Factory workers can rest at peace now. Your boss isn't going to keep an eye on you anymore. He'll keep a video camera and a sensor on you and know everything you do. Techon informs that the Japanese firm DSS Co Ltd finalized a service to survey factory workers' actions for long hours. In order to do that they will use the ankle sensors, the milestone and a small video camera. The sensor, that is attached to the worker's ankle and records movement, the milestone, that's something like a checkpoint to survey how much workers stay in a certain place or area in the factory and the video camera, that sits in their chest pocket.

To provide data for the employer, DSS Co Ltd first creates a digital map of the workplace, then places the milestones at work areas or storage spaces and, of course, attaches the sensor to the worker's ankle and lets him/her work. Having a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor, the ankle sensor records the coordinates throughout the factory storing it in its integrated memory with automatic coordinates displacement. To give a more accurate survey, the milestones record the time when a worker passes through the infrared beam, hence providing the time value. Even more to that, the video camera records live footage so this should be fool proof. You can collect data from 30 workers at once, but since the cost of a three day and a behavior analysis is about 20.853 USD, DSS Co Ltd will offer a two-day data collection and rent software for only $10.218, until Aug 20 2009.

Sociology says different. Any normal, open minded character will behave, undoubtedly, different when surveillance is acknowledged making the analysis irrelevant. I mean, really now. Is it that hard nowadays to make a sensor built in the uniform and use a button camera ? Those checkpoints they call milestones could be hidden, not left in plain site, so they won't be noticed. That should make the survey a lot more relevant due to the fact that workers will act as usual and not as prisoners under surveillance.

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