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UK police to
get hi-tech helmets
London - December 6, 2003 - The UK police may soon adopt a hi-tech helmet
with a spy camera concealed in the badge to help film suspected criminals.
The cameras can also be fitted into crash helmets and on the collars of
police dogs. The prototype helmet can send pictures to a surveillance van or
to a receiver held on an officer's belt. If the gadget proves successful, it
could be adopted throughout U.K. Mr. Robin Allaston, a business manager at
Sussex police, said, "The public would need to be warned of its use unless
officers were in a 'high crime area' and gathering evidence."
The Asian Age - December 7, 2003.
Cellphones to now keep track of you
New electronic services make a very personal piece of information for
cellphone users - physical location - harder to mask. But privacy advocates
say the lack of legal clarity about who can gain access to location
information poses a serious risk. A US federal mandate that wireless
carriers be able to locate callers who dial 911 automatically by late 2005
means that millions of phones already keep track of their owners'
whereabouts. Wireless companies and startup firms are weaving the satellite
system known as GPS, or Global Positioning System, into the cellular phone
network and the internet to sell products and services that provide location
information. Advocates of location-aware technology insist that its safety
benefits - like locating an emergency caller or a stolen car- outweigh the
privacy issues. Critics of the new technology do not dispute its usefulness,
but worry that it will become ubiquitous before legal guidelines are
established.
Times of India - December 22 2003.
UK police lobbies for remotes to stop cars
London - December 21, 2003 - Drivers in Britain face the prospect of their
cars being stopped by somebody pushing a button. The UK police is urging
ministers to give them the power to stop vehicles by remote control. The
basic technology is already available and used in lorries to limit the top
level speed and to immobilise stolen cars. Providing an effective means to
remotely stop a vehicle is fast becoming a priority. Cars could be stopped
by the gradual reduction of engine power so it that slowly comes to a stop,
or by making sure when drivers come to a halt they cannot move again. Radio
telemetry was used by Formula One pit crews to adjust the engines of racing
cars at up to 200mph until it was banned this year. A senior police officer,
the chief constable or deputy, can already give the order to stop a car
remotely, but that power has rarely if ever been used.
The Asian Age - December 22, 2003.
Food for Thought
Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.
- Confucius
***
The biggest difficulty with mankind today is that our knowledge has
increased so much faster than our wisdom.
***
The price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion
to the things you want to see happen. |
