As far as personal security goes, wearing a suit of surveillance cameras might just be taking things a little too far. But Seoul-based collective Shinseungback Kimyonghun have created exactly that, and they call it the Aposematic Jacket.

The designers liken the jacket to an animal’s bright coloring which screams to predators that they shouldn’t mess with that potential prey. The jacket tells nearby people that they can and will be recorded, which tends to be a successful deterrent to crime.

With the push of a button, the tiny cameras and their lenses on the garment record in 360 degrees and immediately send the images online. The program or app associated with the jacket could presumably notify a friend, family member, or the authorities to the danger.

Alternatively, the images could simply be stored for use later in identifying attackers. If nothing else, the jacket could be used for some positively fascinating (and creepy) people-watching on the train or bus.

The post Smile, You’re On Jacket Camera: Personal Security Coat first appeared on Gajitz.

One man is offering up his own face to the public in a bid to keep us all out of the prying eyes of Big Brother. Chicago-based artist Leo Selvaggio is fighting the power by giving up his visage – but don’t worry, no costly and painful operations are necessary. Selvaggio’s anti-surveillance project consists of an eerily realistic rubber mask that you wear over your own face to fool every surveillance camera you may pass.

While it might sound like an elaborate plan for the artist to have a million alibis while he commits a crime somewhere, the project is all about privacy. In most cities, citizens’ faces are captured on surveillance equipment dozens if not hundreds of times a day – and we are quite often unaware that we are being watched. If simply existing in a public space makes you subject to spying, how closely are you being watched and tracked when you assemble in public places?

The URME project puts Selvaggio’s face onto your body, and it’s so realistic that it fools facial recognition software easily. In a world where our every movement and activity can easily be tracked without our knowledge, a solution that lets us hide in plain sight may just be the only way to protect our privacy. URME Surveillance has surpassed its funding goal on Indiegogo and will supply the rubber masks (or paper ones if you’re on a budget) at cost, meaning that Selvaggio won’t make any money from the project, which he sees as a public service.

The post Face Off: Wear This Man’s Face to Protect Your Own Privacy first appeared on Gajitz.

Information security concerns are at an all-time high in America, especially with people like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden exposing secrets that were never meant to reach the public’s ears. Artist duo Kyle McDonald and Brian House built a project that they hope will raise awareness of the lack of privacy we all experience in public. They call it the Conversnitch, and it’s a little scary just how easily they were able to install it in public places.

The Conversnitch cost less than $100 to produce. Unless you’re extremely observant, it looks just like a regular light fixture or lamp – but it’s much more than that. The device contains a microphone and a mini computer, as well as a light bulb to help it blend into its surroundings. It is housed in a plastic flowerpot, so upon close inspection it would probably be obvious that it is no ordinary light bulb.

The spying tool captures conversations happening near it and uses the nearest open wi-fi network to send the information to Mechanical Turk, Amazon’s crowdsourcing platform. They pay workers to transcribe conversation snippets, then they post them to Coversnitch’s Twitter account. The conversations that the Conversnitch was able to capture were truly shocking. People revealed personal details and expressed opinions that they may not have wanted exposed to the public.

McDonald and House didn’t set out to do anything illegal; they simply wanted to demonstrate how easy it is for anyone to listen in on any conversation. They were able to install the Coversnitch in some very public places without any question from passers-by, though one individual did look a bit suspicious as one of the artists installed the device in a restaurant. According to the artists, one of their goals was to warn people that their conversations, no matter how sensitive, are never necessarily truly private.

(via: Wired)

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Have you ever gotten a little chill down your spine as you walk past mannequins in a department store? That chill may soon be well deserved since an Italian company introduced a new line of mannequins that really are watching you. EyeSee mannequins from a company called Almax feature cameras and microprocessors in their heads, allowing the mannequins to gather information about shoppers.

The mannequins would be placed in strategic positions in stores, such as at the entrance or near important displays. The cameras and microprocessors in the mannequin heads would measure data like demographic information based on facial recognition. Data like ages, races, and genders of shoppers could be measured (like on the screen above), along with how many people visit a certain part of the store in a set time period and how long they hang around.

The company is quick to point out that the data processing would all be done on-site inside the mannequins, so no demographic or personal data would be stored or transmitted. According to Almax, the anonymous data can be used by the stores to adapt their staffing and displays to the customers – all without revealing any personal information. But that doesn’t change the fact that the mannequins will be creepily spying on you as you shop, which is enough to make us stay at home and give more of our business to Amazon.

The post The Dummies Have Eyes: Store Mannequins Spy on Shoppers first appeared on Gajitz.