Thermal imaging technology being used to modernise lie-detecting

Oct. 18, 2011 - PRLog -- A new lie detecting technique had been developed by British scientists, it utilises thermal imaging technology. The theory is to monitor the flow of blood and the skin temperature on an individuals face to reveal whether or not they might be lying.

The team of researchers have been building a database of facial movements seen when an individual is known to be lying, they use these, high definition video cameras and computer software to deduce if an individual is telling the truth. Some of the key changes that they look for are blinking, lip-biting, nose wrinkling, slips of the tongue and changing expression. These can all be indicators of an increase in brain activity which can come from building a plausible story.

One of the uses for this development is in boarder and immigration control. The cameras necessary  for the testing can be hidden up to three metres away making suspects unaware of the test.

The University of Bradford have Professor Hassan Ugail heading the team behind the latest testing, he said “Our aim was to develop a purely non-invasive lie detector technology. We assumed this could be used in a covert situation, where the person we are monitoring potentially knows nothing about it.”

During the British Festival of Science (10-15th September) at Bradford University, Professor Ugail explained the new system in further detail: “When a person is being deceitful, when a person lies, there is increased brain activity and this is reflected in the face through involuntary facial expressions and blood flow.”

Currently the accuracy of the device is at 70%, it hopes to increase its accuracy to compete with accuracy rating of a polygraph (90%). A team of scientists are aiming to trial the technology at a UK airport in the autumn.

E2v have a 30 year heritage in the industry of thermal imaging technology; thermal imaging products are available for Argus direct. Further information can be found by visiting  http://www.argusdirect.com/security.

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