Another concern is that all of this power for increased surveillance seems to be concentrated in the hands of the authorities. It brings to mind the haunting question, “Who’s watching the watchers?”

I have good news: One professor has concocted a solution. Dr. Vincent Tao teaches engineering at Toronto’s York University. His system will allow people to sit at their computers and use the Internet to look at real-time images anywhere in the world.

It’s called SAME (See Anywhere — Map Everywhere). To use it, you will log on to his Web site, type in geographic coordinates, and the system shows you what’s at that location right now.

While not as sharp as a telephoto lens, SAME can reportedly make out what kind of car is parked at that location. It combines satellite data with remote sensors for traffic and weather. The information is delivered via a searchable Web site offering real-time images.

Currently, the resolution is two feet in diameter — good enough for large objects but not, for example, to identify a person. However, like other computer and sensor technology, improvements will come fast and furious once the system is in use. You can expect to be able to see as well remotely as you can in person within a decade or so.

Tao compares it to a real-time MapQuest in three dimensions. It lets you focus to whatever level is desired: “You’ll see a globe, like a virtual Earth, and then you can fly in from outer space and zoom all the way in to a city and even to street level, which will be updated by very nice, high-resolution imagery.”

He is starting a company to commercialize this and expects to start selling units this year. Adoption could be very rapid: People will use their existing PCs and even handheld devices. No additional hardware is required, and using the software should be easy.

While some have expressed concern about the development of this kind of power, in fact it’s the beginning of the democratization of surveillance. Here’s why: When millions of average people are using this kind of technology from the comfort of their homes or even on-the-go, monitoring countless and unpredictable locations around the world, it will begin to provide an additional level of monitoring for various public activities.

No one — not even the authorities — will know who is watching what when.

For example, the police cannot possibly monitor every city street for crime all the time. However, amateur surveyors — much like the ham radio operators of yesteryear — will supplement police surveillance, providing an extra level of protection against criminal activities everywhere. It will also provide a level of protection against abuse by the authorities, which might help, for example, prevent another Tiananmen Square massacre.

It might even make news reporting more accurate and complete.

According to York University, the more serious potential applications include defense, emergency response, environmental monitoring, telecommunications and urban planning.

On a lighter note, it could enable virtual mini-vacations. Want to stroll through the Sorbonne? You’ll soon be able to do it from the comfort of your home. While “strolling,” you might even enjoy some aged Camembert with ripe apple slices and a nice glass of Chambord. That’s what I plan to do.

Or how about “flying” over the Grand Canyon, and being able to pause to enjoy some especially majestic scenery?

Dr. Tao looks ahead to a near-term future, “where sensors monitoring traffic, weather, water and seismic variations are all connected to a central processor. It would provide an unparalleled opportunity to use that data for disaster preparedness and relief.”

There’s virtually no question Tao’s invention will result in a powerful, widely available and inexpensive tool. Here’s how I know: He’s a world-renowned expert in this kind of technology.

Dr. Tao was one of the pioneers of geomatics. That’s the $2 billion industry that’s responsible for, among other things, the dashboard-mounted map navigation systems in many automobiles.  He was working on that back in 1996. York University has one of the largest geomatics research programs in North America.

Will there be an investment opportunity in this field?  Time will tell.  If this start-up follows the traditional model of such companies, it will strike deals with some publicly traded companies, licensing the technology to them for specific applications.

I’ll be watching to see which security, law enforcement, travel, and other companies are farsighted enough to piggyback on the good professor’s ingenuity.

To your profitable future,

Jonathan Kolber
June 07,2006

Who’s Watching the Watchers? was originally featured in the Penny Sleuth.