Once you have seen them you might almost prefer to stay ON the digital map, but a Japanese tech group has invented the first pair of Facial DE-recognition glasses. They call them face-scrambling glasses.
Japan’s National Institute of Informatics came up with the crucial new accessory – glasses that scramble facial recognition algorithms. It’s already being touted as the “anti-Google Glass.” It uses 11 separate near-infrared LED lights to blind surveillance cameras – a technique first mentioned in my 2007 Observer article.
Now all we need is someone to actually make and sel them commercially.
To help you live free from the tyranny of the state’s electric eye, you should also be aware of another invention.
A few months ago, engineer/artist Adam Harvey unveiled a drone-proof burqa he called Stealth Wear. The garment cloaks the wearer in “nickel-metalized fabric designed to thwart IR-detection by thermal cameras,” as Kelly Bourdet explained after interviewing Harvey. Just one problem: It leaves your face exposed.
Drones and CCTV cams can still spot your smiling face and send it on over to the good folks at the NSA or whereever else they’re processing domestic spy data.
One Response
There’s a company which already makes and sells hats which have the same tech built into the brim. My concern is that neither of these options help unless you are facing the camera or lucky. You’d be better off wearing a prosthesis or using paint in a pattern which accomplishes the same goal.
My real concern for the future is secondary tracking utilizing ones gait. It is very difficult to change your gate on a regular basis. While this couldn’t be a primary identifier it is certainly a reliable secondary.