Schiphol tries smart cameras to ID shady people

Schiphol airport is testing new technology that would be able to spot suspicious behavior more easily, and then tip off the Royal Military Police. The Police hopes that this new camera technology will help them track down criminals and prevent attacks, nrc.next reports. 

The camera will pick up on 'suspicious behavior', which is defined as wild arm movements and running through the arrivals hall. Or even more subtly, a toilet visit that takes too long, a group of people splitting off, or someone leaving a piece of baggage behind.

The technology has been programmed with known behavior of criminals, and it can distinguish normal behavior with that of, for example, pick-pockets who revisit the back of the same queue without ever purchasing a ticket. Researched behavioral patterns are then contrasted by the camera against the behavioral patterns of everyone in Schiphol.

The cameras have been installed by Qubit Visual Intelligence from The Hague. Qubit brings into practice the investigation results from TNO Defense & Security. TNO has been tasked in the past, from America for example, to research and develop smart camera technology that picks up on peoples' nefarious intentions. For safety reasons, the company will not give further details.

Nervousness can also be registered in the camera's eye. According to popular belief, terrorists will be nervous before an attack. This was researched by TNO, who posed the question whether signs of nervousness, cold nose and rapid heartbeats, can be picked up by the camera. It is unclear whether the results of this research are in practice at Schiphol.