Listening device acts as a witness

[rainbow4321]

Kinda scary...Big Brother potential, etc...

http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041217.gtshotsdec17/BNStory/Technology/


In an unusual application of neuroscience research, police agencies around the country may soon be able to equip street corners with microphones and video cameras to fight gun-related crime. The system, based on work by Dr. Theodore Berger, director of the Center for Neural Engineering at the University of Southern California, uses the equipment and a computer to recognize gunshots, pinpoint where they came from and transmit the co-ordinates to a command centre. It relies on software that mimics the way the human brain receives, processes and analyzes sound. The system has drawn the attention of several law enforcement agencies, including police departments in Chicago, Oklahoma City and Phoenix and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The system uses four microphones, contained along with the computer in a bulletproof box two feet by two feet by three feet. The system is able to determine quickly where a gun was fired, using the difference in time that the sound took to reach each microphone. The computer sends a signal to the video camera, which zooms in on the location. The system then transmits information and the video directly to law enforcement headquarters. The devices, which cost up to $25,000 each, can cover an area with a radius of about 200 yards


Beyond standard urban law enforcement, the U.S. military has taken notice of Berger's research. In fact, the Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Va., has been financing his neuroscience research for the last 10 years.

In the summer of 2002, Berger had been working on applying his research to voice recognition software, and discovered that it worked even in very noisy environments. The Office of Naval Research and Baker both approached him independently to discuss possible commercial applications. Berger said that the military had ideas for using his technology to monitor "security-breaching noises," such as the sound of a chain-link fence being cut, or to recognize human voices in unauthorized areas.

[BattyDem]

1. It will also ...

be able to catch anyone bad-mouthing * and his policies. How long before people are arrested for saying bad things about the governement? :scared:

[truthisfreedom]

2. the big-brotherization of America. soon, all we'll do is process data in

search of more occupants for the empty beds in the ever-expanding prison-industrial complex.

[eleny]

3. This stuff would cost a fortune

[TahitiNut]

5. Many would pay. A few would profit.

It's the way of the plantation. :shrug:

[Newsjock]

4. This is already out there in the cities

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041215/NEWS01/412150341/1002/NEWS

Police to get high-tech gunfire detector
System will rush city officers to shooting scenes

Patrick Flanigan
Staff Writer

(December 15, 2004) — New technology being obtained by the Rochester Police Department can rapidly pinpoint the location of gunshots in the city, allowing officers to respond more quickly and perhaps save lives.

The ShotSpotter Location System, designed to trace the sound of gunshots in an urban environment, uses microphones — or remote sensors — that can detect the sound of a gunshot and alert a police dispatcher in the county's 911 center.

Rochester joins five other U.S. cities that use the technology and is the first city in the northeastern United States to use it.

... The ShotSpotter also was credited for a 75 percent reduction in the number of shots fired in a two-square-mile area of Redwood City, Calif., where the technology was installed in 1998.

more

[Igel]

6. Rochester needs it.

The "crescent", especially. I think Mayor Johnson would do nearly anything to bring to bring the murder rate down.

[KareBear]

7. Nice...

this sounds like an excellent buisness making opportunity. I think I'll develope disposable tubes with gun powder in them that mimic the exact sound of a gunshot. Should sell great as fire crackers. Hours of fun as the police chase down sonic ghosts. :D