Computer Vision News - November 2016

long way to be more and more realistic, but we are not there yet. When we try to apply this to the real environment, we still have a long way to go. Ralph: If I understand you, what drives your curiosity is the fact that you are making an impact in the real world? Octavia: Exactly. Ralph: That is what gives you the will to continue and invent? Only if the solution helps improve people’s quality of life? Octavia: Absolutely, it’s not about one more paper. Ralph: You talked about surveillance. What do you think about all of the privacy issues that the huge amount of video cameras around us arises? Octavia: Absolutely, it’s a difficult question. There are many implications about it. Immediately, when somebody talks about surveillance, the first thing that they think of is Big Brother watching you. On the other hand, I think that we have already given up privacy in many places like public spaces or airports. We are not surprised that cameras are watching us. In those cases I think the potential benefit of preventing something really bad from happening is bigger than the loss of privacy. Ralph: So you are still positive about it? Octavia: Yes, but we have to be careful of course with how it’s handled. Ralph: The problem is who is going to handle that. Who can you trust? Can we know? Octavia: No, but that’s true for everything, right? Ralph: That’s true. Do you know any of your colleagues that regretted a model that they brought up? Octavia: No, I don’t know firsthand, but I’m sure there are some. Ralph: One of the words I hear the most in this community is “overcommitted”. What drives these young people to commit themselves to more than they are able to and make their life more difficult than what it already is? Interview with Octavia Camps 25 “Immediately, when somebody talks about surveillance, the first thing that they think of is Big Brother watching you” “I think the potential benefit of preventing something really bad from happening is bigger than the loss of privacy” BEST OF ECCV