Are LED Sensors an Invasion of Privacy?

Newark Liberty International Airport installed 171 smart LED lighting fixtures. All of them were placed in the ceiling and recorded the movements of passengers and staff.

The lights are fitted with cameras and sensors and can monitor licence plates, a person walking between cars or an unattended bag.

While this smart lighting seems like a good idea for airports, this new type of technology could result in ‘no privacy’. There has been a long debate on CCTV cameras whether they are ‘for safety’ or ‘big brother’, and now that lighting can also monitor us is sure to spark up a similar debate. There has already been security concerns over LED sensor light bulbs.

The good thing about street lighting via this system could detect when cars or pedestrians are nearby and dim when they’re not leading to a significant decrease in energy costs.

Chairman and CEO of Sensity Solutions, Hugh Martin, said:

LED lights are semi-conductors so they’re effectively like a personal computer. So if you’re installing the light, the labour to get up there is like $150 (£90) for this installation. So while you’re up there you might as well just add a little bit more cost and put in sensors and radio and basically a computer so you can gather this information.

He added:

You can obviously use it if you wanted to keep track of criminal activity. You could also use it to see how deep the snow is around the area of the light to let the city know, for instance, where they should be plowing.

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