Concerns about data privacy and protection against misuse have accompanied the adoption of smart city technologies, as we have previously highlighted. Recently, these concerns have grown. In June 2021, the European Data Protection Board and European Data Protection Supervisor called for a ban on any use of “AI for automated recognition of human features in publicly accessible spaces, such as recognition of faces, gait, fingerprints, DNA, voice, keystrokes, and other biometric or behavioral signals in any context.” A previous proposal by the European Commission had restricted but not banned the use of facial recognition in public spaces. Lidar safeguards individual privacy since it does not produce imagery that can be used for facial recognition or other security apps.
From an article in the Velodyne Lidar blog.
Recently, the hack of a large camera data start-up exposed the full video archive of the company’s customers. Furthermore, the hack disclosed the placement of hidden security cameras. It revealed the facial and other recognition features of the company’s software, and it allowed the hackers to insert their own code to use the cameras for their own purposes and even re-hijack the cameras in the future. This incident highlights that, while camera-based monitoring systems may be intended for good, useful purposes, if facial and other identifying information about a person is captured, then it can be accessed by unauthorized, potentially malicious entities.
This prompts the question: Do we want to rely solely on camera technology for security and infrastructure applications? It is clear that the average person is not comfortable with private companies having access to their facial data through the proliferation of cameras in all parts of private and public life. And it is clear from the video data breach mentioned above that, if the collection of facial and other identifying data expands, there will be more opportunity for bad actors to access that data. In contrast, lidar is able to monitor the environment and create data about its surroundings, especially people, without collecting facial recognition or other biometric data. (Read more in our white paper Roadside Lidar for Smart Transportation Infrastructure.)
Importantly, lidar has a crucial ability to protect an individual’s privacy in these scenarios.
For the complete blog on how lidar safeguards individual’s privacy CLICK HERE.
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