Daily Business Report/Dec. 20, 2016
AVATAR can detect changes in physiology and behavior during interviews with travelers. (Credit: Aaron Elkins)
The Lie-Detecting Security
Kiosk of the Future
SDSU professor is developing a robotic kiosk
that could help detect travelers with sinister intentions
By Suzanne Finch | SDSU NewsCenter
When you engage in international travel, you may one day find yourself face-to-face with border security that is polite, bilingual and responsive—and robotic.
The Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real Time (AVATAR) is currently being tested in conjunction with the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) to help border security agents determine whether travelers coming into Canada may have undisclosed motives for entering the country.
“AVATAR is a kiosk, much like an airport check-in or grocery store self-checkout kiosk,” said San Diego State University management information systems professor Aaron Elkins. “However, this kiosk has a face on the screen that asks questions of travelers and can detect changes in physiology and behavior during the interview. The system can detect changes in the eyes, voice, gestures and posture to determine potential risk. It can even tell when you’re curling your toes.”
Here’s how it would work: Passengers would step up to the kiosk and be asked a series of questions such as, “Do you have fruits or vegetables in your luggage?” or “Are you carrying any weapons with you?” Eye-detection software and motion and pressure sensors would monitor the passengers as they answer the questions, looking for tell-tale physiological signs of lying or discomfort. The kiosk would also ask a series of innocuous questions to establish baseline measurements so people are just nervous about flying, for example, wouldn’t be unduly singled out.
Once the kiosk detected deception, they would flag those passengers for further scrutiny from human agents.
Elkins began working on AVATAR when he was a Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona. As the deception detection project grew more advanced and more sensors were added, more data about the interviewee was analyzed.
When Elkins became an assistant professor at SDSU became in the fall of 2016, his work moved with him. Here, he is in the process in completing construction of his lab where he plans to continue researching and teaching students about artificial intelligence.
“We’ve come to realize that this can be used not just for border security, but also for law enforcement, job interviews and other human resources applications as well,” Elkins said. “We continue to make improvements, such as analyzing the collected data using Big Data analysis techniques that make AVATAR a potentially valuable tool across many industries.”
In the meantime, Elkins is looking for a government agency willing to utilize the technology in a real-world application.
“AVATAR has been tested in labs, in airports and at border crossing stations,” Elkins noted. “The system is fully ready for implementation to help stem the flow of contraband, thwart fleeing criminals, and detect potential terrorists and many other applications in the effort to secure international borde
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6 Degrees Business Networking
Partners with WeWork B Street
In New Co-Working Space
6 Degrees Business Networking, a San Diego-based professional community, has announced a partnership with WeWork B Street, a new coworking space launching in San Diego.
WeWork B Street will ultimately have 1,700 members located in the six floors of office space for teams of one to 280, conference rooms, and coworking spaces. 6 Degrees Business Networking will host an event each month at WeWork, varying from mixers to executive lunch forums.
“We at 6 Degrees believe one of our basic human needs is to connect and belong to a community,” said Sharon Jenks, CEO of 6 Degrees. “Like WeWork, being socially connected is also our passion. Our mission is to connect our community in valuable, long-lasting business relationships partnering with WeWork is mutually beneficial.”
Leasing prices for private offices at WeWork B Street range from $630-$770 a month for one person, to $3,900-$4,000 a month for nine persons.
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UC San Diego Receives Record
Freshmen Applications for Fall
The University of California San Diego has received a record of 88,451 freshman applications for fall 2017, a five percent increase from the previous year. The university had the second highest number of applicants among the University of California campuses.
UC San Diego had a seven percent increase among California resident applicants. The largest number come from the Los Angeles area (34 percent) followed by San Francisco/Bay area (16 percent).
The diversity of applicants continued to increase with 35 percent of California resident freshmen coming from historically underrepresented populations, up 10.6 percent compared to last year. The largest increase came from African-American applicants (up about 12 percent), followed by Latino and Mexican-Americans students (up approximately 11 percent) and Native Americans (up slightly by 2 percent), compared to fall 2016.
UC San Diego saw more women than men among freshman applicants, with 52 percent females compared to 46 percent males and two percent of applicants not reporting their gender.
The most popular majors chosen by freshman applicants are in social sciences, engineering and biology.
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Charlie Piscitello Assumes Chair
Of North San Diego Business Chamber
Charlie Piscitello, senior vice president and chief people officer for Petco, will replace Keith Wilschetz as chairman of the board of the North San Diego Business Chamber. Wilschetz will be leaving to take a new post in Los Angeles.
Piscitello has been on the board for two years and was the incoming chair- elect. He will fill the remainder of Wilschetz’s six-month term and then begin his regular one-year term in July 2017.
Piscitello is responsible for strategic leadership and execution of organizational culture, communications, human resources, and industry and public affairs for Petco. He also serves as president and chairman for the PETCO Foundation, a national nonprofit organization that annually supports thousands of animal welfare organizations.
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USD to Announce Executive Director of Athletics
The University of San Diego will introduce Bill McGillis as its executive director of athletics and associate vice president at a press conference to be held at 10 a.m. today in the Jenny Craig Pavilion Warren Hospitality Suite.
McGillis, who takes over for Ky Snyder who was promoted to vice president for operations and chief operating officer, comes to the University of San Diego from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss., where he has been director of athletics since July 2013.
Over the past 3½ years, the Seattle native was successful in creating a winning tradition in the classroom, on the playing field and in the community. He helped facilitate the restoration of excellence within Southern Miss athletics, highlighted by unprecedented academic achievement and significant competitive success, including the resurgence of the storied Golden Eagles football program.
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SAIC Awarded Potential $84 Million Contract
The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific has awarded Science Applications Internationa Corp. a contract with a potential value of $84 million to provide network service solutions and engineering support to U.S. Navy and joint Department of Defense shore units worldwide. Work will be performed in San Diego and at Navy and joint Department of Defense shore network installation sites worldwide.
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10th Ave. Terminal Gets $33M Upgrade
The San Diego Unified Port District voted to spend $32.7 million on improvements to the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal that will increase its capacity for cargo by several millions tons. It’s hoped that the upgrades will generate $62 million more in revenue. San Diego Union-Tribune
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Personnel Announcements
Amit Kakkad Named Director
Of Center of Peace and Commerce
Amit Kakkad, assistant professor of operations management in the University of San Diego School of Business, has been appointed director for the University of San Diego Center of Peace and Commerce, a joint partnership with the School of Business and the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies.
The Center for Peace and Commerce (CPC) supports students in the San Diego-Tijuana region in developing social innovations for a positive impact on people, planet, profit and peace.
Formerly, Kakkad worked across diverse industries in both large corporations and start-ups in different countries. He has experience with nonprofit organizations including serving as a board member in three organizations in Europe and an elementary school in San Diego.
Rachel Christensen, who joined CPC in November 2016, is the assistant director. Christensen was formerly a program specialist for Edify in the Dominican Republic and a field operations coordinator for Edify’s programs around the world. Edify is a nonprofit founded by Christopher Crane, board member of the School of Business, with the goal of improving and expanding affordable private education models globally.
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Sudipto Sur Appointed Chief Technology
Officer at Reflexion Health Inc.
Reflexion Health Inc., a digital healthcare company, announced the appointment of Sudipto Sur to chief technology officer, effective Jan. 3, 2017.
A seasoned technology leader and engineer, Sur will apply his experience developing solutions in robotics, vision systems, analytics, medical devices, and diagnostics to advance Reflexion Health’s technology platform.
Sur has more than 20 years of engineering, technology development and management experience. Most recently he served as chief information officer at Signal Genetics Inc., a commercial-stage molecular diagnostics company, where he deveoped an IT infrastructure for cloud-based clinical analytics and billing systems. Prior to Signal, Sur was founder and CEO of two companies: Anssur Corp and Miralex Systems Inc., where he led the development of next-generation human computer interface platforms. He also served as director of research and development at Sequenom.
