AI-powered video security and laser system for rape drug deterrence
Image credit: Securitycameraking
Darko SavicJan 20, 2022
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Bounty for the best solution
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Bounties attract serious brainpower to the challenge.
AI-powered video security system that monitors all drinks in a club/bar and points a laser on any drink that might have been spiked.
Why?
Deter the use of rape drugs.
Keep people aware that an unsupervised drink is a personal safety hazard.
Keep people safe.
This video explains it:
How it works
A security system comprised of:
a high-quality video system that records both in day/night vision and covers multiple angles
AI-powered object recognition software (think on the level of Tesla self-driving)
Color laser pointers mounted on various positions on the ceiling of a club/bar/pub
The AI-powered software keeps a close eye on all drinks and anyone who could have come in contact with them.
An easy-to-review log of events/video is composed for every person, every drink, and all people who could have spiked it.
Laser pointers
If AI determines that something was dropped into a drink, a red color laser points and follows that drink around until a security person reviews/turns it off.
A different color laser could be used for different events. If someone might have slipped something in (but didn't necessarily) a pink laser could point to a drink for a few seconds. Enough for the owner and those around to take a closer look at the drink.
A laser could point both to the drink and the person that could have spiked it. Or the person could be pointed out only when the security guy requests it via an app.
If people are found to joke around with stuff like that only to activate the laser, they are thrown out of the club.
Logs
If anything happens to a person, all clubs would have detailed records of the "suspects" - anyone who was in contact with the person or their drinks that night.
All logs are automatically deleted after X days (unless requested to keep them by law enforcement).
People are already used to and expect there to be video monitoring systems in clubs. So this is basically just AI-powered cataloging. It shouldn't encounter pushback in society.
Knowing that all clubs/pubs/bars could be using this system it means that as soon as someone approaches a person they have made a commitment to behave well. This pretty much solves the need for chaperoning.
Detecting unknown drugs
The security guy would have a test kit that detects most common chemicals used as rape drugs.
Alternatively, the bartender could prepare a drink as similar to the one being examined. What side-by-side chemical composition comparison could be run to determine that something deviates too much from the norm?
Such bars could have a "rape-drug safe" sticker displayed in a prominent location. That way people wouldn't be surprised by all the false alarm drink checks while the software is learning/improving.
The sticker could also say "rape-drug AI in training, please be patient while I learn"
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Spiked drugs identified using laser (or something similar)
Shubhankar KulkarniJan 21, 2022
Drinks should be spiked under the table or potentially, in thousands of blind spots in a bar. Therefore, the laser system (more like an X-ray) could actually be used to scan all drinks at all times. This system will have no blind spots except for heavy metals, which could be disallowed in bars using simple metal detectors. An x-ray machine could scan the entire room from top to bottom multiple times in an hour (you could decide the frequency based on the footfall). Any potentially violated drink could be flagged and the bouncers/ waiters could simply take the drink away without disturbing the customers. The rays will pass through anything and unlike cameras, won't have any blind spots. Now the challenge is to find signatures of spiked drinks that are identifiable using some kind of x-ray (or similar) system.
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Darko Savic2 years ago
Another challenge is to make the scanning rays safe for human cells that find themselves in it's path
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The control in customer's hands vs third-party control
jnikolaJan 21, 2022
I like the concept of the idea, but I especially like the cause. Rape culture is a hidden, rarely spoken-about problem that should be tackled from all sides.
To highlight potential problems and present solutions, I would first like to pinpoint the most important aspect of this noble cause - the feeling of safety. Rape victims are, unfortunately, often stigmatized, if they go public. Therefore, nobody wants to be the victim of the rape and thus, nobody wants to be the potential victim. If we do everything to stop that, people feel safer and thus, happier.
On the other hand, imagine you go out with your friends and they also bring some friends, too. If there were two types of tools you could use to determine if a friend of a friend potentially spiked you, 1) obvious testing on-site and 2) a secretive non-obvious drug detector, which one would you choose? I suppose the latter would be a choice for most of you since nobody wants to start a public accusation just by reckless guess.
In that context, I would like to highlight the benefits of this idea (among all the other you already mentioned):
the feeling that somebody takes care of you while you enjoy your Saturday night
the feeling of "not being your fault" if the potential rapist gets exposed
At the same time, some problems emerged:
How to avoid getting spiked by the bartenders?
How to avoid awkward situations where a cup was for a moment hidden from the eyes of the camera, but you didn't even think of spiking, and you still get checked for potential spike in front of all your girlfriends?
All things considered, I am not sure if it's better to allow third-parties to control the spiking (as described in this idea) or to leave the control in the customers' hands (straws, stripes, on-demand drink checks), considering the social effect of the system and the effectiveness.
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Darko Savic2 years ago
If the cup was hidden for a moment from all of the cameras, a pink laser will shine on it for a few seconds. This is an indication that it could have been spiked but didn't necessarily happen. The glass owner (or their friends) will talk among each other about it to determine whether it's a false alarm or the drink should be tested.
As for bartenders spiking drinks, the software could have a special add-on to:
a collage of every drink the bartender made/served is composed for every bartender
the software arranges the videos starting with most suspicious in the beginning
the club management/owner should periodically review the videos - if nothing else, to see how their employees are doing
customers are encouraged to step up if someone suspects being spiked. They would do so anyway because the club has this surveillance system and they would want to know what happened to them. All bartender videos get reviewed if someone suspects getting drugged in the club.
the club management should arrange the bar so that bartenders can't hide from the cameras. If any part of drink-making is not visible, that event gets reported to a special log, and the matching video shows who got the drink, etc.
Even when the proof of a bartender spiking drinks is not on video, suspicion is. Do it twice and they're at the very least fired. Police might want to take a closer look at the person's history.
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jnikola2 years ago
Darko Savic In theory, your idea of a pink laser is really good and well-thought. My concern is that it could raise doubt, unpleasant feelings and shake the trust among friends. Also, if the spike actually happened, it could be mistakenly reported as a false report if a potential rapist is a friend and would get publicly embarrassed. In that case, people could choose not to embarrass their "friend".
The bartender spiking solutions sound doable. Even a simple camera always filming them could help to remove them from the quotation, I agree.
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General comments
Shubhankar Kulkarni2 years ago
The idea is cool. In the scenario where a drink is spiked under the table, which is basically a blind spot for the cameras and, hence, the AI, the system would fail.
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Darko Savic2 years ago
There would be many cameras covering each venue from all kinds of angles. When a drink reappears after disappearing from view, a pink laser shines on it for a few seconds. This is to notify the drink owner and their friends that the safety of the drink is no longer guaranteed and they should be careful.
This pink laser has another effect - it trains people to be more mindful of the entire journey their drinks take.
Darko Savic Jan 20, 2022
