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Government Transportation Software Hardware Technology

Cops Will Soon ID You Via Your Roof Rack (arstechnica.com) 98

Posted by BeauHD from the hide-and-seek dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: On Tuesday, one of the largest license plate reader (LPR) manufacturers, ELSAG, announced a major upgrade to "allow investigators to search by color, seven body types, 34 makes, and nine visual descriptors in addition to the standard plate number, location, and time." Such a vast expansion of the tech now means that evading such scans will be even more difficult.

"Using advanced computer vision software, ELSAG ALPR data can now be processed to include the vehicle's make, type -- sedan, SUV, hatchback, pickup, minivan, van, box truck -- and general color -- red, blue, green, white and yellow," ELSAG continued. "The solution actively recognizes the 34 most-common vehicle brands on US roads." Plus, the company says, the software is now able to visually identity things like a "roof rack, spare tire, bumper sticker, or a ride-sharing company decal."
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Cops Will Soon ID You Via Your Roof Rack More

Cops Will Soon ID You Via Your Roof Rack

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  • Nice rack! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    See what I did there? Pigs.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by stooo ( 2202012 )

      >> ...bumper sticker...
      Let's identify and catalog people based on their travel habits, location, and political inclination.
      What. could. possibly. go. wrong ?
      Then if the data doesn't leak by some "cyber attack" (you know it's only the russians), then we sell this data to corps.
      Again, What. could. possibly. go. wrong ?

  • LPR? (Score:3)

    by ebcdic ( 39948 ) on Wednesday May 16, 2018 @05:26PM (#56623028)

    What's LPR?

    • >"What's LPR?"

      License Plate Reader

      • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

        by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday May 16, 2018 @06:11PM (#56623238)
        Comment removed based on user account deletion

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Anonymous Coward

          The mechanical Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live in its gently humming, gently vibrating, softly illuminated kennel back in a dark corner of the fire house. The dim light of one in the morning, the moonlight from the open sky framed through the great window, touched here and there on the brass and copper and the steel of the faintly trembling beast. Light flickered on bits of ruby glass and on sensitive capillary hairs in the nylon-brushed nostrils of the creature that quivered gently, i

        • Actually, it's called ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) and is a British invention from 1976.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by iggymanz ( 596061 )

      the command to print on the Berkley Printing System, of course. What? the cops tried to give it another meaning decades later you say? How do they expect to talk to normal people if they do that?

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        lp0 tesla on fire

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      "Lose Privacy & Rights"
      At least that's the end result.

    • What's ebcdic?

  • You think I can defeat these new LPRs using dazzle camo? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

  • Subarus (Score:5, Funny)

    by ichthus ( 72442 ) on Wednesday May 16, 2018 @05:30PM (#56623050) Homepage

    Plus, the company says, the software is now able to visually identity things like ... bumper sticker

    If you RTFA, Subarus are not supported. Interestingly, the system is only able to support up to 10 bumper stickers.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by arth1 ( 260657 )

      Interestingly, the system is only able to support up to 10 bumper stickers.

      Per car, or is that the total for the entire system?

    • Plus, the company says, the software is now able to visually identity things like ... bumper sticker

      If you RTFA, Subarus are not supported. Interestingly, the system is only able to support up to 10 bumper stickers.

      I think 10 bumper stickers should be more than enough to uniquely identify most cars.

      • I think 10 bumper stickers should be more than enough to uniquely identify most cars.
        You obviously have not visited the Fremont area of Seattle.

        • I think 10 bumper stickers should be more than enough to uniquely identify most cars.

          You obviously have not visited the Fremont area of Seattle.

          Yeah but even if multiple cars of the same make/model have the same 10 bumper stickers, I don't think they will be in the same place. At least I assume the algorithm includes sticker positioning, not just identification.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      e-Paper bumper stickers. Throw off the police. And change your politics [zcache.com] every time the wind direction changes.

    • Plus, the company says, the software is now able to visually identity things like ... bumper sticker

      If you RTFA, Subarus are not supported. Interestingly, the system is only able to support up to 10 bumper stickers.

      That's because 10 bumper stickers will completely cover the back of a Subaru; plate, lights and all.

  • When roof racks are outlawed, only outlaws will have roof racks.

  • Classify this! [hiphopcars.com]

  • Off they come (Score:4, Funny)

    by martinX ( 672498 ) on Wednesday May 16, 2018 @05:36PM (#56623096)

    Better take the roof racks off my Harley then.

  • The subject was positively identified by the EFF bumper sticker on the back of his car.

  • it's time to get out my '57 Impala again.

    I'll probably get pulled over for having a non-recognizable auto instead of a black 4 door vehicle.

  • Good luck boys..

    I drive a white F150... There are millions of them rolling around in varying states of disrepair because nearly every company that buys Ford trucks buys white ones. Around here I can impersonate an illegal by towing a trailer with a couple of lawnmowers on it too... In a sanctuary city I'm Scott free (Until they see the old white guy driving. )

  • a tin foil hat for my car!

  • I'm sure there will be absolutely no problem with injurious or deadly police actions taken based on false identification or bad backend database data at all wille there? (I've been a victim even using the explicit license plate scanners)

    • " based on false identification or bad backend database data "

      Trust me when I say they don't need such things to open fire on your vehicle. You need only drive something that vaguely resembles a vehicle they're looking for and they'll stand on the brake, jump out and go full death squad on your ass.

      As many of you will hold up the bullshit signs and demand citations, I will have you recall the story of Christopher Dorner where LAPD went full stupid on several civilians for merely driving a vehicle that look

  • Bumper Sticker (Score:4, Funny)

    by PPH ( 736903 ) on Wednesday May 16, 2018 @06:59PM (#56623432)

    I Support'); DROP TABLE Vehicles;--

  • Fuck the police (Score:3)

    by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 ) on Wednesday May 16, 2018 @07:21PM (#56623512) Journal
    I'm going to paint "FUCK THE POLICE" on the roof of my car in paint that only shows up in infrared.

  • problem solved.

  • I don't have a roof, you insensitive clod!

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  • They already know me by my bumper stickers, which reads, "My other car is your mom".

  • I drive a 20 year old piece of junk with only about 30% of the original pieces and so many dents it only resembles a car in the academic sense. So yeah, good luck with using AI on me.
  • ... and get those RFID implants once and for all so they can track each of us too.

  • So if I call the cops to complain about the guy in my town who drives a pickup truck with giant chrome testicles hanging from the hitch, they will know who I'm talking about?

  • general color -- red, blue, green, white and yellow

    Apparently, if you want to sneak past this system... just drive a black car.

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