Researchers are analyzing data collected from small sensors placed inside street lamps along a short stretch of Wilson Boulevard in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia.
The sensors placed between N. Fillmore Street and N. Garfield Street collected data on people count, direction of movement, decibel levels, humidity and temperature.
"What we were looking for was to understand how this type of data can be collected, with privacy in mind – so that means not using cameras – and what type of impact that could have on public safety," said Arlington County Assistant Chief Information Officer Holly Hartell.
Hartell was part of the team leading the pilot program and is aware that sensors monitoring the people below raise privacy concerns.
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The sensors use an optical lens but never record video; instead, they convert it to an image that is never stored. It's converted into data the county will use to hopefully improve emergency response times.
“As long as it's not intrusive to civil liberties, I think that's where I draw the line," one person in the area said.
“Traffic planning, public safety and tree canopy, and all these other things, from the start of it, it sounds good,” another said. “Now, what they'll do with that later on is going to be the real question."
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A full rollout of these sensors isn't a done deal, but some county employees say it's likely only a matter of time.
“What's the implication, and how do we make sure it's not just benefiting certain areas and it's benefiting others will be something that we'll be thinking about in the future," Hartell said.
The county said it isn't interested in what burger someone orders on the patio of a restaurant, but it would be interested in dispatching an ambulance to that restaurant more quickly if a sensor could detect a problem.
The safety sensors also have the capability to detect gunshots and even someone shouting for help.
An Arlington County Board member said there's still a lot of discussion about what features might eventually be used.
The next sensor pilot study is underway. Arlington has sensors buried beneath parking meters to learn how they could alert an app to let drivers know where there is an open spot.
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