Scientists and engineers in Britain are working on swarms of spy flies that can monitor people, military installations and industrial complexes.

From Scotsman.com –

BRITISH military scientists are developing robot flies that can be sent in swarms to spy out enemy positions.

Dr Rafal Zbikowski, the project leader, believes the first machine insects could be buzzing around his lab within ten years. He has already produced a non-airborne prototype that mimics the wing-beats of a hover fly.

Unlike conventional unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), Dr Zbikowski’s tiny drones could operate in confined and cluttered spaces within buildings, stairwells, tunnels or caves.

They would be invaluable for rooting out hidden terrorists, or - with more peaceful roles in mind - helping to locate victims of natural disasters such as earthquakes. Industrial applications might involve inspecting chemical pipes or mines.

The United States military, which is partly funding the research, has even expressed an interest in using the robots to deliver small explosive charges.

Source: Scientists aim to be lord of robot spy flies

Here is an excellent how-to article from Popular Science that shows people how to set up a personal surveillance system that can monitor their front door. With an inexpensive web cam and a wireless device, people can monitor people at their front door, or anyplace else, for around $80.

From the article –

Is that guy at my front door delivering the pizza I’ve been dying for, or is it one of those religious proselytizers who won’t take “no” for an answer? With an audio-equipped networked camera, I can sit at the other end of the house and beg the delivery guy to wait—or release the hounds. And if I’m on vacation in Tahiti, I can find an Internet connection or cellphone and keep an eye on the babysitter.

Networked cameras are like webcams, except that they have their own Web server built in, so they send video over the Internet without a computer. An installation suitable for your front door used to run well over a grand. But now you can get a cam online yourself for as little as $80, while $500 will buy a weatherproof, vandal-proof cam that will pan, tilt, and even zoom by remote control. And as long as you have a router that’s no more than a few years old, setup is typically just plug-and-play. Follow the steps [below], and find the best gear for three common scenarios…

In practice, the tips in this how-to article can be used for setting up a personal surveillance camera anywhere you want. Business owners could even set up one of these surveillance cams in a factory or office to monitor people and employees while they are away.

The full article is available at the link below.

Source: Watch Your Front Door From Anywhere

For people who fear being spied on in private or public places or people who are just generally annoyed by the use of digital and surveillance cameras everywhere, researchers are working on a device that can disable digital camera operations.

A June 2006 article on LiveScience.com discusses the anti-digital camera technology —

Researchers have built a prototype device that disables digital cameras. Future versions might thwart unwanted photo-taking at a specific location and even prevent clandestine videos from being made.

The technology might one day prevent espionage in a building or stop pirating of movies from theaters.

It could even be used to stop Mom from taking pictures of her child with Santa to avoid paying for the professional shot.

The device uses sensors, lighting equipment, a projector and a computer to scan for, find and neutralize digital cameras. It looks for the reflectivity and shape of the image-producing sensors used in digital cameras. Future versions might operate in the invisible infrared range so the neutralizing technology would work unnoticed.

Source: New Device Disables Digital Cameras

Pocket-Lint is reporting that Google is making their internet phone and messaging service, Google Talk, free for everyone.

From the article–

Google has announced that it is now making its Google Talk instant messaging service free for all.

Previously the search engine had restricted its use to Gmail account users only, however from today anyone is able to use the service to talk to others for free around the globe.

Instant Messaging has had a busy week this week with Yahoo and Microsoft announcing that the two companies are to allow their subscribers to chat with each other.

You can access the Google Talk site @ Google Talk.

Source: Pocket-Lint

Roland Piquepaille at ZDNet.com discusses a National Geographic article on the use of fly eyes for helping digital cameras and surveillance systems to “see” better.

From the article –

Even with our sophisticated cameras, we can sometimes get poor pictures. This usually happens because cameras use an average light setting to control brightness. When parts of a scene are much brighter than others, the result is that you don’t catch accurately all the parts. According to National Geographic News, by mimicking how flies see, Australian researchers can now produce digital videos in which you can see every detail. This technique could be used to develop better video cameras, military target-detection systems and surveillance equipment.

Source: Fly eyes for spying cameras

A combination of RFID technology on plane tickets with high definition CCTV cameras may someday track people in airports.

From www.computing.co.uk –

Scientists at University College London (UCL) are developing a system that combines radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and high-definition CCTV cameras to track passenger movements in busy airports.

The EU-funded project, known as Optag, is intended to help airlines keep track of passengers and help them reach departure gates on time, reducing the risk of missing valuable take-off slots.

The system could also be used in places such as theme parks to find lost children, or delegates in large conference centres.

One of the project’s leaders, Dr Paul Brennan of UCL’s department of Electrical Engineering, says the system will work by placing RFID tags on boarding passes.

‘We are working to create an interface between the tags and the cameras so that while the tag locates the passenger, the camera can pick them out in a crowded departure lounge,’ said Brennan.

‘So, if someone is late for a flight, for instance, they can be located instantly and shepherded to the departure gate.’

The project also involves vendor Innovision, a UK RFID specialist that will provide technology for the system.

Phil Bacon, the project’s EU co-ordinator, says the system will be especially helpful for large aircraft such as the Airbus A380, that carries up to 700 passengers.

‘There is a problem of how to get that many passengers onto the aircraft in time to meet a scheduled departure,’ he said.

‘It could also be used to track the movement of large numbers of people within an airport, so that queues could be cleared.’

A recent BusinessWeek article details the emerging smart surveillance systems and video cams that use high technology to catch shoplifters.

From the article –

There are 6 million video cameras mounted in stores across the U.S., according to market researcher J.P. Freeman Co. Their unblinking eyes are everywhere, watching exits and peering down aisles. You already knew that. But you probably had no idea how smart some of these cameras are getting.

Some Macy’s (FD ), CVS (CVS ), and Babies ‘R’ Us stores have installed a system called the Video Investigator, whose advanced surveillance software can compare a shopper’s movements between video images and recognize unusual activity.

Remove 10 items from a shelf at once, for instance, or open a case that’s normally kept closed and locked, and the system alerts guards sitting in a back room — or pacing the sales floor — with a chime or flashing screen. The system can predict where a shoplifter is likely to hide (at the ends of aisles, behind floor displays). A search function spots sudden movement that might indicate a large spill, prompting workers to clean up before it leads to a slip-and-fall accident and a costly lawsuit.

Source: Attention, Shoplifters -
With $30 billion in theft, there’s a revolution in surveillance systems

Wired.com is reporting on a group of volunteer researchers in the San Francisco Bay area, who are getting a headstart on the Department of Homeland Security’s plans to patrol US ports with radiation scanners by building their own do-it-yourself, portable nuke detector that will patrol San Francisco Bay.

From the article –

The Department of Homeland Security announced plans last month to bolster U.S. port defenses with radiation scanners. The program, primarily aimed at detecting nukes smuggled by terrorists in shipping containers, will cost an estimated $1.15 billion, but won’t be completed until 2011.

Here on the San Francisco Bay, a group of do-it-yourself volunteer researchers is not waiting for the mushroom cloud. They say they are close to perfecting a portable device that could do much the same thing right now, for total out-of-pocket costs of about $12,000.

The group, led by physicist and Sandia Lab weapons subcontractor Stanley Glaros, says it has already built a boat-mounted scanner with off-the-shelf parts that might reliably spot radiation spikes in container ships at sea from a kilometer away. The team’s detector has been up and running for eight months, and the group plans to publish its test findings in the Review of Scientific Instruments.

“Can we detect hazardous material at a distance?” said Glaros. “Yes, easily.”

You can read the entire article on Wired.com @ DIY Nuke Detector Patrols SF Bay.

The Zillow Real Estate Valuation Search has released a beta search for cell phones and mobile devices that have text messaging enabled for email addresses.

Zillow Mobile allows property searches “on the go” by sending a text message with the property address to a Zillow email address; Zillow will then return a text message to the user with the property address, the Zillow valuation ( or Zestimate, as they call it ), number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, square footage and year built.

Requirements for Zillow’s mobile property search are reprinted below:

1. Your device must be able to send text messages to an e-mail address.
2. You need to have text messaging enabled through your mobile service plan.

You can find out more about Zillow Mobile @ Zillow Labs - Zillow Mobile.

A recent CNN report describes a new breed of smart video camera that is being developed by General Electric. The new smart cameras will be able to detect explosives, even under clothing, by monitoring electromagnetic waves that the devices give off. The cameras will also pinpoint faces and detect erratic body movements among individuals in public.

From the article –

It sounds like something out of science fiction.

Researchers at General Electric Co.’s sprawling research center, are creating new “smart video surveillance” systems that can detect explosives by recognizing the electromagnetic waves given off by objects, even under clothing.

Scientist Peter Tu and his team are also developing programs that can recognize faces, pinpoint distress in a crowd by honing in on erratic body movements and synthesize the views of several cameras into one bird’s eye view, as part of a growing effort to thwart terrorism.

“We’re definitely on the cutting edge,” said Tu, 39. “If you want to reduce risk, video is the way to do it. The threat is always evolving, so our video is always evolving.”

You can read the entire article @ Video cameras on the lookout for terrorists.