FoRK Archive: To guard against terrorism, the Pentagon looks to image-recognition technology

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........... Defense Technology=20
SEEN BEFORE
To guard against terrorism, the Pentagon looks to =
image-recognition technology=20

=20
In the East London borough of Newham, a surveillance network =
of more than 200 cameras keeps watch on pedestrians and passersby, =
employing a facial-recognition system that can automatically pick out =
known criminals and alert local authorities to their presence. Not =
surprisingly, civil liberties groups oppose the system--Privacy =
International, a human-rights group, gave the Newham council a "Big =
Brother" award last year on the 50th anniversary of the publication of =
George Orwell's famous novel. The council, however, claims overwhelming =
support from citizens who are more concerned about crime than about =
government intrusions. It could count as one of its supporters the U.S. =
Department of Defense, which is keeping tabs on the Newham system as =
well as on other, related technologies. The department hopes that some =
combination of "biometrics" will vastly improve its ability to protect =
its facilities worldwide.=20

For the military, biometrics usually means technologies that =
can identify computer users by recognizing their fingerprints or voices =
or by scanning their irises or retinas. But after a terrorist truck bomb =
blew up the Khobar Towers U.S. military barracks in Saudi Arabia in =
1996, killing 19, the Pentagon elevated to the top of its priority list =
the need for "force protection"--namely, keeping troops abroad safe from =
attack. That spurred the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, =
essentially a Pentagon hobby shop, to action. Building on some ongoing =
work with video surveillance and modeling techniques, as well as on =
commercial (but still experimental) technologies such as those used to =
identify automatic-teller machine customers by scanning their faces, =
DARPA set out to investigate the potential for a network of biometric =
sensors to monitor the outsides of military facilities.=20

The result is a program known as Image Understanding for =
Force Protection (IUFP), which the agency hopes to get started in 2001. =
Described by the Pentagon as "an aggressive research and development =
effort," IUFP is supposed to improve site surveillance capabilities by =
"creating new technologies for identifying humans at a distance."=20

Biometric systems in use with ATM machines and computers =
have two advantages over what DARPA has in mind: proximity and =
cooperation. For military purposes, biometric sensors and networks must =
be able to "see" and identify subjects from distances of between 100 and =
500 feet--subjects who probably don't want to be identified. In =
addition, they must be capable of picking faces out of crowds in urban =
environments, keeping track of repeat visitors who, according to DARPA's =
George Lukes, "might be casing the joint," and alerting users to the =
presence of known or suspected terrorists. Databases could even be =
shared by different facilities, informing security officials, for =
example, that the same person is showing up repeatedly near different =
potential targets.=20

The software behind Newham's anticrime system that has drawn =
DARPA interest is called FaceIt, from New Jersey=C7based Visionics =
Corporation. FaceIt scans the visages of people and searches for matches =
in a video library of known criminals. When the system spots one of =
those faces, the authorities are contacted. A military version might =
work the same way. Over the past year, according to a DARPA document =
recently sent to Congress, "several new technical approaches have been =
identified" that could provide improved face recognition at longer =
distances, as well as extend the range of iris-recognition systems.=20

DARPA believes, however, that combining several types of =
technologies could form a network that is more capable than a single =
system. New concepts it is exploring include the thermal signature of =
the blood vessels in the head, which some researchers suspect is as =
unique to a person as his or her fingerprints; the shape of a person's =
ear; and even "the kinetics of their gait," in DARPA's words. "There are =
some unique characteristics to how people move that allow you to =
recognize them," explains DARPA's David Gunning. After conducting a =
"thorough analysis" of existing technologies, the agency says it is =
"ready to begin immediately with the new developments." The Pentagon =
hopes to spend $11.7 million in 2000 on the IUFP program--a good deal of =
money for a DARPA effort.=20

The potential for an integrated network of identification =
techniques has understandably generated significant interest among =
defense and intelligence agencies that are prime targets for terrorists. =
"There's a lot of enthusiasm," Gunning says--after all, through the =
marriage of recognition systems and surveillance technologies, DARPA =
thinks it has a handle on how to keep track of "one of the few =
detectable precursors" to terrorist attacks.=20

-------------------------------------------------------------------- =
=20
DANIEL G. DUPONT is the editor of Inside the Pentagon in =
Washington, D.C. He described unmanned aerial vehicles in the September =
issue. =20

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...........

Defense = Technology=20

SEEN BEFORE

To guard against terrorism, the Pentagon looks to=20 image-recognition technology

In the East=20 London borough of Newham, a surveillance network of more = than=20 200 cameras keeps watch on pedestrians and passersby, = employing a facia= l-recognition=20 system that can automatically pick out known criminals = and alert=20 local authorities to their presence. Not surprisingly, civil = liberties groups oppose the system--Privacy = International, a=20 human-rights group, gave the Newham council a "Big = Brother"=20 award last year on the 50th anniversary of the publication = of George=20 Orwell's famous novel. The council, however, claims = overwhelming=20 support from citizens who are more concerned about crime = than about=20 government intrusions. It could count as one of its = supporters the=20 U.S. Department of Defense, which is keeping tabs on the = Newham=20 system as well as on other, related technologies. The = department=20 hopes that some combination of "biometrics" will = vastly=20 improve its ability to protect its facilities worldwide.=20

For the military, biometrics usually means technologies = that can=20 identify computer users by recognizing their fingerprints or = voices=20 or by scanning their irises or retinas. But after a = terrorist truck=20 bomb blew up the Khobar Towers U.S. military barracks in = Saudi=20 Arabia in 1996, killing 19, the Pentagon elevated to the top = of its=20 priority list the need for "force = protection"--namely,=20 keeping troops abroad safe from attack. That spurred the Defense Advanced = Research=20 Projects Agency, essentially a Pentagon hobby shop, to = action.=20 Building on some ongoing work with video surveillance and = modeling=20 techniques, as well as on commercial (but still = experimental)=20 technologies such as those used to identify automatic-teller = machine=20 customers by scanning their faces, DARPA set out to = investigate the=20 potential for a network of biometric sensors to monitor the = outsides=20 of military facilities.=20

The result is a program known as Image Understanding for = Force=20 Protection (IUFP), which the agency hopes to get started = in=20 2001. Described by the Pentagon as "an aggressive = research and=20 development effort," IUFP is supposed to improve site=20 surveillance capabilities by "creating new technologies = for=20 identifying humans at a distance."=20

Biometric systems in use with ATM machines and computers = have two=20 advantages over what DARPA has in mind: proximity and = cooperation.=20 For military purposes, biometric sensors and networks must = be able=20 to "see" and identify subjects from distances of = between=20 100 and 500 feet--subjects who probably don't want to be = identified.=20 In addition, they must be capable of picking faces out of = crowds in=20 urban environments, keeping track of repeat visitors who, = according=20 to DARPA's George=20 Lukes, "might be casing the joint," and = alerting users=20 to the presence of known or suspected terrorists. Databases = could=20 even be shared by different facilities, informing security=20 officials, for example, that the same person is showing up=20 repeatedly near different potential targets.=20

The software behind Newham's anticrime system that has = drawn=20 DARPA interest is called FaceIt, from New=20 JerseyÇbased Visionics Corporation. FaceIt scans the = visages=20 of people and searches for matches in a video library of = known=20 criminals. When the system spots one of those faces, the = authorities=20 are contacted. A military version might work the same way. = Over the=20 past year, according to a DARPA document recently sent to = Congress,=20 "several new technical approaches have been = identified"=20 that could provide improved face recognition at longer = distances, as=20 well as extend the range of iris-recognition systems.=20

DARPA believes, however, that combining several types of=20 technologies could form a network that is more capable than = a single=20 system. New concepts it is exploring include the thermal = signature=20 of the blood vessels in the head, which some researchers = suspect is=20 as unique to a person as his or her fingerprints; the shape = of a=20 person's ear; and even "the kinetics of their = gait," in=20 DARPA's words. "There are some unique characteristics = to how=20 people move that allow you to recognize them," explains = DARPA's=20 David=20 Gunning. After conducting a "thorough = analysis" of=20 existing technologies, the agency says it is "ready to = begin=20 immediately with the new developments." The Pentagon = hopes to=20 spend $11.7 million in 2000 on the IUFP program--a good deal = of=20 money for a DARPA effort.=20

The potential for an integrated network of identification = techniques has understandably generated significant interest = among=20 defense and intelligence agencies that are prime targets for = terrorists. "There's a lot of enthusiasm," Gunning = says--after all, through the marriage of recognition systems = and=20 surveillance technologies, DARPA thinks it has a handle on = how to=20 keep track of "one of the few detectable = precursors" to=20 terrorist attacks.=20

--Daniel G. Dupont=20

DANIEL G. DUPONT is the editor of Inside the Pentagon = in=20 Washington, D.C. He described unmanned aerial vehicles in = the=20 September issue. =