A team of electronic engineers is developing tiny surveillance cameras that pick up stress signals in people. They speculate the design could be used to spot anxious would-be criminals in airports and other high-target areas.the system — which picks up levels of blood oxygenation — will find out where anxiety is bubbling under the surface.

The technique uses hyperspectral imaging, which gathers data across the electromagnetic spectrum down to pixel level. It is designed to pick up unusual dispersions of oxygen in the blood across areas like the face, which might be an indicator of high stress levels.

There are, of course, infinite issues here in terms of personal data storage and collection.It’s obviously an incredibly controversial technology to start strapping to law enforcement. Stress levels are raised for a variety of reasons — can technology ever tell us if the reason behind that stress is nefarious? The chances are slim. In which case, the system would only be suitable for doing blanket sweeps that would need follow-up investigations, leaving it open to plenty of abuse.

Of its potential for infringing on the public’s privacy, Yuen comments: “This is a ’mood’ detection technique and therefore can see people’s mood whether they like it or not. True there will be some privacy intrusion and we will need to think of a method to restrict it.”

(In other words: welcome to the New World Order, your privacy and freedom are gone, now get over it.)

Via: Red Ice Creations

Original Story Here