A new advanced kind of surveillance system is being developed that uses facial scanning and identification to pick individuals out of crowds.

A new advanced kind of surveillance system is being developed that combines video cameras with computer facial scanning and identification to pick individuals out of crowds.
The United States Department of Homeland Security reportedly tested the new technology, called the Biometric Optical Surveillance System. They determined it’s not quite ready to be implemented but shared favorable comments about the developers’ progress.

Developed using a US military contact worth over 5 million dollars, Electronic Warfare Associates has been working with University of Louisville labs to create the facial recognition system.

Creating this kind of surveillance technology has been considered for years, but now as computers get faster and more capable of processing large amounts of information, it appears that the US military is on the brink of having an effective facial recognition system.

Privacy advocate Ginger McCall said: “This technology is always billed as antiterrorism, but then it drifts into other applications. We need a real conversation about whether and how we want this technology to be used, and now is the time for that debate.”