from KH-11 and KH-12 spy satellites.
An engineer at Jet Propulsion Labs says it should be possible to identify people from the way they walk -- a technique called gait analysis, whose power lies in the fact that a person's walking style is very hard to disguise.
I knew it! The Ministry of Silly Walks is really just a subdivision of MI6!
Obviously, but this isn't exactly rocket science.
Just point at the screen and say "Enhance this part!" There you go. If there's something in the way, like a rock, tree, or the roof of a building, just say "Enhance it again" and you'll get all the resolution you need.
If that isn't good enough for you then maybe you could create a GUI interface using Visual Basic to do the job for you.
Would TV lie to me about this kind of thing?
I never go anywhere without a six-pack and a strap-on.
(Score:2, Insightful)
I never go anywhere without a six-pack and a strap-on.
Insightful?? I shudder to think what that mod considers funny.