EFF Raises Privacy Concerns over Xerox’s Automated Vehicle Occupancy Detection

Technology that is aimed at cracking down on carpool-lane misuse is also huge privacy risk.

Xerox developed a system called Automated Vehicle Occupancy Detection. The brochure of the system says that the Vehicle Passenger Detection System identifies the number of occupants in a vehicle with 95% accuracy, at speeds ranging from stop and go to 100 mph. The high-quality images provided by the system, along with the evidence package enable full automation of violations as legislation allows.

The brochure also highlights that the video quality is very high allowing to identify the persons riding in the car. Xerox says that tfor privacy purposes the facial images are redacted, but can be revealed with appropriate authorization by law enforcement or court personal.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) raises a privacy red flag on this technology. San Diego is planning to test the Xerox system to find violators of the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes. 

In case the Xerox Automated Vehicle Occupancy Detection gets wide-spread adoption the government would have yet another means for mass surveillance. Think of it like Kaleidoscope system used in the TV Show NCIS: Los Angeles becomes real. Or maybe Kaleidoscope is already real and we don’t know that yet.