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SILICON SILIC CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Production Manager Greg Swain, B.Sc. (Hons.) Technical Editor John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Technical Staff Ross Tester Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc Nicholas Vinen Photography Ross Tester Reader Services Ann Morris Advertising Enquiries Glyn Smith Phone (02) 9939 3295 Mobile 0431 792 293 glyn<at>siliconchip.com.au Regular Contributors Brendan Akhurst Rodney Champness, VK3UG Kevin Poulter Stan Swan Dave Thompson SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49 003 205 490. All material is copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Printing: Hannanprint, Warwick Farm, NSW. Distribution: Network Distribution Company. Subscription rates: $105.00 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see our website or the subscriptions page in this issue. Editorial office: Unit 1, 234 Harbord Rd, Brookvale, NSW 2100. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9939 3295. Fax (02) 9939 2648. E-mail: silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au ISSN 1030-2662 Recommended and maximum price only. 2  Silicon Chip Publisher’s Letter Argus could be a potent crime fighter This month we have another story from Dr David Maddison, on the Argus-IS Wide Area Persistent Surveillance System. It is great story on the adaptation of consumer electronics, using hundreds of 5-megapixel camera sensors in a huge matrix which becomes a camera with a mindboggling pixel count. But the picture resolution is only half the story because Argus can watch possibly hundreds of specific targets, looking for behaviour which is out of the ordinary. This generates stupendous amounts of data which can be analysed later to watch and trace specific events. And while the article does not specifically state where the Argus system is being used, it has become apparent to me from recent news bulletins that it is almost certainly being used in the war-torn Middle-East, in finding specific targets. That sort of application is no doubt what prompted its initial development but there is an even more intriguing side-story about its possible use in crime fighting. If you can imagine a group of these devices in drones way above a large city it would enable virtually any crime to be investigated after the event, whereby the perpetrators could be traced back to their initial departure point and also their subsequent escape route. Hence, investigators could tell the system to hone in on a bank robbery or a ram raid and trace the whole event. Now while millions of CCTV cameras have been installed around the world and are regarded as useful in the fight against crime, they don’t actually deter a lot of crime and they are sometimes not of much use in the subsequent investigation. And of course, criminals often do as much as they can to thwart any observation by CCTV cameras, from wearing masks to destroying the cameras. However, it is difficult to imagine how criminals could avoid observation by the all-seeing eyes in the sky! Maybe invisibility cloaks will become available! But can you imagine the screams from the civil libertarians? They will ignore any possible benefit of the technology while shouting about the loss of “freedom”. This seems to be symptomatic of our times – a new advance is announced and various interest groups then make a lot of noise about its possible drawbacks while ignoring the obvious benefits. Now while I would be the last person to regard all technological change as good, most of it is arguably, in fact, good. As far as an eye in the sky is concerned, any potential loss of “freedom” seems to be the ability to commit a crime and go undetected. Alternatively, it might be the ability of people to do stuff they shouldn’t be doing. It reminds me of the case of a marina on Sydney’s Pittwater which wanted to install a camera above the marina, so that clients could observe the weather conditions, much like many Sydney beaches have cameras to observe the surf. But no, some people were horrified at the possibility of being observed on their boat when supposedly the observers would otherwise think they were occupied elsewhere. With this possibility in mind, you can imagine any number of scenarios where people might be doing things during which they would wish to remain unobserved. Never mind that such a weather camera could be of great utility to the majority of the marina clients. If you have a fly-bridge cruiser for example, wind can be a large factor in deciding whether you will go out for the day. A quick check of the camera and by looking at the flags, you would be able to judge wind speed and direction. If it’s calm, out you go; if it’s windy, perhaps not. And during a period of stormy weather, it would be good to be able to check how your boat is faring in the conditions. But for the moment, all that’s on hold while the marina management tries to figure out an alternative approach. That’s a pity. Ultimately, the Argus-IS system is highly likely to be deployed over major cities. That could be a major benefit for most people. It would deter a lot of would-be criminals, thereby keeping those people out of jail, and there would be a lot less victims of crime. How can that be bad? Leo Simpson siliconchip.com.au