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Session 2438

Biometrics, Image Capture and Enhancement Primus J. Tillman

Assistant Professor, College of Business and Technology East Tennessee State University

Every time the terror alert level is raised, image capture and enhancement also becomes an issue. Homeland security is a very real dilemma that requires the most modern technology and tools available to help prevent a recurrence of the events of September 11, 2001. But the best technology and tools are useless without enough trained, skilled, and experienced persons who can use them swiftly and accurately. This is where educational institutions, such as East Tennessee State University; educators, such as Professor Primus Tillman; and technology, such as Adobe’s Premier, After Effects, and Photoshop enter the picture to use and teach image capture and enhancement technologies.

Biometrics uses individual characteristics, such as fingerprints, voice, and face recognition to detect and detain dangerous personnel. The technology uses finger scan, iris scan, face scan, voice scan, and other identity techniques as authentication devices. Image enhancement uses computer hardware and software to identify people from video and still image captures. Combined, they comprise a valuable deterrent to homeland security threats.

Homeland security is not the only fertile field for biometrics, image capture and enhancement. The last couple of years saw a dramatic upsurge in the number of surveillance cameras being used as a tool in businesses and law enforcement agencies for keeping real-time track of events in both private and public places. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) has matured significantly from its initial purpose of enabling companies to protect their property. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, policymakers, corporate executives, security and intelligence services are turning toward video surveillance technology as a weapon against terrorist threats and as a response to the public and private demand for more security.

Image capture and enhancement technology presents a dichotomy: balancing the loss of civil and personal liberties with the gain in public and private security. How does the ability to use face recognition techniques to detect potential national security threats weigh against the potential for a government agency to spy upon innocent citizens unaware that their actions are under surveillance? How does the ability of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to maintain huge databases of faces and names balance with Fourth Amendment assurances of security within the home? Does a reduction in criminal activity justify the loss of privacy engendered by the collection and storage of personal information in databases maintained by government agencies?

For example, the real, or perceived, increase in crime and several high-profile school campus shootings have prompted widespread appeals for improved video surveillance in airports, Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Educational Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education

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Tillman, P. (2004, June), Biometrics, Image Capture, And Enhancement Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--12697