Facial recognition, remote controlled robots, fighter jets with thermal cameras and crowd surveillance drones. Sound like James Cameron’s latest sci-fi flick? Not quite. These are some of the real-life technologies that will be used to monitor activity at the 12 World Cup stadium venues throughout Brazil.
On the heels of multiple terrorism threats leading up to the recent winter Olympics in Sochi, the South American host to is taking no chances in gearing up for this June’s beloved soccer fest. They’re doling out a staggering $1 billion in security spending to ensure safety, including $12 million for four cutting-edge Israeli drones from technology company Elbit Systems. That’s the most ever spent on security at any World Cup in history. Question is, will these bank-breaking measures be enough.
An Elbit Hermes 900 medium size medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on display at Singapore Airshow (Photo: Jordan Tan | Shutterstock.com)
With over 3.5 million spectators expected to attend the 64 scheduled matches, it’s virtually impossible to watch every move—on the ground or up above. That’s why Brazil has coordinated such a sophisticated (and costly) plan to thwart terrorism and politically motivated violence. What’s amazing is that many of these technologies will be at work without fans even knowing.
“The intelligence-gathering electronic and optics technologies of Elbit and our Brazilian partners are perfectly suited for the homeland security challenges at these events,” says Elbit CEO Bezhalel Machlis.
Just imagine a drone flying hundreds of feet overhead with the ability to pick you out of a crowd of 50,000, identifying that you have short brown hair and a red hat with a U.S. flag on it. Without you ever knowing. It’s a reassuring feeling in terms of keeping the peace. It’s also kind of a creepy, violating, invasion of fan privacy feeling.
So this summer while fans are watching the world’s best soccer teams compete, the world’s most advanced surveillance and security equipment—from Israel, the U.S., Germany and a host of other countries—will be watching every move. With pre-event protests and controversy already clouding the mood, Brazil is taking every possible step to make sure spectators from everywhere can enjoy the matches worry-free. Working closely with authorities and the government, security director for FIFA Ralph Mutschke is “confident that a safe and secure World Cup can be delivered by Brazil.” Still, the fact that a drone high above a soccer stadium can tell the authorities if you have a glob of mustard on your left cheek is a little weird.
