Toronto Cab Cams Capturing Customer Biometrics?

Apr 27, 2006 01:30

Is City Hall's ongoing focus on driver safety bordering on overkill ( Read more... )

Leave a comment

Comments 7

trench_run April 27 2006, 13:09:00 UTC
yeah but can it capture our "Awesomeness"?

I don't think so.

Reply

luciftias April 27 2006, 14:17:53 UTC
HAHAHA!!! I hope not! Man, that's worse than your soul being captured.

Reply

trench_run April 27 2006, 14:23:18 UTC
ha...yeah just got new photo ID swipe card here at work...retinal scans and barcode tattoos next I think.

Reply

luciftias April 27 2006, 14:58:24 UTC
I don't look like my photo id swipe card anymore. It was taken 7 years ago. I've gotten grief from security for it a few times. :P Retinal scans are totally possible. Some places already use them! Facial recognition I think will become the big thing though. It's easy to capture, difficult to hide and it's as unique as a fingerprint. Hell, the technology already exists in almost every cab in the city. The stragglers have to get them installed by June 30th. But can you imagine how freaked out everyone (especially the really religious people) would be if places started using barcode tattoos?!! lol. A bit more likely would be RFID tags implanted under the skin, but even then I doubt it. People would be way too freaked about that too. haha.

Reply


kiwano April 28 2006, 04:01:35 UTC
And yet there are all sorts of perfectly good image/video processing algorithms that can be used after the fact (actually better because they aren't constrained by the necessity to run in real time), which, by needing someone to actually decide "let's run this after-the-fact software" preserve a whole bunch of the privacy that VerifEye would erode.

One simple example is that of averaging the image of a filmed license plate over several frames so that the noise (which makes the plate unreadable in any single frame, or even in the video source) basically cancels itself out and the plate details become legible. (I think this example can be done in real time though).

A taxi camera is unlikely to have any value preventing crime (apart from the deterrent value of improved enforcement), so there's no need for expensive and invasive features like those listed in the standard package. (And the smart money would guess that the cops already have the other tools I brought up).

Reply


Leave a comment

Up