It's no secret that technology is, well, kind of a big deal in Japan. And facial recognition software is no exception.
Whether you're a tourist or a citizen, cameras are tracking your comings and goings. Literally. Truck stops use facial recognition software to judge whether drivers are too sleepy to hit the road. And if you get close enough to a tech-equipped Japanese billboard, it can determine your sex, tell your age within a decade's range — and then change its advertising accordingly.
As a bonus, some Japanese vending machines have become so "smart," they offer sodas based on age, gender and even the weather. Restaurants and hotels use facial recognition to identify VIP guests, while service companies track whether their employees are smiling while on the job [source: Ganeva].
Author's Note: 10 Places You're Probably Being Watched Every Day
There's no doubt (in my mind, at least) that traffic cameras are efficient. I was driving at night on a highway near Oklahoma City a few years ago and before I knew it, was on a toll road. Seriously, it came out of nowhere. If there was a sign, I missed it. Although I felt a bit guilty about not dropping 73 cents into the collection bin -- wherever it was -- I encountered an entirely different emotion when I got the mail a few weeks later. There was a $30-something citation.
Related Articles
Sources
- Aegerter, Macradee. "Woman Witnesses Bus Assault, Stabbing." Fox 4. July 24, 2013. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://fox4kc.com/2013/07/24/woman-witnesses-bus-assault-stabbing/
- Berman, Mark. "On Buses, Cameras Are Watching and Listening." The Washington Post. Dec. 2, 2012. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-02/local/35584713_1_surveillance-cameras-drivecam-buses
- Bowcott, Owen. "CCTV Boom Has Failed to Slash Crime, Say Police." The Guardian. May 5, 2008. (Oct. 8, 2013) http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/may/06/ukcrime1
- Byrne, John. "Red Light Cameras Exiting 18 Chicago Intersections." Chicago Tribune. Oct. 2, 2013. (Oct. 8, 2013) http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-10-02/news/chi-emanuel-pulls-handful-of-redlight-cameras-as-speed-tickets-start-20131001_1_speed-cameras-red-light-cameras-intersections
- Ganeva, Tana. "5 Unexpected Places You Can Be Tracked With Facial Recognition Technology." Signs of the Times. Aug. 30, 211. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://www.sott.net/article/234360-5-Unexpected-Places-You-Can-Be-Tracked-With-Facial-Recognition-Technology
- Garrett, Jerry. "L.A. City Council Votes to Remove Red-Light Cameras." The New York Times. July 28, 2011. (Oct. 8, 2013) http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/l-a-city-council-votes-to-remove-red-light-cameras/?_r=1
- Gorgos, Debra. "The 2012 State of the Industry Survey." Car Wash. Sept. 27, 2012. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://www.carwash.com/articles/86110-the-2012-state-of-the-industry-survey
- Henn, Steve. "In More Cities, a Camera on Every Corner, Park and Sidewalk." NPR. June 20, 2013. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/06/20/191603369/The-Business-Of-Surveillance-Cameras
- Hill, Kashmir. "RNC and DNC Prove Once Again That Big Events Come With Big (Lasting) Surveillance." Forbes. Aug. 29, 2012. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/08/29/rnc-and-dnc-prove-once-again-that-big-events-come-with-big-lasting-surveillance/
- Juarez, Leticia. "Camera Captures Unsuspecting Car Wash Bill Collector Thief in Colton." ABC 7. Nov. 9, 2012. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=8880754
- Kelly, Tom. "Revealed: Big Brother Britain has More CCTV Cameras Than China." Daily Mail. Aug. 11, 2009. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205607/Shock-figures-reveal-Britain-CCTV-camera-14-people--China.html
- Murphy, Kate. "Neighborhood Mischief Caught on Tape." The New York Times. Nov. 3, 2010. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/garden/04surveillance.html?pagewanted=all
- NBC News. "Caught on Camera: Bus Driver Attacked, Stabbed." July 23, 2013. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://www.wfla.com/story/22910031/bus-driver-attacked-stabbed
- Rich, Sarah. "Surveillance Cameras in Parks Assist Police, Concern Others." Government Technology. April 20, 2011. (Oct 4, 2013) http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Cameras-Parks-Assist-Police.html
- Shannon, Meg. "Eyes on the Street: How Traffic Surveillance Invades Your Privacy." Tech News Daily. Jan. 9, 2012. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://www.technewsdaily.com/7443-traffic-surveillance-privacy.html
- Shubber, Kadhim. "First Domestic Surveillance Drones Approved for Commercial Use in the U.S." Wired. July 13, 2013. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/30/faa-approves-domestic-drones
- Smedley, Chip. "What Law Says and ... Doesn't Say About Video Surveillance." Lancaster Online. Aug. 16, 2009. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/241025_What-law-says-and---doesn-t-say-about-video-surveillance.html?page=all
- Whadwa, Tarun. "The Next Privacy Battle: Cameras That Judge Your Every Move." Forbes. Aug. 30, 2012. (Oct. 4, 2013) http://www.forbes.com/sites/singularity/2012/08/30/dear-republicans-beware-big-brother-is-watching-you/
UP NEXT
How to Safely and Anonymously Report Sexual Assault
One out of every six American women is the victim of an attempted or completed rape. HowStuffWorks tells how to safely and anonymously report them.
