The way you walk betrays your identity

[Maciamo]

Walk offers clues to identity

A new technique of personal identification is being developed that uses something as simple as the way you walk to work out who you are

"If somebody comes in with an ID that says that's John, and then I see this person walking around outside can the computer tell that it really is John? The current performance levels are getting us close to being able to do that pretty well."

The security industry is interested in the technology as a way of picking a criminal out in a crowd.

The question is whether the 7,000 gigabyte memory bank can tell me apart from everyone else it has stored.

In a bustling street the computer has difficulty separating me from all the other movement, but when I am the only person in shot there is no problem.

Develop this a bit more and privacy will be a relic of the past... or everybody is going to start walking funnily.

Imagine a huge database accessible to companies, they could track anybody's movements, shopping habits or place frequentation all around big cities like Tokyo. But I don't think it'll work because people work differently depending on their mood, the weather, etc. On top of this they'd need to register everyone's ID first, which nobody would accept.

[thomas]

Haha, that made me think of Monty Python immediately. Remember John Cleese and the Ministry of Silly Walks?

=> http://www.pythonsite.de/javascr/walk.htm

[himagain]

Yes, That was also my response. Love those Pythons.