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Use of Publicly Available Web Cameras: Monitor Employees Nels Beckman Abstract    The goal of this project is to prove that it is possible to remotely monitor an employee's performance automatically using publicly available web cameras, and that for this reason the privacy implications of these cameras must be considered. Introduction    Upon finding a web site that contained publicly available web cameras throughout one particular workplace in Florida, it became apparent that the employees might not actually be aware of the cameras, and even if they were they might not understand the full significance of its presence. Normally, employees have some sense that their job performance may be being monitored at any point because they can see their superiors in the workplace. However, with a web camera, employees can be monitored automatically and surreptitiously. Methods    In order to detect the presence or absence of a receptionist automatically, I have written a program that examines one specific region of the image (the region behind the receptionist's desk). After computing the average and standard deviation images of a large number of receptionist-free images, we examine other pictures to see if they contain large regions of pixels that are multiple standard deviations above average. This is our indication that the receptionist is present and doing his or her job. Results    Just by using the simplistic methods used in this experiment, we were able to achieve accuracy in automatic evaluation of around 70%. While this would not be enough to base a firing on, it certainly suffices to prove the concept. With more advanced computer vision techniques, we would more than likely be able to increase the accuracy. Privacy    This is an important privacy issue because it affects the rights of the employees. Employees should have the right to know when they are being monitored and when the security of their job is possibly at stake. It is my belief that employees should be allowed to approve any cameras that are placed in the work place as well as being informed of the potential for abuse. References    Camera: https://66.35.183.170/view/view.shtml Company: https://www.nhgainesville.com/ Project Paper (PDF)