Bear
06-27-2002, 09:35 AM
By SPAMDaniel DeNoon
WebMD Medical News SPAMReviewed By Dr. Gary Vogin
A camera that takes a picture of the heat in your face detects lies at least as well as polygraph machines. Unlike conventional lie detectors, the camera can be used without your knowledge.
"[It is] a promising technology that should allow psychological responses to be detected and analyzed rapidly and without physical contact, in the absence of trained staff and in a variety of different situations," suggest Ioannis Pavlidis, PhD, of Honeywell Laboratories in Minneapolis and co-workers.
Earlier work showed that when people are startled, their face quickly gets hot around the eyes. Being frightened isn't the same as lying. However, conventional lie detectors measure body responses that change when a person is startled. The Pavlidis team reasoned that the same thing might hold true for face heat.
To test this theory, they took their thermal camera to the U.S. Department of Defense Polygraph Institute. They randomly assigned 20 volunteers to be "criminals" or "innocent." The criminals stabbed a test dummy and robbed it of $20. The innocents knew nothing of the mock crime. All volunteers were told to testify to their innocence.
The camera identified six of the eight liars. It also cleared 11 of the 12 truth-tellers. This was slightly better than polygraph experts could do. The conventional lie detector found six of the eight liars, but cleared only eight of the 12 people who told the truth.
Pavlidis and co-workers say their new lie detector could be used in airports to screen people who might be lying about what's in their baggage.
"There is an urgent need to devise technologies that can be used for automated, high-throughput screening to identify individuals intending to perform acts of terrorism," they write.
WebMD Medical News SPAMReviewed By Dr. Gary Vogin
A camera that takes a picture of the heat in your face detects lies at least as well as polygraph machines. Unlike conventional lie detectors, the camera can be used without your knowledge.
"[It is] a promising technology that should allow psychological responses to be detected and analyzed rapidly and without physical contact, in the absence of trained staff and in a variety of different situations," suggest Ioannis Pavlidis, PhD, of Honeywell Laboratories in Minneapolis and co-workers.
Earlier work showed that when people are startled, their face quickly gets hot around the eyes. Being frightened isn't the same as lying. However, conventional lie detectors measure body responses that change when a person is startled. The Pavlidis team reasoned that the same thing might hold true for face heat.
To test this theory, they took their thermal camera to the U.S. Department of Defense Polygraph Institute. They randomly assigned 20 volunteers to be "criminals" or "innocent." The criminals stabbed a test dummy and robbed it of $20. The innocents knew nothing of the mock crime. All volunteers were told to testify to their innocence.
The camera identified six of the eight liars. It also cleared 11 of the 12 truth-tellers. This was slightly better than polygraph experts could do. The conventional lie detector found six of the eight liars, but cleared only eight of the 12 people who told the truth.
Pavlidis and co-workers say their new lie detector could be used in airports to screen people who might be lying about what's in their baggage.
"There is an urgent need to devise technologies that can be used for automated, high-throughput screening to identify individuals intending to perform acts of terrorism," they write.