Anti-social behavior detection in audio-visual surveillance systems

In this paper we propose a general purpose framework for detection of unusual events. The proposed system is based on the unsupervised method for unusual scene detection in web{cam images that was introduced in [1]. We extend their algorithm to accommodate data from different modalities and introduce the concept of time-space blocks. In addition, we evaluate early and late fusion techniques for our audio-visual data features. The experimental results on 192 hours of data show that data fusion of audio and video outperforms using a single modality

Public Video Surveillance and the Separation of Powers

The thesis focuses on the response from the United States government on new challenges brought by the public video surveillance, in particular the privacy threat. Regarding regulating public video surveillance, the United States has gone on a different path, either from Britain with its similar political system or from China with a totally different one. The three branches of government in the U.S. are deadlocked and unable to take any meaningful actions. The Supreme Court, which is in a strong position to set national and uniform standards for privacy protection, has not found a way to break away from its own precedents. The legislative branch can do little on the national level regulations due to federalism and the distribution of law enforcement activities at the state and local level. Local legislative efforts might be helpful, but the process in each place will be complicated by concerns about public security, the interests of industry, and politicians’ imperative to take visible actions like video surveillance to fight against crimes and protect people, especially in the post-9/11 context. The executive branch might be the weakest point in the deadlock because it already bears responsibility for resolving tensions between privacy and safety. In the absence of action by the judicial and the legislative branches, self-restraint by the executive branch has become crucial in determining the actual privacy protection, however, the possibility of abuse by the executive branch may increase at the same time. Also, the United States’ local governments are not accountable to a single national authority. They must be accountable to the people. This thesis concludes that the public participation is the key to breaking through the deadlock in light of the democratic political structure in the United States

Public Video Surveillance and the Separation of Powers

The thesis focuses on the response from the United States government on new challenges brought by the public video surveillance, in particular the privacy threat. Regarding regulating public video surveillance, the United States has gone on a different path, either from Britain with its similar political system or from China with a totally different one. The three branches of government in the U.S. are deadlocked and unable to take any meaningful actions. The Supreme Court, which is in a strong position to set national and uniform standards for privacy protection, has not found a way to break away from its own precedents. The legislative branch can do little on the national level regulations due to federalism and the distribution of law enforcement activities at the state and local level. Local legislative efforts might be helpful, but the process in each place will be complicated by concerns about public security, the interests of industry, and politicians’ imperative to take visible actions like video surveillance to fight against crimes and protect people, especially in the post-9/11 context. The executive branch might be the weakest point in the deadlock because it already bears responsibility for resolving tensions between privacy and safety. In the absence of action by the judicial and the legislative branches, self-restraint by the executive branch has become crucial in determining the actual privacy protection, however, the possibility of abuse by the executive branch may increase at the same time. Also, the United States’ local governments are not accountable to a single national authority. They must be accountable to the people. This thesis concludes that the public participation is the key to breaking through the deadlock in light of the democratic political structure in the United States

Remote Surveillance System for Mobile Application

Remote video surveillance is the use of cameras and other surveillance equipment to monitor properties and assets from a separate location. It is often used as a force multiplier or asset protection device for areas where it is not possible, practical, or affordable to install a cable network. It is commonly deployed in city and campus applications, or any place where it is difficult to monitor the surroundings using common means. Remote surveillance is a great opportunity to use wireless technologies for connectivity due to the flexibility they provide. A video surveillance system is only as reliable as the network it is connected to, so careful planning of the network technologies and equipment choices are crucial. Keywords: camera control, change detection, computer vision, image processing, video surveillance

Remote Surveillance System for Mobile Application

Remote video surveillance is the use of cameras and other surveillance equipment to monitor properties and assets from a separate location. It is often used as a force multiplier or asset protection device for areas where it is not possible, practical, or affordable to install a cable network. It is commonly deployed in city and campus applications, or any place where it is difficult to monitor the surroundings using common means. Remote surveillance is a great opportunity to use wireless technologies for connectivity due to the flexibility they provide. A video surveillance system is only as reliable as the network it is connected to, so careful planning of the network technologies and equipment choices are crucial. Keywords: camera control, change detection, computer vision, image processing, video surveillance

An Advanced Home ElderCare Service

With the increase of welfare cost all over the developed world, there is a need to resort to new technologies that could help reduce this enormous cost and provide some quality eldercare services. This paper presents a middleware-level solution that integrates monitoring and emergency detection solutions with networking solutions. The proposed system enables efficient integration between a variety of sensors and actuators deployed at home for emergency detection and provides a framework for creating and managing rescue teams willing to assist elders in case of emergency situations. A prototype of the proposed system was designed and implemented. Results were obtained from both computer simulations and a real-network testbed. These results show that the proposed system can help overcome some of the current problems and help reduce the enormous cost of eldercare service

Naval Reserve support to information Operations Warfighting

Since the mid-1990s, the Fleet Information Warfare Center (FIWC) has led the Navy's Information Operations (IO) support to the Fleet. Within the FIWC manning structure, there are in total 36 officer and 84 enlisted Naval Reserve billets that are manned to approximately 75 percent and located in Norfolk and San Diego Naval Reserve Centers. These Naval Reserve Force personnel could provide support to FIWC far and above what they are now contributing specifically in the areas of Computer Network Operations, Psychological Operations, Military Deception and Civil Affairs. Historically personnel conducting IO were primarily reservists and civilians in uniform with regular military officers being by far the minority. The Naval Reserve Force has the personnel to provide skilled IO operators but the lack of an effective manning document and training plans is hindering their opportunity to enhance FIWC's capabilities in lull spectrum IO. This research investigates the skill requirements of personnel in IO to verify that the Naval Reserve Force has the talent base for IO support and the feasibility of their expanded use in IO.http://archive.org/details/navalreservesupp109451098