Gadgetopia

Chicago plans advanced surveillance: I don’t know what’s more amazing — that Chicago is going to have a network of 2,000 cameras monitoring their city streets, or that the ACLU didn’t flip their lid about it.

The linchpin in the network — paid for with a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and scheduled to be up by March 2006 — is software designed to detect “suspicious” activity.

For instance, if someone left a suitcase in a stairwell, the software would engage any camera within range and alert a worker at the emergency operations center. It would do the same if an individual rushed up to another and dragged him away. A series of cameras could track fleeing criminals, and 911 operators would be able to give police descriptions of suspects.