Those stuck at home due to coronavirus guidelines can now watch what mass social distancing is doing to many famous urban locations like Abbey Road in London or the usually busy Times Square in New York, thanks to an online platform created by Voxel51. With the total number of global virus cases moving towards the one million mark, billions of people are resigned to staying home in a bid to stop the spread increasing even more.

With the pandemic wrecking havoc, governments are having to enforce strict lockdowns and this has turned some of the busiest cities in world into ghost towns. Meanwhile, those in quarantine are having to find different ways to work or simply keep themselves busy since the lockdowns are expected to last for weeks, at a minimum. This situation has resulted in many turning to video chat apps like Zoom and Skype to keep in touch with friends and colleagues. While companies have been seeking out greater use of team-messaging platforms like Slack, and in some cases, software for spying on employees working from home, governments have been considering drastic phone-tracking measures to help slow the outbreak.

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All of which makes this street-watching facility of Voxel51 all the more interesting. It is part of the company's ongoing project to study social behavior during the pandemic. Essentially, the platform allows anyone with internet access to view a live stream of what's happening in some of the most popular streets in the world. While this might normally raise surveillance concerns, with the roads and centers so empty it is more somber than alarming.

Watching The Social Impact Of Coronavirus

Voxel51 is using a measurement called the Physical Distancing Index (PDI) to measure social behavior. PDI measures how human activity is changing due to the virus outbreak and this is done through live-videos from street-cams in some of the busiest streets in the world, along with Voxel51's advanced computer vision models. The company itself is into the business of developing AI software solutions for identifying content in videos. That technology is being used to detect human activity from the live feeds. It is then graphically represented as PDI to study or compare changes in social behavior in different countries. While the company claims that they are not identifying anyone personally, it is still an eerie experience to be able to watch what the pandemic has done to the usually bustling streets.

Surveillance news of late, has been mostly about big tech companies tracking mobile phone users. In contrast, this project by Voxel51 seems to be almost the opposite by tracking the lack of people in major cities around the world. The fact that anyone can also just tune in and watch the empty streets just makes it all the more interesting.

Next: Mobile Phone Tracking Not A Breach Of Privacy Laws, Says UK Regulator

Source: Voxel51