from the perhaps-the-police-will-wear-them? dept.
Over at IEEE spectrum is an article on the use of wearable inertial sensors to spot firearm usage. based on a paper published by Charles Loeffler and available on PLOS One.
The suggestion is that this can be used to monitor convicted criminals released on parole or probation, by adding this to the existing electronic monitoring devices worn by some convicts.
Loeffler’s data shows that signature is hard to mistake. Of 357 gunshots tested in the study, just three were mistakenly identified as something else. The technique also gives very few false positives—just three of the 693 other instances of accelerometer activity tracked in the study were misidentified as gunshots. Further fine-tuning of the technique even has the potential to distinguish between the accelerometer signatures created by different calibers of firearms.
Combined with sensors that track parolees via GPS, accelerometers could be used to alert police departments immediately when a person wearing a wrist monitor fired a gun. That would save authorities the time and energy involved in cross-referencing the location of a reported gun shot with the whereabouts of the many monitors they track. Not only would that improve police response times, it could potentially deter people being monitored from firing in the first place, cutting down on gun crime.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by randmcnatt on Thursday September 11 2014, @11:23AM
The Wright brothers were not the first to fly: they were the first to land.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Rivenaleem on Thursday September 11 2014, @02:59PM
Exactly, include a camera that records whenever the safety is off, and takes high res images right before a shot is taken. Include with the video and pictures all the usual metadata.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bob_super on Thursday September 11 2014, @04:25PM
By the time the safety is off, most of the important context information is already gone.
For everyone's safety, the cops should record from the time they get out of the car, and the car should record 360 degrees too.
Some cops are trigger-happy, but some idiots are also provocation-happy, and in both cases you want to know what led to a gun being drawn.
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Friday September 12 2014, @08:11AM
I heartily agree, but since this article is about having an accelerometer on the wrist of the cop to detect just the shots, and not about recording the whole interaction, the scope of my comment was purely in relation to gathering data about the act of firing the gun and how attaching a camera to record all the firing data would be superior to an accelerometer-wristband.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @06:31PM
Which is why this will probably never be implemented. Just sayin'.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @12:05PM
Now if you just would bend over...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @12:19PM
Another excuse to covertly monitor your cell phone, which has an accelerometer built in.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Snotnose on Thursday September 11 2014, @12:57PM
I understand the libtards get their panties in a bunch over anything gun related, but how could this be remotely useful? If the bad guy is wearing one of these what's keeping them from shooting with their off hand? If you want to give the cops one of these why not just put a camera on them instead? If you want me to wear one, well, good luck with that.
This is your classic solution in search of a problem.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Kilo110 on Thursday September 11 2014, @01:01PM
You make an interesting point. But why undermine your own point by using "libtards"? You're only alienating people and preventing any real discussion.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @06:32PM
Welcome to the internet, a bastion of civilized discourse since 1969.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JeanCroix on Thursday September 11 2014, @01:37PM
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Leebert on Thursday September 11 2014, @01:46PM
Put one on BOTH wrists? :)
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday September 11 2014, @02:53PM
If you put a single one on both wrists, isn't it cheaper to use handcuffs?
On the other hand... if you put one on... each hand, then maybe...
(do I hear a whoosh coming?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @04:07PM
Put one on BOTH wrists? :)
No, no, no. Every good and true american knows that libtards are too stupid to think of that! Snotnose knows that.
But there are legitimate problems with these that will probably make them useless. Consider that they work by establishing a "noise floor" and then look for large spikes in comparison. How long until someone figures out to attach a vibrator? [trojanvibrations.com] That will significantly raise the noise-floor, but by virtue of being directly attached to the unit it won't significantly impact their aim. It isn't like criminals with handguns are sharp-shooters to begin with.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @03:39PM
It just doesn't work. Failure rate of ~ 1% is atrocious. Depends what they were doing as well, someone working in their garage probably gets failure rate >> 1%. How many times does the accelerometer trigger per day? 1000? 10000? Every time the guy has to what, go to a police station or something?
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday September 11 2014, @04:34PM
"At $40k a year, a false-positive rate of 1% sounds pretty good" - Unnamed For-Profit Prison Executive
(Score: 1) by groovemonkey on Thursday September 11 2014, @09:02PM
Exactly this.
Not only is this a solution in search of a problem, as others have pointed out, but when you start thinking about how many false positives you'd get every day, this is just silly. Like a cancer-test that has 99% accuracy, it's worse than useless.
And seriously, how many people on parole actually commit crimes that involve them FIRING a gun while on parole?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Tork on Thursday September 11 2014, @04:09PM
Every victim of gun violence creates new 'libtards'. It would be wise of you lot to understand that so you can start coming up with actual solutions that help you retain your rights before you go extinct.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 1) by Michael.Jackson on Thursday September 11 2014, @05:15PM
Or those of us who write left handed and shoot right handed. Guess I'd get to wear one on each wrist.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Tuesday September 16 2014, @04:22AM
Wow. I went from 4 interesting to -1 flamebait just because I used the word libtards. Which IMHO perfectly describes the mindset of the people who think this kind of thing is useful.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday September 11 2014, @01:15PM
I read the summary several times before I realised that I had initially misunderstood it - I thought this was some body armour that a cop could wear that somehow works out which direction an incoming bullet was fired from. I didn't think it made much sense, because by the time you've gathered the necessary data, it's probably too late to do much with it. Maybe in conjunction with some kind of computer-controlled gun-turret..?
What the summary / article are actually talking about is far more sensible. Well, a bit more sensible at any rate.
(Score: 2) by etherscythe on Thursday September 11 2014, @03:23PM
I thought so too, at first (couldn't figure out how an accelerometer was the best choice for that...). However, the military already has audio sensors that can do this, in particular using squad-based triangulation. It then shows up on the helmet display as a target zone or warning.
What gets me about this is now you're putting an ankle monitor, one or two accelerometer bracelets, and what next, an always-on webcam on your shoulder? This is getting even creepier just to be around, much less the subject of. It's like you won't even be leaving prison, really.
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday September 11 2014, @03:45PM
> It's like you won't even be leaving prison, really.
When the country is just one, big, open-plan penitentiary with the inmates tagged and monitored 24/7, does that qualify as never going into prison, or never leaving it?
(Score: 2) by etherscythe on Thursday September 11 2014, @08:02PM
A fine distinction based, I think, on whether or not you're legally forced to carry the instruments of your own oppression with you. If you're not required to carry that cell phone with all the sensors they can turn on without your knowledge, it's not prison, just a police state. Not that anyone aside from academics will really care, in the check-in-and-post-on-twitter-and-facebook-for-a-chance-to-win age.
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 14 2014, @04:36AM
>When the country is just one, big, open-plan penitentiary with the inmates tagged and monitored 24/7, does that qualify as never going into prison, or never leaving it?
Here is George Carlin's [RIP] answer to that question. Please note, the links below contain strong language!
IT IS HILARIOUS!!! :D (^_^) \o/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq9ZoGihurY [youtube.com] 8 minutes
http://lyrics333.com/state_prison_farms_lyrics_george_carlin.html [lyrics333.com] 'transcript' [PLEASE LISTEN FIRST BEFORE READING THIS!]
At the rate people are fed to America's privatized 'prison industry', there will only be two components missing--George mentions them in his comedy routine. It would spoil the delight and hilarity for first-time listeners to mention them here in the text of this post. Please listen and be entertained and informed at the same time. This routine is UNDENIABLE PROOF that George was a MASTER standup comedian! :D
P.S. For completedness, here is the 'prequel' done by him to the above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJb3aUwcX-Q [youtube.com] 9 minutes
http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/george_carlin/capital_punishment-lyrics-220555.html [allthelyrics.com] 'transcript' [PLEASE LISTEN FIRST BEFORE READING THIS!]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Mr. Slippery on Thursday September 11 2014, @04:27PM
Not at all. Someone monitored with GPS, accelerometer, even an always-on camera, could still go to work, see their family, and participate (and thus establish social ties in) their community. That's a lot healthier than being in a cage. It could be a great way to keep some criminals under supervision without separating from them from the social factors that might motivate them to be better people. It's not enough for a Manson or Dahmer, but for someone who snatched a purse maybe a year of constant monitoring while you make them finish their GED and help them get a job would go a lot more than an year in lockup.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @06:41PM
In too many instances it is precisely those "social factors" which are the problem. Criminals do not act in a social vacuum.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 11 2014, @07:06PM
In too many instances it is precisely those "social factors" which are the problem. Criminals do not act in a social vacuum.
Putting them in prison where 100% of the people they will socialize with are criminals is not an improvement.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 12 2014, @12:57AM
True, that. I was just pointing out that putting them "out there" in the community where they might have better social interactions seems a bit on the optimistic side. It seems to me that besides keeping them out of prison--where, as you point out, their social interactions are going to be with the wrong sort of people--we need to also find a way to get them into an environment that does not encourage them in the old patterns of social interaction which encourages recidivism.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 14 2014, @04:41PM
Businesses won't hire them because they have proven to be untrustworthy.
With no revenue stream, how are these people supposed to survive in societies that runs on money?
One alternative is to leave the rat race, go 'off the grid' and become survivalists in the wilderness far from civilization--good luck with that as essentially the entire land surface of the Earth is under some form of ownership except Antartica and deserts.
So that basically leaves either death or a life of crime as their alternatives. If they are caught, they re-enter the corrections system again. If it is their 'third time', they are inside FOR GOOD!
So until society is ready and willing to REALLY give these people a REAL second chance, it will just be 'business as usual'.... :(
(Score: 2) by etherscythe on Thursday September 11 2014, @08:04PM
Given the common reaction to Google Glass, what makes you think they will have anything like "normal" social interactions sporting a webcam?
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 1) by Username on Friday September 12 2014, @08:05AM
1.) Parolee shoots a firearm
2.) Parolee gives firearm to a friend
3.) Probation worker calls Parolee about accelerometer
4.) Parolee responds with, "I was just jacking it."
5.) ????
6.) Profit