Samsung display watches you

Samsung's latest advertising display borrows a trick from science-fiction films: it examines who's looking and shows adverts designed to target them.

The Samsung 460DRN-S is a 46 inch display designed for advertising use in shop windows. It uses a camera and software provided by TruMedia to monitor those watching the display, profile them and display adverts targeted at that group.

The TruMedia software profiles the audience according to its gender, age and ethnicity. This information is stored on TruMedia's servers, and reports can then be produced for the display owner.

Samsung's Ami Randhawa explained that an all male audience might be shown adverts for products with a stereotypically male market, such as football and beer.

TruMedia claims that its product is "fully respectful of the audience’s privacy" as "no images are ever recorded, and no uniquely identifiable data is extracted".

Phil Booth of NO2ID, which campaigns against the "database state" said that "If it does not associate images or other personally identifying data with the numbers, it's a statistical system".

"It has all the associations of the film Minority Report, but the technology could be designed to be privacy-friendly".

Another new Samsung display uses camera technology in a different way. The 460DRN-A is a 46 inch display designed to be used outdoors. If the screen senses an impact a hidden camera starts recording, and video of the would-be vandal is displayed on screen as a deterrent.