Nicklas Johnson · morons.org - Big Brother is Watching You... Closely

Random: Big Brother is Watching You... Closely

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The US Government is pouring funding into the development of a system to identify people by the way they walk...
Posted by spatula on May. 19, 2003 14:01 UTC
28 comments from readers. Join the discussion!

The Pentagon is reportedly funding further development of a Georgia Tech system that can identify people from a distance, not by body heat, facial features, height, weight or bone density, but by the way they walk.

According to the Associated Press, the system is 80-95% successful at making identifications from a distance based solely on a person's gait. The plan is evidently to link "gait signature" data into Total Information Awareness. As you might imagine, both liberal and conservative privacy advocates are torqued about this.

The system operates by radar and has been developed and tested operating at a distance of about 600 feet. The potential for great positive use exists: a legitimate terrorist or violent criminal could be detected by the system from some distance away, alerting authorities to his or her presense. Of course, the potential for tremendous abuse also exists: are we all to have our "gait signatures" recorded, with or without our knowledge? Are we going to hear about gait radars being installed on Main Streets to scan crowds constantly? Will we hear the inevitable "if you have nothing to hide, why do you care" excuse for this kind of privacy invasion?

---Nick

Additional Resources:

Georgia Tech Research Institute Radar systems division.

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Posted by Pansy Bedwetter on May. 19, 2003 14:04

What if Mr. Terrorist is in a wheelchair?

High School RPG: I'm sure the people could just classify the guy by the way his arms move when...

Confused Reader: Good point.Or what if they have no legs?

Random Guest: Then they're either in a wheelchair or quite noticable without this technology.

Posted by High School RPG on May. 19, 2003 14:09

New Orleans has some cameras on Bourbon Street that idenrifies certain people to check to see if they are potential criminals. This is okay because, well, they're just cameras (and people are too busy when Mardi Gras season is around). This is too different because a gait is kinda weird, don't you think?

I'm not saying that cameras should be put into all the cities in our country or anything, but we need a better system of survailence than "Gait Checking". There's nothing wrong with a police officer in certain places. They're highly trained (mostly) and probably better than the machines could be in finding someone.

Posted by Drayen from Edmonton, Alberta on May. 19, 2003 14:20

but if you really think about it, terrorists would strike in a crowded area(maximum potential for casualties). In a crowded area you're going to be changing your normal walk because of all the people you're walking beside and behind.

This system might work well on a clear sidewalk where you can walk normally. But if Jhonny Terrorist wants to hide a bomb in thier coat and shuffle through a crowd to drop it inconspicuasly(sp) in a central location. Then the system is useless.

yet another reason i'm glad to live in the great white north.

lucretio: I think the point was to be able to catch them when they're on their way to...

Walking Researcher: Dammit man, why didn't we think of that?

Posted by Kunzite on May. 19, 2003 14:33

England beat them to the punch a long time ago, with the Ministry of Funny Walks... wait, that was a joke, though, wasn't it?

Posted by GWTPict from A Small Dark Place on May. 19, 2003 14:38

Terrorist 1 does the reconnaissance, terrorist 2 plants the bomb. 'Damn, the cunning fiends have circumvented our multi million dollar anti terrorist gait detector'.......

Kat o Nine Tales: How about this: Mr. Terrorist Suicide Bomber is selected from the people with a...

Posted by Kitsune from Its Heated Den With a T1 on May. 19, 2003 14:50

I've always liked the counter statement to the "I have nothing to hide." bullshit. Ask them if they conduct all their business on postcards. Granted this is more about encryption, but could still be useful in illustrating why they should give a crap about privacy. I can garuntee that if the government has the info, so do criminals (now if they are the same individuals...). I wonder if it is good even if someone is intentionally altering their gait or with injuries. Something seems wierd about a "gait radar" on main street, I wonder how practical it would be during a pedestrian rush hour, it would seem that there would be too much input for a computer to handle, but that's just my thought.

Posted by pompousjerk from a mass of neurons on May. 19, 2003 15:08

Insert...Beegees...song...here...

Tophat665: Well you can tell by the way I use my wok, I'm a Chinese chef, no time to talk....

GWTPict: Inspired.

Posted by Pansy Bedwetter on May. 19, 2003 15:22

When I'm in my office, I can always tell who is coming down the hallway because of the sound they make when they walk. Each person sounds different. I say I have about a 95% positive identification rate. But then there are only 15 of us in my department.

Posted by Irate guy on May. 19, 2003 16:38

If I hoped around like a monkey, would it confuse me for Dubya?

High School RPG: maybe if I gasped for air while clutching my left-chest, they'd think I'm Dick...

Posted by Tophat665 from NoVA on May. 19, 2003 17:43

Next up they'll be using technology to ID you by the way you wear your hat. The way you sip your tea...

h_ank: At least there could be fines for the public playing of pocket pool...

Posted by Verbal Kint on May. 19, 2003 23:12

Just walk like me in public.

(I hope someone gets this... for those that don't, watch The Usual Suspects)

Posted by Gabu on May. 20, 2003 01:58

Wouldn't this be the easiest thing ever to mask yourself from? Instead of having to get massive plastic surgery and new I.D. things and such like you'd just have to train yourself to walk differently.

Posted by SomeGuy52 from Michigan on May. 20, 2003 03:04

The problem with looking at the way someone walks is that a person changes the way he walks when he's nervous of being seen. If they told one of the people they were watching that he was being tracked, the radar probably wouldn't be able to identify him. Consequently, they might get the walk of an actual terrorist onto the system. When the terrorist, however, actually starts carrying out the plan to commit terror, he is going to be very self-conscious to make sure he's not being watched by police officers or anything. As a result of the reasonable paranoia of being watched, the system they're putting in place to stop these people will probably fail utterly. Can we stop pretending the government is invading our privacy for our own good now?

lucretio: Is it reasonable to assume that if Some Guy from Michigan could think of this,...

GWTPict: Yes but you don't let the fact that a piece of technology doesn't work and/or...

SomeGuy52: I'm merely pointing out that "we want to stop terror" may not be the reason the...

Posted by misanthropic_naturist from Savage, MN on May. 20, 2003 11:45

It's actually quite easy how it works. It just checks to see whether you're goose stepping or not. If not, BAM...off to Gitmo.

Posted by Walla Walla on May. 20, 2003 17:55

What if the guy has no arms and legs and some good Samaritan is pushing the wheelchair?