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Would a virtual 'scramble suit' protect us from CCTV?
The video below shows some new software in action that hides the identity of people in CCTV footage. The idea is that it protects the identity of anyone innocent that is caught on the tape. US firm 3VR say that only if somebody was acting suspiciously would someone with security clearance unscramble the faces of a person shown
In 2006, we wrote about a similar system developed by a Swiss company, Emitall. Their own video shows it at work blurring out people and cars.
The technology has been likened to the scramble suits worn by narcotics officers in Philip K Dick's novel A Scanner Darkly. These suits anonymise a person by constantly projecting images of different people over the suit's exterior.It may be reassuring to know that your identity will be protected unless you act suspiciously. But that assumes you trust the judgement of the people that have the power to decrypt the image.Also, the scrambling isn't that good. Both of the technologies above leave some information available, such as a person's height, ethnicity and sometimes clothing and jewellery.Since the software made by 3VR and Emitall can clearly identify people and faces well, why not take a leaf out of Dick's book and do a proper job of obscuring people until their appearance is something security services need to know?Tom Simonite, online technology editor3VR's technology seen via Danger Room
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