Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/06/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Jun 20, 2006, at 1:42 PM, lug-request@leica-users.org wrote: > Digital camera blocking technology created > > > ATLANTA, June 19 (UPI) -- Georgia Institute of Technology scientists > say they've created a prototype device that can block digital video > cameras from working in a specific area. > > The scientists say the prototype -- which could be used to stymie > unwanted use of video or still cameras -- uses off-the-shelf equipment > to scan for, find and neutralize digital cameras. The system works by > looking for the reflectivity and shape of the image-producing sensors > used in digital cameras. > > Associate GIT Professor Gregory Abowd, who led the study, says the > camera-neutralizing technology shows commercial promise in two > principal fields -- protecting areas against espionage photography and > stopping video copying. > > Researchers explain a digital camera's image sensor -- called a CCD -- > sends light back directly to its origin rather than scattering it, > making it relatively easy to detect and identify video cameras. > > Once a scanning laser and photo-detector located a video camera, the > system would flash a thin beam of visible white light directly at the > CCD, overwhelming the target camera with light and rendering recorded > video unusable. > > A paper on the technology, which is still under development, was > presented during the Ubicomp conference in Tokyo last September. > > Nonsense! You could fool the system with a few ten cent strips of 3M reflective tape or a couple of cheap Home Depot driveway marker corner reflectors. I am reaching back half a century into my fading memories of radar counter measures but jamming or confusing an electromagnetic scanning system is a lot easier than detecting the target in the first place. Larry Z