you Brits are f***ed

Galileo satellite system will be capturing/providing visual imagery as well as positioning services - in-vehicle technology is not required to track location.

I have no idea if the resolution is good enough for unassisted number plate recognition.

I doubt that very very much indeed, resolution of that depth is extremely expensive indeed, and getting it to cover an area as wide as the UK wouldn't be possible.

As an example, the Hubble Space Telescope can't even resolve objects smaller than about 10 metres on the moon. NASA fake-moon-landing freaks often point to the lack of images of the Apollo moon landing sites from Hubble as proof of fakery, but even that thing can't resolve enough detail. The whole moon landing site would show up as one pixel. The Hubble replacement won't be able to do it either apparently. And this is without an atmosphere and clouds etc to complicate matters.

Not unless we have to put mile-long reg plates on the roof of the car ;-)

Not unless it's painted on the roof. Satellites tend to be above, not in front.

Alex

A bit useless on a cloudy day don't you think.

In the absence of an extension arm off the satellite down to near ground level to read vertical numberplates and plates hidden under lorry platforms or huge roof mounted numbers on every car with cloud piercing light, then I doubt it. Imagine all those robotic arms with cameras reaching down to every car. Scary.

Huw

Which way do the Sky TV dishes in your street point?

and I hope you're right :)

sure - but Galileo isn't just one satelite. There's also the issue of cross referenced data - only needs one positive id at ground level x-ref'd to the birdseye view to provide a complete trace.

You haven't even considered the approximately half of every day that is dark night.

Of course it will be done by having a black box included with the engine management of every new car and the installation of similar technology in older cars. Street level speed cameras and police on the ground could then be converted just to detect cars which have the galileo auto tracking disabled. Supremely effective for either control or tax collection.

To be resisted by all right minded people at all costs. Tolls on roads caused the Rebbecca riots and much resistance to all policing for decades in Wales during the mid 19thC and if this is implemented then it could happen again.

Huw

Huw

hrmm - I dunno. seems there are always many questions to answer, no matter why one communicates with them.

Oh - don't get me wrong. I firmly believe that most people are decent enough one-to-one. Let's put this in a different context ... there are many skilled and dedicated software engineers working at microsoft/google/oracle that do actually do a good job - nobody starts the day thinking "I'm really gonna screw up today."

not bothered really - don't have enough facts/info to make a judgement - although I'd be a little concerned if providing contracted 'security' for any size event means less emphasis on local law and order.

Ahh - to summarise then, the police are merely the face of our executive, the front-line, just doing their job - did I get that right?

The proles will always get the government they/we deserve.

In any event, the Land Rover doesn't seem to be such a pull magnet as other vehicles I've driven - despite being fairly tatty in appearance.

...and Huw spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

Really? Where does this information come from?

...and Alex spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

That would only take a single Bill before Parliament. After all, if you have nothing to hide, why would you object to a massive ID number painted to your roof? It's only there to help the Police...

How many cars do you think it would be able to track by sight? A satellite that transmits time-based signals for hundreds of thousands of receivers to pick up is realistic, a satellite that can sight-track even 100 cars at once on the other hand is science fiction. It would have to use moving lenses rather than fixed CCDs to aim, and getting that kind of precision from that far up would need the whole satellite to be built to the kind of specification of the very expensive Hubble (low vibration, high precision), but with one "hubble" for every car that is to be tracked by sight.

Also I've not seen any references anywhere to any sight-based services, it sounds like you're off on an area-51-style fantasy.

Ahh - I was picking up on a story about using the new facilities to verify whether conservatories and other home 'improvements' had been declared to the rating authorities - my bad - I assumed that would use visual data.

could be :)

There is no wind on the moon.

Well not until Richard Branson gets there anyway!

In order to read a numberplate, what is required is to be able to view it at a relatively vertical angle, something that roadside cameras can only achieve when the view is unobscured and the camera carefully placed, something sattellites cannot do due.

Yes because that is not a moving target, and can wait for the weather.

I've not seen any references to using Galileo to spot conservatories, or even of the satellites having any camera gear on board at all.

There was a spacecraft called "Galileo" that had camera gear on board but that was an explorer craft sent out to Jupiter in 1989, and there was some references to John "I don't pay council tax" Prescott waffling on about using satellites to spot unauthorised extensions.

I reckon someone's gotten a bit information-happy and lumped three stories into one then built a one-way tracking system up into a visual tracking system that can track individual cars across the UK!

If anyone has any *credible* sources of information about visual tracking on the Galileo GPS equivalent satellites, do please post a URL.

As far as I can see, it offers precision positioning information of various grades and a slow downlink facility for companies to allow them to reach pager-like devices all over the world, but that's it. Hardly sinister, it's what's done with receiving tracking devices that can be worrying but that's true of current GPS.

Huh? Currently, you as the registered keeper, receive a notice of intended persecution requiring you to admit you were driving, in accepted contravention of the Uropean Law on Umane Rites. Namely thou shalt not lawfully be required to incriminate yourself. PC (Privy Council) under the great leader TB decided it was 'in the better public good' for that law (HR) to be disregarded!

I shall just spoof my email address, that'll foil them?