Skip to Content
Uncategorized

A Great Listener

A new audio surveillance system could help fight crime in the city and protect kilometers of unmanned borders. Software developed by Ted Berger, director of the University of Southern California Center for Neural Engineering, can be trained to recognize and distinguish sounds that are indicators of a security breach or a safety hazard, such as a gunshot or the rattle of someone climbing a chain-link fence. The software is based on mathematical models that mimic the way the brain interprets sound, but it can distinguish between two similar sounds far more precisely than the human ear. This fall, Oak Brook, IL-based Safety Dynamics plans to implement the software in surveillance devices that monitor urban activity. Mounted on streetlight poles, the devices will listen for gunshots, then guide surveillance cameras toward the source of the sounds. Berger says the technology can also be used for large-scale security; an array of detectors placed along a deserted border, for example, could listen for footfalls or whispers, painting a scene solely on the basis of acoustic information. The detectors could then notify a central location of any suspicious activity.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build

“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”

Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives

The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.

Learning to code isn’t enough

Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.

Deep learning pioneer Geoffrey Hinton has quit Google

Hinton will be speaking at EmTech Digital on Wednesday.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.