Surveillance

Californian prisons employ robotic scouts

By Kyle Sherer

16:43 November 3, 2008 PST

California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has agreed to test remote-controlled, 1.2-pound surveillance robots in hostile prison situations. After pulling an activation pin, the hardy robots can be thrown into place, or fired from a tear-gas launcher. Read More

Raytheon and US Navy demonstrate submarine-compatible UAS

By Kyle Sherer

17:30 October 30, 2008 PDT

Raytheon and the US Navy have demonstrated unmanned aircraft system capability for submarines. The Submarine Over the Horizon Organic Capabilities (SOTHOC) program is developing a specialized UAS designed for collection of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in a complex littoral environment. Read More

Pterodactyl-based UAV design for urban combat scenarios

By Kyle Sherer

16:29 October 7, 2008 PDT

Scientists have designed a highly-maneuverable UAV modeled on a 228-million-year-old pterodactyl. The 30-inch robotic craft would alter its wing shape to “squeeze through confined spaces, dive between buildings, travel under overpasses, land on apartment balconies, and sail along the coastline.” Read More

Raytheon's KillerBee UAV tested in simulated combat

By Kyle Sherer

22:21 October 2, 2008 PDT

Raytheon’s KillerBee, a 10-foot wide UAV designed for surveillance and reconnaissance, has been successfully demonstrated in a simulated combat environment. A Raytheon flight operations crew delivered the 30 pound KillerBee system to a remote location using Humvees and achieved set up and launch within 45 minutes before executing the operational scenario and retrieving the aircraft with a net-recovery system. Read More

Seagull-cam military/spy camera technology

By Loz Blain

01:33 July 7, 2008 PDT

Video capture and transmission technology has become so compact, reliable and cheap that remote-controlled spy-cams are making their way into general military use in a variety of creative packages. That seagull bobbing quietly up and down on the water, for example, could be one of Macroswiss's electrically-propelled remote control surveillance cameras. The company also manufactures small gun-mounted targeting cameras that allow operatives to point their firearms around corners and shoot whatever's on their wrist-mounted screen like it's a video game. And then there's the short-range throwing camera, which can be lobbed grenade-style into a dangerous or hostile area. It automatically rights itself and transmits a remotely-controlled rotating view back to an assault team so there's no surprises when they enter the area. Read More

StealthVue Pennycam aids reliable surveillance

By Kyle Sherer

02:24 June 23, 2008 PDT

It’s frustrating when sophisticated surveillance technology is circumvented by robbers who use a not-so-sophisticated baseball cap to shield their face. Retailers can reclaim the edge with StealthVue’s PennyCam, a hidden camera that provides upwardly-angled pictures of anyone who approaches the counter, delivering a clear, identifiable view of their face. Read More

Wide-angle camera improves security surveillance

By Emily Clark

21:38 March 30, 2008 PDT

Researchers at the University of Alabama (UAH) have developed a wide-angle camera that will assist security forces by enabling them to monitor large areas through high-resolution images taken from a satellite or an airborne craft. The proposed one giga-pixel camera was created after UAH researcher, David Pollock, discovered that if you point a large number of lenses toward a common point, and then make a small correction on each of the lenses, you have a camera with capabilities that far surpass existing technologies. Read More

Bluetooth enabled DVR pen

By Noel McKeegan

20:21 November 5, 2007 PST

November 6, 2007 Details are still scarce on this upcoming DVR pen that crams a wireless, low-power, digital video recorder - including microphone – into a 0.55 x 5.7inch (1.4 x 14.5cm) form that also works as - yes - a pen. Although the specs are not yet finalized, the device is expected to capture real-time video at 30 fps (320x240) with the ability to activate based on a motion detection system that allows for five different sensitivity levels along with the ability to select specific areas and send an alarm wirelessly to a remote site in the event that motion is detected. There’s also an audio detection capability that triggers the sound recorder and the media is flash memory or Micro SD, with Bluetooth wireless transfer back to PDAs or PCs included. Read More

"Condo-cam" keeps an eye on your second home

By Emily Clark

03:13 October 26, 2007 PDT

October 26, 2007 Having a holiday home is a wonderful luxury, but the casual nature of visits to the property can leave it open to security risks such as break-ins and vandalism. By fully embracing the benefits of remote technologies now on the market, a new property development at Le Paradis Beach, Golf & Marina Resort in St. Lucia acts is helping residents keep a close eye on their second homes. Read More

Intellivid Video intelligence software streamlines in-store security

By Darren Quick

00:29 September 19, 2007 PDT

September 19, 2007 We’ve all seen the seemingly ubiquitous eye in the sky cameras watching us from store ceilings and most of us have probably wondered if anyone actually monitors those things. In an effort to improve the efficiency of such surveillance, Intellivid has developed a Computer Aided Tracking (CAT) tool that incorporates a newly patented adjacency algorithm. The technology uses sophisticated video analytics to streamline video surveillance, giving the ability to seamlessly track in-store movements and create complete end-to-end footage. Read More

Unmanned jet-skis to take on harbour patrol missions

By Loz Blain

01:09 September 17, 2007 PDT

September 17, 2007 UK-based defense contractor QinetiQ is preparing to demonstrate the Sentry – an unmanned watercraft the size of a jet-ski that’s set up to perform remote-controlled patrol, reconnaissance and damage assessment missions. Its six hour mission endurance and control range of up to 16 nautical miles will make this stealthy vehicle a very practical security tool. Read More

Intelligent video surveillance combines situational awareness with flexible encoding

By Gizmag Team

19:31 August 21, 2007 PDT

August 22, The explosion of the number of video surveillance cameras used by government, business and private homes today has brought with it many issues relating to the management of video feeds, network congestion, rapid disk space consumption and degraded levels of image quality. To solve these problems, processor design specialist Stretch has come up with the Intelligent Encoder Software Development Kit (SDK), the first video surveillance encoder with built-in intelligence for the Video Surveillance Industry that combines situational awareness with flexible encoding. Read More

Next-generation Sky Warrior's maiden flight a success

By Loz Blain

June 18, 2007 Resurrecting a great name from the 1950s, General Atomics have completed the maiden flight of their Sky Warrior Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). While the original, built by Douglas, was known for being the largest and heaviest "whale" of a bomber to take-off and land on aircraft carriers, the new Sky Warrior will operate as an unmanned long range surveillance, communications and weapons delivery drone. Able to run happily on diesel or jet fuel due to its Heavy Fuel Engine, the Sky Warrior will form a key part of the U.S. Army's Extended Range/Multi Purpose Unmanned Aircraft system. Read More

Turn your mobile phone into a video controller with an advanced video pack from Swann

By Kate Seamer

April 25, 2007 The Advanced Video Pack from Swann enables you to stream video live from a camera to your mobile phone. It will even alert you via SMS when its cameras detect motion. While many would use this system for home or business security, it may also be used as a baby monitor, or even just for a bit of fun. Read More

Cheater Checker – spying on your loved ones

By Mike Hanlon

March 10, 2007 The effects of new and improved communication technologies on society are clearly profound, though we’re aware of very little research being done into what those changes are. What began as a reader request to cover a software program earlier this week unearthed the clear signs that infidelity is on the rise due to the information revolution. With the advent of technology, cheating has become easier to facilitate. Dating sites, online social networks and instant messaging make it extremely easy to start communicating with people you would never otherwise meet. Anyway, by the end of the story, your humble scribe felt very naïve. For starters, Cheaterchecker is in Version 4.2 and we didn’t even know it existed. It’s a software package that, once you’ve installed it on your computer, enables you to spy on anyone else using that computer and keeps track of everything from emails to web pages visited and even instant messaging. As the name implies, Cheater Checker is designed to catch a cheating spouse or partner. It’s only legal to install it on your computer – doing it to someone else’s computer is illegal but we suspect that’s how it’s being used. What caught our eye was what appeared to be some poetic license with the facts in the promotional video – 1 in 2 people in a relationship cheat on their partner, 57% of women cheat on their partner, 3 out of 4 married men cheat on their wives, 2 out of 3 people being cheated on never find out ... so we asked for their sources and they provided them. Read More

First UAV to use High-Resolution Synthetic Aperture Surveillance Radar

By Mike Hanlon

December 7, 2006 Lockheed Martin recently accomplished a first for unmanned aerial systems (UAS), demonstrating that high-resolution, broad-area imaging from a Miniaturized Synthetic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) could effectively be delivered by a UAS into the hands of tactical unit commanders, regardless of smoke, dust, heavy rain or night-time conditions. During a successful field exercise at the Minnesota National Guard test facility on October 19, a small SkySpirit UAS carrying a Sandia-developed MiniSAR sensor soared to nearly 3,000 feet and, in near real-time, became the first UAS to successfully transmit four-inch resolution SAR imagery. During four different mission demonstrations, the SkySpirit transmitted MiniSAR images capturing actionable data in two operational modes: focused area circle-mapping and broad area strip-mapping. Multiple imaging passes were post-processed to demonstrate coherent change detection used to identify changes over time. Read More

Panoptic C-Thru 3D Video Surveillance System

By Mike Hanlon

August 31, 2006 Panoptic’s proposed C-Thru 3D Video Surveillance System could be loosely described as a formalised, scalable implementation of Superman’s X-ray vision. The system enables one or more surveillance agents, using a single high resolution, auto-stereoscopic display, to remotely monitor the security situation of an arbitrarily large number of locations at-a-glance. Agents can see, hear and transport their focused viewpoint through walls, floors and ceilings, zooming into a specific location to monitor it at a level so acute that it seems beyond the levels of even science fiction. Designed to enable both wholistic site-wide and granular-level security, the system is ideal for monitoring airports, shipping ports, transit sites and other ports-of-entry, hotels, casinos, shopping malls, campuses, military bases, large buildings and building complexes, offering total situational awareness at a glance. Read More

Day/Night Internet camera servers offer 24-Hour surveillance for SMEs

By Mike Hanlon

August 7, 2006 Video surveillance was once a costly business and solely the domain of robust, well-funded businesses but the march of progress continues to lower costs of almost everything dealing in zeroes and ones and we recently marvelled at the US$300 wireless Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) IP camera from Linksys. Now TRENDnet has unveiled the US$400 wired (TV-IP301) and US$500 wireless (TV-IP301W) Advanced Day/Night Internet Camera Servers. Equipped with an infrared (IR) lens and built-in microphone, the new products facilitate remote security monitoring 24 hours a day for small businesses via the Internet. Read More

The EyeBall tossable surveillance device

By Mike Hanlon

March 28, 2006 The Eye Ball is about the size of a baseball (roughly 3.25 inches), weighs less than one pound and is encased in a rubber and polyurethane housing that enables it to be thrown through windows or doors and bounced off walls. It’s when the Eyeball lands that it becomes incredibly useful as it can capture video up to 25 metres distance and audio up to five metres, and then wirelessly send that real-time info up to 200 metres to handheld device. An omnidirectional lens rotates at 4 rpm and provides a 55-degree horizontal and 41-degree vertical field of view. It doesn’t even need daylight as it also has night vision capability. Warfighters or Law enforcement officers can roll, toss, or drop the rugged Eye Ball into virtually any hazardous situation - providing the immediate visibility required for users to make safe, intelligent decisions in dangerous environments. Read More

Declassified covert military surveillance system to protect international borders

By Mike Hanlon

February 25, 2006 Picture an intruder stepping stealthily across an international borderline. Now shift to a U.S. Command and Control center several miles away where a computer system is alerting a security officer to the intruder's movement, having detected the slight sound of a footstep and zeroed in on the intruder's exact location. The security officer dispatches a UAV to monitor from the air, ground forces to intercept on the ground, and the intruder is stopped. The detection, classification, location, and tracking system is a recently de-classified covert surveillance and intelligence gathering system, which is now in full-scale development as a result of a licensing agreement between the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), Newport, R.I., which invented the sensor technology, and GCS Research of Missoula, Mont., which is further developing and commercializing it. Read More

The U-2 Spy Plane turns 50 - and still in service

By Mike Hanlon

August 3, 2005 Fifty years ago this week the famous high altitude (70,000 ft, 21,000 m plus) U-2 spy plane made its first flight – since that time it has been one of the most consistent providers of critical intelligence information to the United States in peacetime and all phases of conflict. Developed with a reportedly unlimited budget supplied by the CIA, the plane was developed in record time by Lockheed Martin and in operation for four years providing continuous day and night, high-altitude, all-weather surveillance before the famous incident where US pilot Gary Powers was shot down over a Russian nuclear missile base in 1960 and tried as a spy. The U-2 is now 40% larger than it was in 1955 due to the plethora of electronic eyes and ears it carries, but it is still immensely useful in wartime having provided 88% of battle field imagery during the Iraq invasion. The U-2 was responsible for identifying the threat of Cuban-based ballistic missiles that became the Cuban missile crisis and took the world closer to nuclear war than any other point in history. All of the imagery used in identifying the build-up of missiles came from the U-2. The U-2 has been the backbone of US airborne intelligence collection operations for FIVE DECADES and is expected to continue in the role for at least another decade. Read More

UK 'Spy in the Sky' Watchkeeper programme announced

By Mike Hanlon

July 28, 2005 The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) will be a new addition to the future battlespace reardless of whether the US is in the fight or not. Military UAV programs are being approved the world over with the latest being a UK 700 million pounds programme frrom the Uk department of Defence. Britain has finally given the green light to its Watchkeeper UAV Programme, the UK Armed Forces' new 'spy in the sky'. British Defence Secretary John Reid said in making the announcement,"Watchkeeper is the key to battlefield surveillance of the future. The new UAVs will be able to stay in the air for much longer than conventional aircraft, and will provide all-weather coverage by day and by night.” "UAVs are a key part of the future vision for our Armed Forces. They allow high-quality imagery of the battlefield to be passed to commanders quickly, enabling them to deliver more precise and decisive effect with greater accuracy. In addition, they improve operational effectiveness through their contribution to Network Enabled Capability.” Read More

Taking Night Time Surveillance to a New Level

By Mike Hanlon

April 19, 2005 There is no room for error when dealing with the night-time surveillance of large areas such as property borders at ranges 800 meters and beyond, fence lines and large public works expanding over 15 acres. Gaps or weaknesses in any security framework, especially those designed for these types of wide area applications, could result in substantially reduced protection, with the potential for costly and irreversible damage. Ensuring the optimal performance of large area security systems under low-light conditions has been both difficult and cost prohibitive, until now … the ALS-20 line of infrared illuminators deliver high power levels of invisible illumination so that near-infrared capable CCD cameras can maintain a clear, sharp view of large areas at night. Read More

SENTRI surveillance

By Gizmag Team

December 14, 2004 A microphone surveillance system based on brain cell research is being used to combat shootings on the streets of Chicago and Los Angeles. The SENTRI system developed by Theodore Berger, director of the University Southern California's (USC) Center for Neural Engineering, has been trained to instantly recognise the sound of a gunshot within a two-block radius with high accuracy. SENTRI can then tag where the shot was fired, zoom in and photograph the shooter with it's built in camera and even make a 911 call to the police station. Police can then remotely control the camera to track the offender and dispatch officers to the scene in an integrated human-computer crime response. Read More

Playstation EyeToy 2 offers surveillance camera

By Mike Hanlon

The next version of Sony's Eyetoy Play due later this year can be used as a security camera as well as for dancing, karaoke and gameplaying further strengthening the Playstation's as a hub for home services and entertainment. Budding detectives can set up their SpyToy to secretly capture photos or record video of intruders, or they can record their own stealth message that will pop up on the television screen should anyone cross the threshold. Read More