Engineers at Leeds University are playing a role in designing an intelligent CCTV system that will track people who have left bags in public buildings – and even determine whether their actions might be suspicious.
Building on existing surveillance technology, the SUBITO (Surveillance of Unattended Baggage and the Identification and Tracking of the Owner) programme does exactly what its name suggests.
Whilst standard security systems rely on people to monitor video footage, the SUBITO concept uses computer technology to identify specific shapes and movements that allow an individual and their baggage to be tracked over time.
Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Leeds, David Hogg, says: “Due to increased anxieties around the threat of terrorism, the monitoring and surveillance of unattended baggage has become a top priority across the globe. By employing advanced computer technology our system will make this kind of surveillance much less prone to human error.”
Using the SUBITO system, security teams could follow a suspect’s movements in the minutes leading up to them leaving their bags unattended and then keep track of their whereabouts afterwards. This would minimise cost and resources by cutting the number of false alarms at places such as airports and railway stations. The system would highlight potential threats so that staff could keep a close eye on those rather than having to scan dozens of screens; this should limit the need to close down public areas unnecessarily as suspicious individuals can be watched more closely.
As part of an international consortium, the team at Leeds will develop a computer package that can detect someone leaving a bag unattended. By creating an artificially intelligent system, users should be able to determine whether someone has put a bag down for an innocent reason such as going to buy a coffee, or for something more sinister.
Under the leadership of SELEX Galileo, the SUBITO programme includes ten organisations from six European countries and is funded through the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013). The consortium encompasses a diverse group of technology and implementation specialists. The consortium partners involved in the SUBITO project are: SELEX Galileo (UK), University of Leeds (UK), ELSAG DATAMAT S.p.A (Italy), Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (France) L-1 Identity Solutions AG (Germany), Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique – LIST (France), University of Reading (UK), VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland) Österreichisches Forschungs- und Prüfzentrum Arsenal Ges.m.bH (Austria) and Fiera di Genova S.p.A (Italy.)
