Miniature police shoulder drones

Photo: U.S. Patent And Trademark Office

Amazon was just granted a patent for miniature police shoulder drones. The device perched on an officer’s shoulder above a clip-on radio microphone would be voice activated and could detect “distress” commands, among other things, essentially providing a second set of ears and eyes not just for the officer, but for a central system monitoring data coming from the drone.

Depending on how the drone is outfitted, it could find vehicles in a large parking lot, run license plates, monitor dangerous situations, gather remote video and audio, detect fires using a thermal imaging camera, or even identify people with facial-recognition software, according to the filings.

What makes the tiny size possible is that its processor may not be installed on the drone itself, but remotely mounted, potentially on its shoulder docking station.

Photo: U.S. Patent And Trademark Office

Sources:

• Amazon nets patent for mini police drones
• Amazon tech could be used in police drones

Eye exam device detects drivers under the influence of drugs

Human eye. Photo by Sarah Illes. CC-BY-SA 3.0

The portable device, that looks like a set of virtual reality glasses, can test for both drugs, including cannabis, LSD, cocaine and other drugs, as well as alcohol. It monitors and measures pupil’s response to light and moving objects. The behavior of eyes, and in particular pupils, changes after using those kinds of substances.

Source: A twist on automated eye exam technology could help take impaired drivers off the road

Bird strategies for mid-air collision avoidance potentially applicable for machines

Birds in flight. Photo by José Manuel Arrazate. CC-BY-SA 3.0

Investigation of how birds avoid mid-air collisions during head-on encounters reveals two simple strategies for collision avoidance: each bird veers to its right and each bird changes its altitude relative to the other bird according to a preset preference. Both strategies suggest simple rules by which collisions can be avoided in head-on encounters by two agents. The findings are potentially applicable to the design of guidance algorithms for automated collision avoidance on aircraft.

Source: Strategies for Pre-Emptive Mid-Air Collision Avoidance in Budgerigars

3D laser scanner for crime scene investigation

With the implementation of the FARO 3D scanner and its compatible handheld device, FARO Freestyle, the Sheriff's Office now has technology that allows investigators to complete their jobs more efficiently.

(Photo: WKRN)

The scanner collects millions of measurements as it rotates 360 degrees. These points are then captured and stored in a 3D model to create a digital representation of the scene. The scanner can also take high resolution color photographs.

Sources:

• New technology is a boon to law enforcement
• Investigators use 3D technology to solve crimes, bring scenes to juries

Beards and mustaches confuse visual speech recognition systems

Beards and mustaches can significantly confuse visual speech recognition systems. Consequently, they are more successful with female than male speakers.

A man hard to read. Photo of Alan Moore by Mirka. CC-BY-SA 3.0

Another problem is that some people are less expressive with their lips. Some even hardly move their lips at all and these so-called “visual-speechless persons” are almost impossible to interpret.

Most significant problem is however ambiguity between mouth shapes and sounds. During speech, the mouth forms between 10 and 14 different shapes, known as visemes. By contrast, speech contains around 50 individual sounds known as phonemes. So a single viseme can represent several different phonemes.

Source: The Challenges and Threats of Automated Lip Reading

First Tactical Sunwear Lens Released

O2Amp company has created a new pair of glasses, called Tactical Insight Sunwear, that give professionals better insight into the state of others by enhancing the visibility of blood and oxygenation color signals just under the skin. Thus police, military, paramedics, and other security and protective personnel can now get a better insight into the emotions, intent, feelings and health of other people out in the field.

Sources:

• Market Wired
• Yahoo! Finance

Eagles Against Drones

Bald eagle. Photo by Ltshears (CC-BY-SA 3.0) 

Dutch Police trains North American eagles to take down hostile drones. The eagles learned not only taking it down, but also taking the drone far away from crowds.

Sources:

• Birds vs Technology: 'Police' Eagles Trained to Take Down Hostile Drones
• Eagles away! Dutch police unveil latest recruits against drones
• Dutch Police train eagles to hunt rogue drones