this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2026
150 points (98.1% liked)

Technology

85515 readers
4329 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Defense contractor Leonardo is promoting a new technology called SignalTrace that will package plate cameras with sensors that can scrape unique identifiers tied to your smart devices and make that data available to law enforcement.

Police, border security, and other government agencies already comprise Leonardo’s customer base, and with this technology, those clients seek to correlate footage from these cameras to phones, tablets, wearables, AirTags, and, naturally, the electronics inside cars themselves.

If SignalTrace can pick up your Bluetooth headphones, you can be sure it’ll also be looking out for your vehicle’s 5G hotspot, infotainment system, and even its tire pressure monitoring sensors. The company includes pet microchips as a potential entry point to tracking.

top 23 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com 3 points 29 minutes ago

I'd be a shame if someone hid an ESP32 nearby randomly broadcasting previously detected MAC addresses.

[–] tristynalxander@mander.xyz 3 points 17 minutes ago

If police can do this to normal citizens, normal citizens should be allowed to do this to the police. If they have nothing to hide, why would it be a problem?

[–] Bluedragon012@lemmy.world 1 points 38 minutes ago

Kill the rich, save the poor. Taxation, is not enough for the current era. There must be justice for the crimes committed. Once they are dead, then we can figure out how to run the world without capitalism. Untill then, the elimination of the ultra-rich by any means should be the goal. Everything else is noise.

In addition: We have the power. The US power grid is fragile. As such if we all turn off our power at the exact same time, we can cripple the grid. On July 4th at 11pm cst exactly, we can all power down our homes. Even if only 50% do it, it will enough. We have the power, and we will stop these monsters by any means necessary!

[–] Flower@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 hour ago

One of the reasons 80s tech is making a comeback.

[–] Carmakazi@piefed.social 71 points 4 hours ago

How many criminals are taking along their microchipped pets to and from their crimes?

Rhetorical question I know. They simply do not want to allow dissidents and undesirables the freedom of movement.

Also, if you contribute to a project like this, you are a traitor and should be treated as such.

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 26 points 3 hours ago

If they track all that other stuff then they are not 'license plate cameras'.

[–] minorkeys@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

The more of you that is digital, the more of you they will see. Their ignorance of your life is a critical protection for you, from them.

[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 3 hours ago

License plate cameras will soon discover rapid unscheduled disassembly

[–] skozzii@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 hours ago

This AI bubble is gonna crash so hard, none of this processing is sustainable and profitable.

[–] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 20 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

... pet microchips are passive LF RFID tags, they have a readable range of maybe 15cm? Unless they've figured out some way to power them at distance (or they're sticking UHF tags in your dogs, which they arent) without frying the camera and giving everyone cancer, they're inert. What weird marketing hype.

[–] DrakeAlbrecht@lemmy.world 8 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Industry researchers have managed to create directional antennas that read 125 kHz chips (the kind used in pets) from as far away as one meter. That's most or all of the width of a sidewalk, if the reader is placed at ground level.

[–] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

For unimplanted tags of unspecified size sure it's technically possible to do, but I'll let the article summarize why this is blatant marketing hype:

The ideal lab setup often fails miserably once you mount the reader near a gate or machine frame.

It’s worth saying: 1 meter is an ambitious goal for 125kHz. LF systems are intentionally short-range to prevent cross-talk. If you truly need 1-meter coverage, sometimes the real solution isn’t to push more current — it’s to rethink geometry, use multi-coil zones, or explore hybrid systems (LF for identity, HF/UHF for distance).

and then mention that the interference from the dermis vastly reduces the useful range of the tags, and that the article doesn't actually specify what type of tag they're designing for (or if it's using a set orientation...).

[–] extremeboredom@lemmy.world 14 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Maybe time to start creating devices that spam various Bluetooth MACs and just leave them around... Raise the noise floor a bit

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 11 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Nah, too easy to filter. Make them clone MACs they've seen, and simulate trips around the city.

[–] extremeboredom@lemmy.world 1 points 53 minutes ago

Is this concept viable? Interesting.

[–] fleem@piefed.zeromedia.vip 12 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

ghost in the shell laughing man shit.

a couple years go by and they don't know how to track people regularly anymore.

so if we bypass these sensors and algorithms, we become invisible in plain sight

[–] pennomi@lemmy.world 6 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Eventually you’ll be able to walk around invisibly simply by not carrying a phone.

[–] tristynalxander@mander.xyz 1 points 15 minutes ago

Only if you're facelesss

[–] wasabi_noir@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 hours ago

I hope for a horrible end for whatever piece of shit decided to track pets. A curb stomping would be too kind for that kind of trash.

Brb making RF insulated glove boxes.

[–] teft@piefed.social 7 points 3 hours ago

Jokes on you. I leave all my electronics at home. Fuck having a digital leash, especially one that can be tracked.

[–] Hackworth@piefed.ca 3 points 3 hours ago
[–] kalapala@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 hours ago

Just add water.