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University of Reading

First Public Lecture - Surveillance society - Are we being "watched" too closely?

Monday, 11 October 2010

CCTV image

'This talk will explore how and why computational vision is being used in our everyday lives, especially in terms of 'intelligent' CCTV.' Dr James Ferryman

On Wednesday 13 October Dr James Ferryman, from the School of Systems Engineering, will present ‘Surveillance society - Are we being "watched" too closely'.

Dr Ferryman's lecture is the first talk in the University's 2010-2011 Public Lecture Series. The absorbing and popular series sees University of Reading experts share their knowledge with the public in a series of free evening lectures, and covers diverse and varied topics in an accessible and interesting way.

Humans are amazing, not least because of our apparent ability to sense and interpret the world through our eyes. Computers can be used to copy this. Dr Ferryman will ask whether the scope of CCTV surveillance has gone too far?

He said: "This talk will explore how and why computational vision is being used in our everyday lives, especially in terms of 'intelligent' CCTV. Whether we are shopping, boarding a plane, or attending a gig, intelligent CCTV works to understand what is going on. It's not Big Brother as we know it. It's Big Brother looking after us."

"As one of the major providers of education in the Thames Valley, we are very keen to hold these kinds of public lectures," said Laura Walsh, organiser of the Public Lecture Series. "Lectures are given by researchers eminent in their field and in a manner that is easily understood by all. They offer a unique opportunity to learn about the cutting-edge research, teaching and people that make the University a world-class institute. The lectures are incredibly popular with all sorts of different people, and always lead to some lively debate afterwards."

All of the University Public Lectures are on Wednesdays and start at 8pm. They will be held in the Palmer Building on the University's Whiteknights campus. Lectures are free to attend and no ticket is required. Please visit the public lecture series website for more details or contact Laura Walsh on 0118 378 4313 or email l.j.walsh@reading.ac.uk.