The Latest Biometric News
Students at numerous public schools in Pennsylvania will soon be scanning their fingers to get their cafeteria lunches. The technology comes by way of IdentiMetrics, which will provide fingerprint recognition technology to the Hazelton Area School District, reports the Standard Speaker. The contract, valued at $8,887, was approved by the school board last week, with…
Allegedly leaked renders of the forthcoming Galaxy Note 8 smartphone depict a device with an extra-large display, a USB-C port, and, of course, an attached holster for its stylus. The renders indicate that, like the Samsung Galaxy S8, the device will have almost no bezel, and will sport an AMOLED screen with an 18.5:9 aspect…
Americans anticipate an increasingly digital future of payments, and sizeable proportions of the population are open to the idea of biometric payment verification, suggest the findings of a new survey by B2B invoicing specialist Viewpost. The survey found that 51 percent of respondents already reported being paid for work electronically, with 83 percent anticipating that…
A new app that describes what an iPhone’s camera can see could prove useful to blind and visually impaired users. Called Seeing AI, the app uses computer vision to provide descriptive aid to users. It can read documents and scan barcodes, beeping at an increasing rate to let users know when their camera is getting…
“From mid-August, all vendors and contractors operating on the base will need to use the new cards, which will be issued for free to approved applicants.” Joint Region Marianas, the US military authority that runs the Guam Navy and Air Force base, is moving toward a new biometric access control system, reports Pacific Daily News.…
“All of these are based upon an initial trial undertaken at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport last year, and the CBP says more deployments at additional airports are planned for this summer.” The US Customs and Border Protection agency’s biometric exit program continues to expand with a new deployment at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).…
“RightPatient’s eponymous platform offers cloud-based biometric authentication via facial recognition, and has brought the company into the finals of the CHIME Healthcare Innovation Trust National Patient ID Challenge.” CrossChx has teamed up with RightPatient to bring its biometric patient identification technology to its healthcare-focused digital services platform. In a statement announcing the partnership, the companies said…
“Barclays, HSBC, Orange, OT-Morpho, the Open Identity Exchange, and the UK Government Digital Service are all involved.” A consortium of some of the biggest names in FinTech and digital security is getting ready to trial a cross-national banking project in the European Union. The aim is essentially to develop and test a secure and convenient…
“The nonprofit, Khushi Baby, offers pregnant women and young children an electronic necklace containing the wearer’s digital health record.” A US-based maternal and pediatric care nonprofit has teamed up with OT-Morpho subsidiary Syscom Corporation to integrate the latter’s biometric tablet into its flagship medical necklace solution. The nonprofit, Khushi Baby, offers pregnant women and young…
The Philippines’ Department of Finance is preparing the way for the implementation of a national biometric ID program. As The Philippine Star reports, the DOF has allocated 2 billion PHP for the program’s rollout next year. The new national ID program will incorporate biometric data, which will be used to determine individual citizens’ entitlements to…
Facial recognition technology has helped to apprehend a violent criminal who has eluded the justice system for decades. Sixty-four-year-old Robert F. Nelson had been convicted of counterfeiting crimes in the 1980s, but escaped from a prison medical center in 1992. He fled from New York to Nevada, where he went on to commit violent crimes…
BIO-key has made its first substantial entry into Australia with a new government sector client. In a statement announcing the new contract, BIO-key declined to name the client in question, referring to it as “a government agency”. But the company did indicate that the deal comes by way of Aquion Pty Ltd., an Australia-based software…
An HID Global executive is taking on a prominent position with the Security Industry Association: SIA has announced that HID Global Government Affairs VP Kathleen Carroll will head the SIA Data Privacy Advisory Board. The new SIA arm was first announced this past January, and is aimed at developing policy guidelines for the protection of…
BioCatch has won a patent for a system designed to detect remote access trojan (RAT) attacks. While the company’s behavioral biometrics technology is in general a kind of anti-RAT security solution, the system described in the newly granted patent is aimed specifically at attacks made through social media channels. In a statement announcing the patent…
“BIO-key’s SideTouch devices can be plugged into the USB ports of laptops and computers to enable fingerprint-based authentication via Windows Hello; BIO-key described the 5,000 units as an initial deployment for its client.” BIO-key has a new client that will integrate 5,000 of its SideTouch fingerprint scanners for employee authentication. In a statement announcing the deal,…
“The support means that Suprema customers seeking to take advantage of the BioMini Slim 2 will now be able to implement it with a minimum of friction.” M2SYS‘s cloud-based, multimodal biometric software platform now supports Surpema‘s biometric scanning hardware. Launched last month, M2SYS’s CloudABIS solution is aimed at helping organizations to implement biometric identity systems…
Nok Nok Labs has raised $8 million in funding from a Series D financing round, the company has announced. The round of funding was led by Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, and saw the participation of all previous NNL investors. In a statement announcing the latest funding, NNL explained that it will use the capital to…
Consumer-facing speech and voice recognition technology has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, thanks in large part to innovations like Apple’s Siri AI assistant and Amazon’s Alexa platform. Operating primarily in the smartphone and smart home domains, respectively, these solutions have helped to shift consumer attitudes, with end users increasingly coming to appreciate…
“News of the agreement follows multiple other licensing agreements sealed by Precise Biometrics this year, including deals with sensor maker MELFAS and touch solutions provider Zeitec Semiconductor Co.” Precise Biometrics has entered into a licensing agreement with a new client – Shenzhen-based electronic components maker O-Film. The client will use Precise Biometrics’ flagship mobile fingerprint…
The CEO of Air France-KLM, an airline serving France and the Netherlands, is urging French authorities to take measures to expedite security screening at the country’s major airports. Speaking to Reuters, Jean-Marc Janaillac said that lines at the Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly airports’ security screening can be over two hours long. Janaillac said…
Top officials in Ukraine are seeking to implement biometric border control, reports Interfax-Ukraine. The move is being pushed forward by the country’s National Security and Defense Council and its President, Petro Poroshenko, who heads the group. According to the report, the authorities aim to collect biometric data from non-citizens at all border checkpoints, not just…
“…SWP Assistant Chief Constable Richard Lewis highlighted the technology’s utility in the case of the aforementioned arrest of a wanted criminal…” NEC is offering new details on the biometric technology it has provided to South Wales Police in the UK. The technology was deployed this past spring, ahead of a major soccer match in Cardiff.…
China-based electronics wholesaler Arrow Electronics has launched an Internet of Things app design contest, and Fingerprint Cards has announced that it’s sponsoring the effort. Arrow has put the contest together in collaboration with IBM and IndieGoGo, with participants eligible to win up to $10,000 in prize money, in addition to promotional support from IndieGoGo. Other…
Avanti Markets, a provider of smart vending machine terminals, has suffered a security breach that may have compromised customer information including biometric data. In a statement, the company has indicated that near the start of this month it found signs of “a sophisticated malware attack” that affected some Avanti Markets kiosks. The attack appears to…
The Electronic Privacy Information Center is urging the Transportation Security Administration to reconsider its growing embrace of biometric identification of travelers. The recommendations come by way of public comments on the TSA’s PreCheck biometric pre-screening program for travelers, with the TSA currently planning to expand enrollment options to include fingerprint, face, and iris biometrics, in…
Pramati Technologies has announced a new security solution that allows companies to leverage users’ smartphone fingerprint scanners for authentication. Called ThumbSignIn, it’s a SaaS platform for mobile and web apps. The system ensures that biometric authentication is done entirely on the user’s device, with no biometric data stored on a server. ThumbSignIn SDKs are available…
Consumers are concerned about security in their online banking and shopping, and see biometric authentication as a means to address that issue, suggest new findings from a survey by MYPINPAD. In a statement announcing its Consumer Trust and Mobile Payments Growth survey, the company says that 67 percent of respondents expressed concern about online security,…
Fingerprint Cards technology is being used in a new pair of smartphones from Vivo: The X9S and X9S Plus each feature an FPC1245 fingerprint sensor. Vivo is a longtime customer of FPC, having integrated its fingerprint sensors into numerous devices including last year’s X6 and X6 Plus, and the X7 and X7 Plus. The latest…
Israel’s implementation of a national biometric ID program is causing serious delays at the country’s main airport, reports Haaretz. Israel’s legislature, the Knesset, approved the implementation of the biometric ID program earlier this year amid some controversy, with the law coming into effect on June 1st. As Haaretz reports, travelers arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport have…
Gemalto is offering further details on its biometric passenger screening projects at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports as they start to get underway. The company first announced it had been selected to implement the technology last autumn. The work is getting underway this year, and Gemalto has revealed that it is deploying 87 automated…
Fingerprint Cards will issue its second quarter fiscal update on July 21st, the company has announced. The report is eagerly anticipated. While FPC has seen a remarkable ascent over the last few years as it has become a leading supplier of fingerprint sensor technology to a booming mobile biometrics market, it hit some turbulence this…
“It comes after the implementation of new initiatives to extend the program’s reach, including an expansion into concert and festival screening, and the deployment of a traveling enrollment RV…” OT-Morpho subsidiary MorphoTrust USA has announced that its IdentoGO service has now enrolled five million customers in TSA PreCheck, its biometric pre-screening program for US air…
NEC has received the 2017 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Integrated Biometrics Solutions for Public Safety Leadership Award. In a statement announcing the award win, NEC explained that it had been granted in recognition of the company’s “technical leadership and growth performance” in the APAC region last year. Commenting further, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT…
Microsoft’s biometric keyboard launched in the US this week. Called the Microsoft Modern Keyboard with Fingerprint ID, the device’s frame is aluminum, making it lightweight and sturdy. It can be connected to a PC via USB or Bluetooth, and it features a rechargeable battery. On its face, the keyboard looks just like Microsoft’s previously released…
Baidu and Conexant have teamed up to offer development kits for the integration of far-field voice interaction for AI systems. Available starting this week, the kits revolve around the integration of Conexant’s CX20921 two-mic and CX20924 four-mic voice input processors; and, on the software side, Baidu’s DuerOS AI voice interaction platform. Conexant’s technology is designed…
Owners of Samsung’s Galaxy S6, S7, and S8 smartphones can now use their fingerprint scanners to unlock their Windows 10 PCs and laptops. The functionality arrives via an update to Samsung Flow, an app designed to let users easily transition between devices by syncing apps. For example, a user can easily switch from Twitter or…
“The agreement should further raise FacePhi’s profile in the financial services sector in which it specializes…” FacePhi has a new client, and it may be its biggest yet: The Spain-based mobile biometrics specialist has announced a new partnership with ICBC. As Valencia Plaza reports, ICBC is the biggest bank in the world by asset volume;…
The implementation of biometric scanning at Macau ATMs seems to be having a strong effect, with the South China Morning Post reporting that previously busy terminals are now virtually deserted. First announced in late spring, the measure is aimed at countering fraud and preventing capital flight from mainland China, with authorities seeing the gambling destination…
A new Lenovo virtual classroom platform uses facial biometrics to assess students’ responses to lectures. Called AirClass, it comes equipped with a feature called Emotions Insight, which tracks not just whether students’ eyes are open or closed, but various other facial indicators of emotions like surprise and confusion. The system aggregates this data to give…
FIDO standards were a hot topic at this year’s Cloud Identity Summit, reports FIDO Alliance Senior Director of Marketing Andrew Shikiar. In a new post on the consortium’s blog, Shikiar notes that numerous sessions at CIS, including a keynote address from Microsoft executives, focused on FIDO standards. FIDO’s own workshop also saw strong attendance, and…
Apple may be giving up on integrating a fingerprint sensor into the display of its next major iPhone – and may be giving up on Touch ID entirely. The new rumors come by way of Bloomberg, which cites “people familiar with the product” in reporting that Apple is indeed working on a 3D facial recognition…
Iris ID has a new client – Tongrentang, a Beijing-based producer of traditional Chinese medicines. According to Iris ID, Tongrentang was founded in 1669, and has expanded over the centuries to an enterprise that now comprises over a thousand retail outlets and even hospitals. Within a few years, the Iris ID partnership will see 20,000…
Aadhaar authentication is now available for users of Skype Lite in India. The feature was first announced in February of this year. It lets users of the video chat service to confirm their identities using India’s national biometric ID program at any time during a call, and to request such confirmation from others. To authenticate,…
Japan’s Justice Ministry is preparing new legislation that will pave the way for a biometric entry and exit program for citizens traveling to and from the country’s airports, reports The Japan Times. The system being planned will use facial recognition to match travelers’ live images to those stored in their passports, with the aim being…
A soccer stadium in Hungary is using palm vein scanners to help thwart hooliganism. Called StadiumGuard, it has been deployed at all of the Hungarian Champion Ferencváros stadium’s 36 entry gates. Soccer fans need only to wave their hands above the scanners to gain entry. The technology was provided by BioSec Group Ltd., which claims…
“While the ultrasonic scanning is enabled by the sensor hardware, their biometric matching is the product of Precise Biometrics’ flagship software platform, Precise BioMatch Mobile.” Precise Biometrics algorithm software is being used in Qualcomm’s new ultrasonic fingerprint sensors, the company has revealed. The sensors were announced at last week’s Mobile World Congress Shanghai event, where…
“Its software was built with the help of Warwick Warp’s Latent AFIS Matching Engine SDK, and recently saw a successful trial with Djibouti authorities…” Software technology developed by UK-based Warwick Warp is now being used by Forensic Comparison Software Company (FCS) to deliver biometric identification to the Republic of Djibouti. Based in Australia, FCS has…
“HID Global says it has already shipped over 150 million IDs with more than 50 national governments around the world.” HID Global has acquired Arjo Systems, a provider of government ID and smart card solutions boasting of 20 years of experience. The company will be merged into HID’s Government ID Solutions division, with Arjo retaining…
SoftKinetic showed off some new 3D imaging technologies at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Shanghai. One is a solution for virtual and augmented reality systems. Called DepthSense, it’s a camera module for head mounted displays that is designed to track the user’s hand movements, allowing users an intuitive means of interacting with the digital…
The emergence of autonomous vehicles is spurring a growing market for advanced sensor technologies for automotive applications, reports Frost & Sullivan’s TechVision research team. In a statement, TechVision argues that such sensor technology can offer useful contextual information to autonomous driving systems, citing examples like night vision, pedestrian detection, and parking assistance. Going a step…
