In airports it's often difficult to find the people you're meeting off a plane. My suggestion is to have one big video wall where pictures of the 'losers' are displayed, together with the location of the digital camera post in the terminal where they got their photo taken. That way, much less bunching and (if the airport people are sensible), they'll put the digital camera posts in coffee areas and the like, encouraging the waiting 'losers' to spend their hard earned cash.-- neilp, Jan 07 2004 Passenger statistics for New York's major airports (.PDFs) http://www.laguardi...on/lgacoverfram.HTMAbout 61,300 people per day for LaGuardia; about 85,600 for JFK [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] Passenger statistics for Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport http://www.atlanta-...ort_info/gmpage.htmAbout 226,500 passengers per day [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] Passenger information for Chicago's O'Hare airport http://www.ohare.co...out/statistics.shtmAbout 144,100 passengers per day [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] Nice idea, but wouldn't it take a long time to see your personal 'loser' come round?-- Fishrat, Jan 07 2004 no.. it's a video wall, so it displays say 60 people at a time with their locations.-- neilp, Jan 07 2004 could work. nice title.-- jonthegeologist, Jan 07 2004 ok, I'll buy that. (+)-- Fishrat, Jan 07 2004 Big plus for the title.-- dobtabulous, Jan 07 2004 Has the added advantage of acting as an impromptu dating agency. Whilst waiting for your flatmate/parents/soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend to get through customs you can check out the wall to see if anyone takes your fancy.-- hazel, Jan 07 2004 whats up with airport ideas getting all the non-fishes?-- nomadic_wonderer, Jan 07 2004 I expect both parties would end up hanging around the video wall (assuming there's only one)- each knowing the other can be sighted there.
How do images get removed once a connection is made? How many camera locations are we talking about? How far across the terminal is my picture broadcast (how many video walls to you anticipate)?-- phoenix, Jan 07 2004 [nomadic] - I've no idea, it's nice though [phoenix] - there's only one wall per terminal (it flashes pictures from other terminals from time to time in case people are really lost), but there are a great many camera posts. The losers hang out by the post, the losee hangs out by the screen until a confirmed sighting, at which point losee goes to camera post, finds loser, and hits 'I've found this loser' small touch screen, and loser's photo comes off foyer display.-- neilp, Jan 07 2004 I can imagine me saying to the person I want to meet "I'll see you by the video wall". If its that big it should be easy enough to find!-- dobtabulous, Jan 07 2004 Very nice idea, [neilp]! Helping less-than-nomadic wanderers find their nomadic wanderers.-- Letsbuildafort, Jan 07 2004 [dob] there would be a very large notice insisting that people don't meet by the wall. or a moat or something.-- neilp, Jan 07 2004 [neilp] You had my vote until you explained how it worked.-- phoenix, Jan 07 2004 sorry [phoenix], could you forget I explained ? goes to prove you can't find all the people all the time.-- neilp, Jan 07 2004 Don't give up so easily.
Though I see some holes in this idea, I think it might work well for lost children. Just reverse the process. Have a central camera, and big video screens throughout the airport. When not showing lost children they can display advertising.-- Worldgineer, Jan 07 2004 Need to be slightly careful about transmitting pictures of lost kids [World] due to the (probably very few) people out there who might be looking to abduct them.-- hazel, Jan 07 2004 Don't be silly. There are easier ways to abduct children than to try to convince security guards that it's your child while the kid's yelling "he's not my daddy! I want my daddy!"-- Worldgineer, Jan 07 2004 Don't post them here, [World], obviously. Interesting reversal plan.-- neilp, Jan 07 2004 gotta be careful where you put the cameras, voyeurism, anyone?-- benlevi7, Jan 07 2004 great idea, unfortunately it is baked. In the Dallas, Tx airport it has T.V.'s throughout the airport for advertisements, etc. Then if someone is looking for someone else or is lost, you can go to almost any counter and put a video/audio announcement on it. They let you put your picture and your voice saying...well, whatever...then they display it all over the network which reaches every t.v. terminal in the whole airport. It took a few minutes to put it together, but then was played until the original person had it cancelled. I watched it happen...was really neat.-- babyhawk, Jan 07 2004 I give that Dallas TX system about 2 months before it gets zapped for security problems. What a great way to communicate to your terrorism plot mates.
I page Mr. Black we do X I page Ms. Smith we retreat I page Mr Green we go with plan c
I love the name of this. Really love it. But the risks are surprisingly large. Better to have losers pre arrange meeting plans to fall back on. I know, they are losers so the are not the type to have a mustering plan.
I also think you are more likely to have this trouble (not meeting up) with people you would not recognize: i.e. the Sales Rep from the other coast.
I think it would be safer to have people who are being met and have not found their "catcher" were to declare their lost status and where they plan to wait. Then folks who can not find their arriver can show some ID and say who they are looking for. In this way if they are "fishing" for the code phrase then they better have a good guess or a good rap, otherwise, "Mr. Williams here will take you where we need you to go..."-- DadManWalking, Jan 08 2004 That's just silly. Terrorists have cell phones like everyone else. Do we really need to kill off any communication system for fear of terror? (parenthetically (and I love saying parenthetically while in parenthesis (and I love pretending I'm actually in the parenthesis ("help me! let me out!"))), the world's current "fear of terror" strikes me as a very sad case of irony)-- Worldgineer, Jan 08 2004 [worldengineer] I very much agree with you. I'm just saying what i think the authorities would arrive at.
But to give my point its due: cell phones and conference call lines are not secure and answering a call makes you stand out. On the otherhand glancing at a screen or listening to a paging message is far difficult to detect. Part of this comes from my casual interest in steganography.-- DadManWalking, Jan 08 2004 DadManWalking: //cell phones and conference call lines are not secure//
Re cell phone I assume you mean radio pick up. But conference call lines?-- theircompetitor, Jan 08 2004 Cell phones are certainly more secure than intercom systems. Hands-free devices are widely available. Besides, are you seriously suggesting that they will remove intercom systems at airports? So if my child gets lost or if they find my wallet I'm just out of luck?-- Worldgineer, Jan 08 2004 i was being sloppy, sorry, I was assuming you might try a conference call to make simultaneous dissemination of orders possible and that you would use mobile phones for it. pay phones being of unknown security and not necessarily located for the convenience of the black hats. I do not know what conference lines are, really. But if your plan needed them to be secure, and I were the boss of the baddies, I'd have you rethink.-- DadManWalking, Jan 08 2004 the intercoms stay but the Public Addresses are mediated. It has been this way for a long time. John Q public does not get to go pick up the PA mic and say,"Anyone finding my fishbones near the BA ticket desk should return them."
It has been a while but, as i recall. the system you tell some authority person what is up and they figure out what to do: radio person x enter claim in system y, pull you aside for counseling or whatever.
Think about it: given how many folks are at airports, security aside, it would be a great noisy mess to do it with announcements. Just send them to lost and found. The default muster point for folks who did not make one for themselves.-- DadManWalking, Jan 08 2004 DadManWalking: If there's one thing I know it's conference call security. OK, you're off the hook :)-- theircompetitor, Jan 08 2004 [theircompetitor] I'm not sure what you mean. But I do like being off the hook in both the idomatic way and the vernacular way.
Did I guess correctly that conference calls of all but the most exotic variety are not to be trusted by us aspiring black hats?-- DadManWalking, Jan 08 2004 it's a topic I work on, so I had to ask in case you had something in particular.
In general on an operator-less call, if you have an access code -- or sometimes just a phone number, you get on, and at best, there's a small tone -- but if two people joined at the same time, the others may have missed it.
Classic comical problem on calls is when people assume someone is off the call(for instance a competitor or a vendor) -- and they start discussing them.
And on pretty much all systems you have to assume that the operator may be listening.
Of course on our calls all those things are impossible, they're designed to be secure and are often used by customers requiring the extra security (though also by general public).-- theircompetitor, Jan 08 2004 [looks at pictures on "lost people" wall]"I can see Deirdre now Lorraine has gone"-- hippo, Jan 09 2004 "Except for Paul's obstacles, in my way."-- Fishrat, Jan 09 2004 Gone through the dark crowds, she's had to dash She's going to do a sh**e, sh**e - don't get in her way!
(This smacks of the old Celebrity Shoehorning Game)-- Jinbish, Jan 09 2004 [singing One Vision by Queen whilst looking at the lost wall]
"Look what they've done to Mike Read!"-- jonthegeologist, Jan 09 2004 [babyhawk] - D/FW or Love Field?-- Baker^-1, Jan 09 2004 I once was lost but now am found-- Canuck, Jan 10 2004 [Canuck]! Nice to see you!
Oh, and something about the wall o' pictures.-- k_sra, Jan 10 2004 random, halfbakery