David Brin has his defense of the Transparent Society up at Wired.

This was in response to a critque by Bruce Schneier that centered around unequal power.

My tiny involvement was emailing David Brin to make him aware of the Schneier article. A common problem with attacks on the 1997 book “The Transparent Society” is that very few people actually read the book and make assumptions based upon the title or short excerpts.

Following up my prior coverage of an array of cameras.

A wide-angle camera that will be able to monitor large areas through high-resolution images taken from a satellite or an airborne craft. Flying at an altitude of 15,000 feet, a developmental version of the camera can see a 21-kilometer diameter area with a resolution of 0.3 meters. As a comparison, most Google Earth imagery is 1 meter.

Pollock said the camera could have far-reaching implications for the military, crime prevention and enforcement as well as traffic analysis and emergency response support. The giga-pixel camera will fit in a one-meter cube, could be flown on any type of vehicle – airplanes, helicopters, blimps or unmanned aerial vehicles.

Researchers at UAHuntsville stepped in to configure an array of light sensitive chips – each one recording small parts of a larger image – and place them at the focal plane of a large multiple-lens system. The system has the structure of a common kitchen utensil, a colander. The camera would have one giga-pixel resolution, and be able to record images at five frames per second.

ArguSight, an Illinois-based company, has signed a licensing agreement with the university and seeking venture capital to bring the product to the commercial marketplace. CEO Stuart Claggett compares the product to a popular TV product.

“The complete camera system is like a ‘TIVO’ in the sky,” he said. “It captures high-quality imagery and records all the data. A user can request numerous high-definition video windows of live data in real-time or you can review all of the video on demand on the ground when the aircraft lands.”

There are chips that can capture 111 megapixels from 2006. 270 such higher resolution chips would allow for 20+ gigapixel images.

Terapixel imagse can be stiched together

Brian Wang

Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.

Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.

A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.