A Blank Wall Can Show How Many People Are in a Room and What They're Doing

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October 12, 2021

Dear Reader, What can you learn from staring at a blank wall? If you're a human, not much. But a new algorithm can use footage of a wall to figure out how many people are moving around the room just out of sight—and what they're doing.

Sophie Bushwick, Associate Editor, Technology @sophiebushwick

Privacy A Blank Wall Can Show How Many People Are in a Room and What They're Doing The technique is the latest method to glean a surprising amount of surveillance from a meager source By Sophie Bushwick

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Computing An Unsung Female Pioneer of Computer Simulation A mid-20th-century computer experiment created a new field of science—and programmer Mary Tsingou Menzel is finally being given credit for her role in making it happen By Virginia Grant

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FROM THE STORE Scientific American Volume 325, Issue 4

QUOTE OF THE DAY "It's very cool how Leo neatly solves some of the most difficult problems with bipedal robotics, including dynamic balancing and traversing large changes in height. And Leo can also do things that no biped (or human) can do, like actually fly short distances." Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Footstep Sensors Identify People by Gait A supersensitive detector system can also glean clues about health By Sophie Bushwick | April 2020

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