Subject: clipping service is back!! Status: RO X-Status: 1. Video enhancement (USA) 2. Biometrics (Australia) 3. Traffic cameras (USA) 1. Video enhancement The spy's way to watch TV David Lazarus, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, October 11, 2002 2002 San Francisco Chronicle. URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/11/BU124852.DTL Idon't know where America's war on terror is actually being fought -- Afghanistan? Iraq? Dick Cheney's undisclosed location? -- but wherever it is, a small San Mateo software company is on the front lines. Virage Inc. specializes in technology to index and search video footage. It allows CNN, for example, to instantly sift through hours of raw material for one particular sound bite, and for Wall Street brokers to get right to the heart of executive presentations. More importantly, though, Virage's SmartEncode program allows U.S. spy agencies to monitor TV broadcasts throughout the world and to be alerted anytime a key word -- "Osama," say, or "hijack" -- pops up. With a little customizing, the software also can scan footage from an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft for a convoy of SUVs racing at night through the desert, or a mysterious bag left on an airport tarmac. Paul Lego, Virage's chief executive officer, said he'd like to talk about other clandestine uses for his company's product, but is barred from doing so by security considerations. "I'm not even allowed by contract to say who some of our customers are," he told me. "We spill the beans, and we don't get the work anymore. Or we go to jail." It's not hard, though, to figure out who'd be interested in Virage's bag of tricks. The National Security Agency, which monitors communications worldwide, is an obvious candidate, as are the CIA and FBI. All Lego will admit is that "we have a number of three-letter agencies as customers." In fact, Virage has its roots in the spy business. The company was originally launched in 1994 with a $100,000 grant from the military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. A second grant of $750,000 followed when the Army's spooks saw what SmartEncode could do. "Virage is hands-down the very best at doing this stuff," said Brian Alger, senior equity analyst at Pacific Growth Equities in San Francisco. "I can't see our intelligence guys working without something like this." In fact, 20 percent of Virage's business is comprised of government contracts, mostly with defense and intelligence agencies. Lego said sales to the government doubled in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "But I don't want to make Virage a spy shop," he said. "We have many other customers." Indeed, Virage sells its technology to some of the biggest names in broadcasting, manufacturing and finance, including the BBC, General Motors and Credit Suisse First Boston. It was announced last week that the U.S. Senate will be the latest customer to employ Virage's software, digitally distributing each day's proceedings to members. But the company's revenue has been flat in recent quarters, which suggests that the market for video indexing may be more limited than hoped. Virage, which went public two years ago, also has yet to turn a profit. It lost $5.5 million in the quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $9 million in the previous three months. The company's stock, which traded as high as $30 per share in July 2000, closed Thursday at just 60 cents. "The quality of Virage's customers speaks to the quality of its product," said Alger at Pacific Growth Equities. "But this is an ugly time for them. They really need to conserve cash and expand their market as best they can." One might suspect that a company like Virage, with hot technology and dwindling cash reserves (not to mention a bargain-basement share price), would be a pretty attractive acquisition target for some electronics firm looking to enhance its video capabilities. Imagine, for instance, how cool it would be if a smart digital recorder like TiVo could also allow programs to be searched for specific content. Viewers could line up all the network news shows, say, and rapidly see what each was reporting about Saddam Hussein or the stock market or the baseball playoffs. Lego said several potential suitors have approached Virage and "kicked the tires." He also acknowledged that partnership talks have been held with Japan's Sony Corp., but declined to comment on what, if anything, came of those discussions. At the moment, Lego stressed, Virage is content to go it alone and he remains upbeat about the company's prospects. Last month, he took advantage of Virage's low share price to increase his stake in the company from 9.7 percent to 11.8 percent. Yet even though Lego is keen for Virage to be seen as a mainstream software developer, he's aware that in today's security-conscious world, with potential enemies lurking everywhere, spy agencies remain his most avid customers. Not coincidentally, Virage recently put together a new demo of its technology in action. It features footage from the Arabic news channel Al- Jazeera being digitally indexed and translated. The demo, Lego said, has resulted in Virage receiving new funds for research and development. So who did he show it to? "I can't tell you," Lego replied. "That's classified." 2. http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5286113%5E15321%5E%5Enbv%5 E15306,00.html Biometric checks must improve Karen Dearne OCTOBER 15, 2002 THE accuracy of biometric systems needs to improve if widespread acceptance is to be achieved, the Biometrics Institute Conference has been warned. ANZ Bank fraud risk head Lawrence Cox said a 1.6 per cent false acceptance rate "on 80 million cheques issued across Australia in 2001 would mean more than one million cheques being issued and accepted falsely". "In 2001, we identified that 12,500 cheques had been falsely issued, so there's a big difference there," he said. "How much is that in dollar terms? "Likewise, the false rejection rate is a concern. I don't want to be called to my managing director's office and asked why someone is locked up in an overseas country because their cheque or smartcard has been refused." There was potential to use biometrics to improve customer service and the security of systems, but the error rate would need to be cut before there was widespread acceptance, Mr Cox said. The conference, held in Sydney last Friday, canvassed the latest developments in iris, facial, fingerprint, handwriting and voice recognition systems. Many of these technologies are being deployed in security environments such as airports for passenger control and customs, as well as the financial sector and government agencies. Sebastien Eid, area manager of fingerprint technology leader Sagem, said biometric systems were being used at airports for various purposes. "Iris recognition is very good at one-to-one recognition, for example, and will become very convenient as cameras get smaller and better," Mr Eid said. "Facial recognition is being used by the Department of Defense in the US for crowd surveillance and interceptions, and fingerprints are used for background checking of individuals." Argus Solutions chief executive Bruce Lyman said there was great scope for various biometrics to sit side by side. He warned against going overboard, as there were many situations in which biometric authentication would be overkill. "Identification in its own right has no merit," he said. "Identification for doing something has every merit." Mr Lyman said resistance to biometric roll-outs had largely evaporated. "Five years ago, we had to explain what biometrics was," he said. "Now our biggest difficulty is not in initial acceptance of the concept, but in educating folk who are confronting this technology for the first time." VeCommerce government services manager Clive Summerfield said people would use biometrics if a real benefit was delivered. "In speech-recognition, I was always told that no-one would ever speak to a computer," he said. "Yet at the Commonwealth Bank, more than 40 per cent of the calls to Commonwealth Securities are answered by a computer and people talk to it. "It all comes down to the value proposition." 3. Traffic cameras http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/15/national/15CAME.html # # October 15, 2002 # Traffic Cameras Could Help Solve Crimes # By JOHN TIERNEY # # WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 -- It may seem impossible to pick out a serial # killer roaming the highways of a sprawling metropolitan region, # but the task is far from hopeless. # # The van or car of the suburban sniper who is operating here has # surely been captured at least briefly by a government camera # already in place, and the authorities might have quickly developed # a short list of suspects if they were using the more advanced # cameras that monitor traffic in other cities. # # Hundreds of cameras continuously record traffic on highways and # streets in suburban Washington, including intersections near # where the sniper fired. The police have not disclosed what # information, if any, they have obtained. They have been spotted # checking those cameras, including one that tickets red-light # violators near the school in Bowie, Md., where a student was # shot. # # A sniper obeying traffic signals could have avoided the scores # of red-light cameras in the region, because they typically # photograph just violators. But the sniper must have shown up # on the hundreds of video cameras that feed live images to traffic # managers and public Web sites. Those cameras are along major # suburban highways and at most major intersections in Montgomery # County, Md., where the shootings began. # # The images from those cameras are ordinarily not stored, though. # Even if they were, the pictures are generally too widely focused # and grainy for the police to read license plates. Other cameras, # already used on toll roads here and on many roads in England, # can instantly read and record license plate numbers. # # "Our equipment could record every license plate on Interstate # 95, whether the cars were in bumper-to-bumper traffic or moving # 150 miles an hour," said Donal Waide, a project engineer for # Computer Recognition Systems, a British company that 20 years # ago using cameras and computers to spot stolen cars. # # For an idea of what could be done today, Mr. Waide pointed to # the Coolidge Bridge over the Connecticut River between Northampton # and Hadley, Mass. Images are at http://crs-its.com/Coolidge # /coolidge.shtml, a Web page that shows regularly updated pictures # of traffic on Route 9. Besides taking snapshots of each car, # the computerized system reads its license plate so the car can # be identified again down the road, enabling the computer to tell # the public exactly how fast traffic is moving. # # A system like that on roads used by the sniper could allow a # computer to sort through the license plates quickly and help # the police narrow the search, said Dr. Lawrence W. Sherman, # director of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology at the University # of Pennsylvania. # # "If you placed a vehicle near several of the murder scenes, that # information could help police find the sniper and the rifle," # Dr. Sherman said. "In fact, it's even possible that the sniper # has generally stayed out of the District of Columbia because # he knows it has been more active than the suburban jurisdictions # in setting up red-light cameras." # # Although surveillance cameras might be useful in this case, Dr. # Sherman said, it is unclear exactly how reliable they are at # reading license plates or how effective they are at reducing # the crime rate. # # "There's been a remarkable spread of these cameras in the past # two decades without much evaluation," he said. "Surveillance # cameras have certainly helped solve some crimes. Murderers and # robbers have been caught thanks to cameras at A.T.M.'s. But we # haven't done the sort of randomized controlled trials to tell # what effect they have on deterring crime or detecting offenders." # # Keeping track of cars and trucks on the road could be a valuable # tool against terrorism, especially in Washington, said # Representative Ellen O. Tauscher, a California Democrat who has # studied highway surveillance as a member of the Transportation # and Infrastructure Committee. # # "With the sniper, we see the unpredictable randomness that we # see with terrorists," Ms. Tauscher said. "We need new tools to # give us a very different way of looking at things. People have # peace of mind knowing that there's technology out there protecting # them and letting the bad guys know that they're being watched. # We all have natural concerns about Big Brother, and you don't # necessarily want to know who's driving. But it does help to know # which car was where. I don't think most people object to the # recording of the information, as long as it's not abused." # # The police in the United States have used computer information # from toll roads to track criminals. F.B.I. agents investigating # the kidnapping and murder of Nelson G. Gross, a New Jersey # millionaire, in 1997 tracked the kidnappers' across the George # Washington Bridge, thanks to the E-ZPass transponder in Mr. # Gross's car. # # Such surveillance worries critics like Representative Dick Armey, # the Texas Republican who is the majority leader. He wrote a letter # last year to Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton objecting to a # National Park Service plan to install surveillance cameras to # catch speeders on the George Washington Parkway in suburban # Washington. # # "I'm committed to doing what it takes to make our roads safer, # but not at the cost of our fundamental rights," Mr. Armey wrote. # "Likewise, I am concerned that this may be seen as a step toward # a Big Brother surveillance state, where the government monitors # the comings and goings of its citizens."
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