School Installs Facial Recognition for Roll Call
Schools in Britain are currently testing facial recognition software as a way to curb lateness and absenteeism.
Facial recognition technology is being tested in 10 schools in Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom and may be rolled out in more schools if the trials prove successful. The system costs £9,000 (just over $14,300) and uses a camera to take 3D photos of students. Pupils must then confirm their identity by entering in a four-digit PIN code.
Though it's aimed at reducing lateness and recording absences, the faceREGISTER system from Aurora Computer Services can also deliver messages to students when they sign in and can be used to track who is in the building during emergencies.
Despite the advantages of the system, privacy advocates are worried that this is another step toward creating a surveillance state. "This is another worrying development in the expansion of the surveillance state," Big Brother Watch campaign director Daniel Hamilton told the Daily Mail. "There is no need for schools to hold such sensitive information about their pupils. Such systems have limited benefits yet are wide open to abuse – from the risk of data theft to misuse by unscrupulous individuals." Hamilton goes on to say both parents and pupils should resist "this encroachment on civil liberties."
Read the full story on the Daily Mail.
*Image credit: Daily Mail
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here are bunch of questions:
1)Is there an actual benefit to student's health and performance to enforce such disciplinary measures?
2)If yes, is there an alternative way of doing this?
3)Who will be monitoring the other end of these devices? Who will be held responsible in case of misuse? (another case of school webcam?)
Roll call takes less than a minute for a class of 30 in my school. It also helps teacher to learn students' name in the beginning of school year. How long does it take to scan 30 students? My school don't even have money for supplies like pencils and paper. They may need to rethink their target audience.
Next it will be body scanners and RFID chips.
I bet the Teacher unions got that shit pushed through. Now they do not even have to learn the names when they babysit for an hour.
I can see some people getting in trouble over certain "photos" they should not possess... again.
What's the point of the facial recognition software if the student is just going to put in their own id code?
I wonder how this is going to work when kids get older. Like from freshman to senior.
1984 anyone
Brittan is certainly a leader in the implementation of big brother technology. How do the citizens stand for this?
Brittan is certainly a leader in the implementation of big brother technology. How do the citizens stand for this?
Waste of time and money when already schools are struggling in this economy.
Next it will be body scanners and RFID chips.
I saw an article not too long ago about some schools already testing out the RFID chips to track students in the school.
Why facial recognition and not a fingerprint reader? Wouldn't that be cheaper?
i can see this being hacked by some nerd at every college to link to HOTorNOT.com
i would like that to be soon before i enroll for refresher courses in the near future.
as for attendance taking, i guess this beats swiping the attendace book from the principals office a couple times a year as you can now just have your friend/girl friend hold up a photograph to the scanner!
as for any privacy issues i've had my picture on my student ID since i was in highschool decades ago and attendance records were kept since i was in kindergarten so not only did they know where i was, and what i looked like, they had my name and classes and books i checked out, what i ate, since it was used also as your library card and lunch card.
just sayin..this isn't anything new or that isn't already used. everybody's got a yearbook with far more information about you in it.
Big brother is watching....
At least its not OVER 9000! pounds.
Was this developed in 1984?
Brittan is certainly a leader in the implementation of big brother technology. How do the citizens stand for this?
They dont have guns... You can impose anything on them, they cant do anything about it even if they wanted to.
they're worried about schools knowing if students are in school or not? how is that sensitive info? They already know that.. it's just not done digitally at the moment... these kids all probably check in at school on facebook/ foursquare anyway...
Wow and we in the US thought our union hack teachers unions and corrupted government were good at wasting money.
Just go ahead and install the damn tracking chips in kids. That's where we're going anyway.
My friends were identical twins. They used to swap classes once in a while just for fun and to have a slightly different day... I don't think that facial thing would know the difference because the only people that could tell were thier closest friends.
I think the RFID is a great idea. That way if they are not there they can automatically be scheduled for detention. Of if they aren't at school the police can find them and deliver them to the school and call their parents who should be whipping their behind for not being there in the first place.
I dont think its really an invasion of privacy. And the fact that you can pull a register of students would be helpful in case of emergency. If you have ever had a bomb threat at your school you know if things go crazy it takes hours to get everybody back to where they need to be. Happened when we were in school after columbine. Just a thought.
If this technology were used to identify illegal immigrants so they and their parents could be deported, then this tech might actually be something useful; otherwise it is just one step closer to the Nanny State.
The benefits just don't outweigh the loss of privacy here. The UK is just getting to be a police state. How can people living there put up with this?
People need to start letting their elected officials know that they do not support this. I've changed my vote in an election specifically because of proposed anti-privacy laws.
If this technology were used to identify illegal immigrants so they and their parents could be deported, then this tech might actually be something useful; otherwise it is just one step closer to the Nanny State.
Shhhhh, dont say that here in California. They are called "undocumented" not illegal. sarcasm/
I wonder if you could get your friends to hold up life sized pictures of your face and then have them enter your PIN for you?
If this technology were used to identify illegal immigrants so they and their parents could be deported, then this tech might actually be something useful; otherwise it is just one step closer to the Nanny State.
If that happens then you better get used to high priced grocery.
Slowly, slowly, we are drifting toward "1984". Every new technology is accepted because of its advantages, without considering how it can be abused by the government. Speed trapping cameras are a perfect example. Eventually, they will be everywhere, and will be accepted. Anyone who hasn't read "1984", and "I, Robot" needs to.
I'd suggest parents take more action in their children's lives and ensure they are going to school instead of implementing automated prison controls, but then I'd just be flying in the face of society and the idea of television and internet as parenting tools.
Ooh look, 1984 already?