Combat Zones That See

Combat Zones That See, or CTS, is a project of the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency whose goal is to "track everything that moves" in a city by linking up a massive network of surveillance cameras to a centralized computer system. Artificial intelligence software will then identify and track all movement throughout the city, effectively placing the entire populace under 24 hour a day surveillance.

CTS is described by DARPA as intended for use in combat zones, to deter enemy attacks on American troops and to identify and track enemy combatants who launch attacks against American soldiers. The potential civilian applications of this system were readily apparent to civil liberties activists, who decry the project as ominously Orwellian.

See also:

• Information Awareness Office

External Links:

• DARPA BAA 03-15 official project description and bid solicitation
• Big Brother Gets a Brain, the Village Voice, July 9-15, 2003