Issue Date: June 30, 2002
The NEW Whiz-Bang Technology
The alien busters' toys may save the planet, but believe it or not, similar tools help everyday Americans do everything from tracking kids to finding lost pets.
By Jim Louderback
"Men in Black II" is a high-tech alien hunter's dream. In their mission to save the galaxy from a bunch of creeps from outer space, special agents Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones deploy a devastating array of indispensable -- and quite snazzy -- gadgets. A handy, pocket-sized "Alien Identifier" unmasks the enemy lurking beneath human façades. Back at headquarters, the Big Egg alerts operatives when a creature wanders off the island of Manhattan. Smith's Hamilton Ventura watch is stuffed with more cool features than James Bond could shake a swizzle stick at.
It may sound like fun summer science fiction -- and of course it is. But before you rush off to the movies, consider this: Some of today's real technology does similar things. I may not be able to detect whether my screaming toddler is, indeed, momentarily possessed by demons. But I can keep an "eye" on Sam as he rambles around the house, all while writing this story in the seclusion of my home office. In a few years I'll be scanning his vital signs on my PC, too.
I realize many find these real-life "spy" technologies a dangerous invasion of privacy, and they are certainly subject to abuse. But all great technology has its dark side. I, for one, plan to embrace whatever gadgets and gizmos I can master (and afford) to make life safer, easier -- better. And, as I discovered while reporting this story, I'm not alone.
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A GPS PERSONAL LOCATOR for kids from Wherify Wireless
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WATCH: Paige Parsons, 3, is having a tough morning. She's tired, cranky and out of sorts. Mom Jennifer would love to stay home, but her real estate job calls. Dad Lance already has left for work. There's really no alternative. With some trepidation, Jennifer drops Paige off at the Kids 'R' Kids Quality Learning Center in Mason, Ohio. But instead of worrying while at work, Jennifer logs on to a special Web site -- where she can see what Paige is up to. Jennifer breathes a sigh of relief. The Internet video camera at the day care center shows Paige playing happily. "It gives me peace of mind," Jennifer says. "It's comforting that I can look in on her any time during the day."
In the world of the "Men in Black", the boss, Zed, always knows exactly what Jay (Smith) and Kay (Jones) are doing, as if he somehow monitored them with a mysterious network of invisible cameras. Here in the real world, tiny, unobtrusive Web cameras are exploding in popularity. More than 5 million were sold last year for less than $100 each. People are using them to monitor everything from kids to surfing conditions. Some people even use the incognito cameras to webcast their own lives, Ozzy Osbourne-style.
If you like to watch, it's a Chauncey Gardiner dream. It's also a good way to stay safe: I have a friend with a camera installed in his doorbell. Alerted by a beep on his cellphone when someone's at the door, he can log on to a computer and check the camera from around the world. And, yes, he can even remotely unlock the door for the cleaners or UPS man.
Down the road, our wireless, remote-controlled cameras will sprout wheels. The CoWorker from iRobot roams around your home or office and eventually will be able to climb stairs. A video camera perches atop a giraffe-like neck, and you can control it from any computer via the Internet. Expensive today at $30,000 or more, an affordable home version is due out in early 2004.
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IDENTIFY: With their handy Alien Identifier, the "Men in Black" probe beyond the skin to reveal a person's inner alien. We don't have that yet; unfortunately, a criminal in a stolen UPS uniform could fool my friend's doorbell video camera. But we're not far off. Face-recognition systems, which use computers to pluck a single person from a huge collection of pictures, now spot criminals in crowds. At last year's Super Bowl in Tampa, police scanned every fan. A system is being tested now at airports across the nation and at the Statue of Liberty. The technology isn't perfect -- you can fool it with dime-store sunglasses and a fake nose -- but it's a start.
The next breakthrough will come when we start putting tiny ID chips in our bodies. That idea isn't new. Dogs and cats started getting "chipped" about 15 years ago, and the amazing reunion stories soon followed. The most famous: Last year, shelter workers scanned Lukee, a Lhasa apso from Fontana, Calif., and discovered she'd been missing since 1995! Nationwide fame, even an appearance on the "Today" show, soon followed.
What's good for the pet is, apparently, good for the master. In May, the Jacobs family of Boca Raton, Fla., became the first "chipped" Americans. It was 14-year-old Derek Jacobs' idea to have the VeriChip implanted in their bodies; it includes their names and medical histories. Jeff Jacobs, a Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor, "has been sick a long time," says his wife, Leslie Jacobs. "Derek wants to save his dad's life."
Soon, such technology will make it a snap to find the lost child in a haystack of people. Hiding a kidnapped child will be difficult when every airport, train, bus station and toll plaza is listening.
That's good news for parents. Fingerprints and DNA samples are in vogue today, but they're of limited use if a child disappears: It's difficult to obtain DNA or fingerprints from someone who's missing.
Next up: implants that also monitor your vitals, including heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, glucose level and even cholesterol. Levels can be tracked and compared over time by you or your doctor. Soon doctors will be able to examine you from home -- theirs!
Emitting the digital equivalent of "Help, I need a doctor," the chips will start beaconing when the body begins going haywire but before the onset of a devastating heart attack, stroke or sudden infant death syndrome. That will give parents and paramedics more time to save lives. Today, it takes just a few minutes to "chip" a dog or cat. I predict that within a few years, most babies will be chipped, and before 2010 we'll all have medical monitoring implants.
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FIND: Back at MIB headquarters, they use the Big Egg, and the handy so-called Bionet, to track aliens. Here in the real world -- at least in St. Clair County, Ill. -- we can do the same thing ... with humans, that is. A few months ago, an elderly couple's car caught fire as they drove through a rural part of the county. Lost and afraid, they dialed 911 on their cellphone. Luckily for them, St. Clair, in suburban St. Louis, was the first U.S. county equipped to pinpoint cellphone callers within 100 yards -- often within just a few feet. Using a combination of GPS, the satellite-based location technology, and network-based location systems, most cellphone 911 callers there can be located fairly accurately. That's important, because today mobile phones make up almost half of St. Clair's 911 calls. Under an FCC mandate, the same "e-911" service must be available nationwide by 2005.
In the case of the couple in the car fire, the cellphone tracking system worked perfectly. Rescue workers quickly arrived and doused the fire.
Soon, it won't be just police dispatchers with powerful people-finding abilities. It'll be anyone with a cellphone. Nearly a quarter of the new ones sold next year will come already loaded with GPS. They'll help stranded hikers and skiers. But GPS-equipped phones won't be just for emergencies. Ever lose your car in a parking lot? Never again. With the digital equivalent of Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs, these phones will lead you right back to your parking spot.
GPS also will keep our kids safe. Wherify Wireless is readying its GPS Personal Locator, an oversized wristwatch akin to Will Smith's watch in "MIIB:. It combines GPS with digital wireless communication technology and a 911 panic button. It lets parents find their kids at any time -- assuming you can get a kid to actually wear one of these clunky timekeepers. Really useful people-tracking devices belong under the skin -- and that's just where they're going. By year's end, the VeriChip makers plan to unveil a working prototype of a personal location device in the form of a tiny, implanted GPS chip.
Watch, identify, monitor, track and report. It's the ultimate spy technology: We know where you are, where you're going and even how excited you are. But I'm not worried. Better to give up a little privacy than to drop dead from a Big Mac attack or to spend hours looking for your car after the big game.
Besides, we've been using technology like this for a while. I was able to finish this story without worrying about my son, Sam. I've secreted a few wireless baby monitors about the house, and they all report back to my home office. Yes, I've bugged my son; it's the oldest spy trick in the book. I'd chip him, too, if I could. Tricks far too pedestrian for Hollywood's slick, shaded duo.
Contributing Editor Jim Louderback writes the magazine's TechSmart column.
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Exclusive: Our 5th Annual America's Poll
It's one thing when the "Men in Black" do it. But how do we feel in real life now that anyone can become a spy with the click of a mouse? Two years ago, for our annual Fourth of July poll, the subject was the new privacy invasion. This year, in a phone survey sponsored and conducted by TNS Intersearch, we returned to the topic to find out how Americans in 2002 view technology's utility vs. its threat:
1 in 3 adults -- and half of all young adults -- would spy on someone with a hidden camera if they could. Who? Baby sitters are the top choice.
1 in 5 with Internet access admit they've "Googled" someone they know to find out more about him or her.
Only 4% of adults say they've ever secretly read another person's e-mail.
What do Americans think poses the greatest threat to their privacy? Two years ago, government was the top choice; now it's the Internet.
The telephone survey of 1,029 adults was conducted May 8-12.
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