Spy Gear

In a survey conducted by CBS News in 2005, it was found that 48 percent of Americans believed in ghosts. Other surveys have put the number at anywhere from around 20 to over 50 percent. While such figures certainly don't imply that ghosts are real, they do suggest that belief in them is relatively common. When someone does suspect that a ghost is present in their home or business, they will sometimes call in "experts" to ascertain if that is, in fact, the case ... and what sort of gear do these ghost hunters use to detect said spirits? Gizmag's (very intrepid) Ben Coxworth decided to find out. Read More

Biometric technology allows for the verification of an individual’s identity via parameters such as their fingerprints, iris, voice, DNA ... or facial features. However, given that most people’s faces have so much in common with one another (two eyes, a nose, etc.), it’s sometimes difficult for biometric systems to tell them apart based on flat two-dimensional images. With that in mind, researchers from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton have created a computer algorithm that is capable of creating 3D models of faces based on 2D images. Read More

Yes, there are real-life superheroes. And no, we’re not just referring to firefighters, paramedics, and other heroic people who we’re used to seeing coming to the rescue of others. We’re talking about costume-wearing, identity-concealing, cool-name-having people who fight crime, pollution, or other evils in their own communities, on their own time, and at their own risk. Many of them actually patrol the city streets, ready to intervene if they see trouble brewing – and being ready includes having the right tools. Given that none of these people have Bruce Wayne’s budget, however, their gadgets tend to be less like Batmobile clones, and more like... well, read on and see for yourself. Read More

If you’ve watched any spy movies, then you’ll know that biometric security systems can recognize individuals based on physiological traits such as their fingerprints, handprints, faces and irises. Well, you may soon be able to add “ears” to that that list. Scientists from the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science have used a program called image ray transform to achieve a 99.6 percent success rate in automatically locating and isolating ears in 252 photos of peoples’ heads. Read More

The Environmental Transport Association (ETA), a British company that offers bicycle insurance, recently surveyed 800 cyclists to find out what aspects of cycling they liked the least. The primary purpose of the survey was no doubt something boring and insurancey, but one of the spin-offs is kind of fun – the company put together a one-off bike concept that addresses four of those dislikes in a rather extreme fashion. It’s the B.O.N.D. (Built of Notorious Deterrents) Bike, and it’s almost certainly the only bike in the world with a flamethrower built into its handlebars. Read More

Watching live CCTV footage of thousands of people, trying to pick out any sort of noteworthy activity... it sounds like a very tedious, difficult job for a human being. That’s why researchers from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology are working on an electronic system that uses the principles of human motion vision to do the same job. It is part of the EU’s SEARISE project, which stands for Smart Eyes: Attending and Recognizing Instances of Salient Events. Read More

We’ve told you before about CCTV programs that can identify criminal behavior, or that skip through footage where nothing’s happening. Now, a consortium of ten organizations from six European countries is working on another concept involving video monitoring of public spaces. It’s called the SUBITO project, for Surveillance of Unattended Baggage and the Identification and Tracking of the Owner, and it’s intended to do pretty much what the name suggests. Installed in existing security camera systems at places such as airports or train stations, the software will identify baggage that has been left unattended, and that could therefore possibly contain an explosive device. It will then search back to identify the person who deposited that baggage, then follow them forward through various cameras to establish their present location. Read More

If it hasn't become apparent to you yet, you are living in an age when your every online step is being monitored. The notion of communications privacy has been steamrolled in the interests of security, and the occasional tiny chance we get to peek back at the people who make it their business to watch us is truly frightening. Two new stories from America this week give a rare glimpse behind the curtain at just how closely you're being watched, and by whom. Read More

Not unlike the Mini-digi which we covered a few weeks back, the Chobi Cam from Japan Trust Technologies gives you the power to shoot photos and videos using a device no bigger than an eraser. Even smaller than the Mini-Digi (2.5 x 1.8 x 1.2 inches), the Chobi Cam measures a miniscule 1.7 x 1.1 x 0.5 inches and weighs only half an ounce. Read More