Biometrics
Atmel and Fingerprint Cards Enter Strategic Partnership for Biometric Fingerprint and Touchscreen Solutions
Atmel® Corporation, a global leader in microcontroller and touch technology solutions and Fingerprint Cards AB (FPC), a world leader in fingerprint verification solutions, announced the two companies are jointly bringing the world’s best capacitive touchscreens and touch fingerprint area sensor technology to smart devices. The joint integration accelerates an OEM’s time-to-market by bringing must-have high-performance security and user interface solutions from two leading providers.
WVU Biometric App Startup Raises Over $1M in Angel Investment
A biometric security start-up based out of West Virginia University has secured $1.25 million in angel investment. The company, called Confirmix, has been developing a new tool that will use facial recognition to unlock users’ mobile devices.
4-Seconds of Body Cam Video Can Reveal a Biometric Fingerprint, Study Finds
Any camera will do, as long as it’s attached to your body. Researchers say they can have computers examine body camera video footage and accurately identify a person wearing a body-mounted device in about four seconds, according to a recently released paper. The authors of the study had their software look at biometric characteristics like height, stride length, and walking speed to find the identity of the person shooting the footage.
Privacy Rights Group Opposing FBI?s Biometric Database Wins Court Ruling
A privacy rights group concerned about the implications of the FBI?s nationwide biometric database has won a lawsuit against the FBI for the legal costs that led to the disclosure of hundreds of pages detailing the FBI?s Next Generation Identification (NGI) database, which includes biometrics such as iris scans, palm prints, and facial recognition.
Canadian Banks Pilot Biometric Wristband Payments
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), MasterCard and other Canadian issuing banks have begun pilot testing an NFC version of NYMI, a biometrically authenticated wristband that uses the wearer’s unique cardiac rhythm to verify their identity.
Natural Security Alliance Unveils New Privacy Rules Around Biometric Security
According to its announcement, the Natural Security Alliance’s new Privacy Rules help biometric authentication systems dictate an organization’s obligations when collecting and handling personal data. Essentially the new Privacy Rules helps ensure that biometric data is secure and confidential, minimizing the risk of misuse, and that the data subject (ie. the person whose data is stored) has consented to the data collection and that they have some control over their data and its use.
Biometric Law Enforcement Comes to Canada
Facial recognition technology for the purpose of law enforcement has now marched into Canada, with the Calgary Police Service set to become the first Canadian police service to use such technology. They’ve contracted Texas-based NEC Corporation to provide the tech in the form of its NeoFace Reveal system.
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles to Trial New Self-Serve Biometric Kiosk
Called FasTrack, the new kiosks will use facial recognition software to verify the identity of the customer, which is why FasTrack customers will only initially be allowed to renew existing licenses or identifications. The registry currently uses a similar system as part of its desk operations, said Ms. Blue. In addition to verifying the identities of customers, the new kiosks will also notify customers to get their hair out of your face, take off their hat, or look directly into the camera.
As Florida Bans Use of Biometric IDs in Schools, Other States Scale Back on Big Brother
The sun sets on biometric tracking technology in schools, for now in Florida. Do you know where your student is? At school? On the bus? Paying for lunch in the cafeteria? Principals in thousands of the nation’s schools know the answer because radio frequency chips are embedded in students’ ID cards, or their schools are equipped with biometric scanners that can identify portions of a student’s fingerprint, the iris of an eye, or a vein in a palm.
Biometrics Institute Proposes Biometric Trust Mark
The Biometrics Institute has unveiled its proposals for a ‘trust mark’ system to boost consumer and public confidence in systems using biometric technology. The Institute made its announcement at this week’s Biometrics 2014 conference in London. According to the Institute early support for the scheme has been received by a major US as well as several Australian government agencies – including Australia’s largest welfare provider.
WVU Office of Technology Transfer Licenses Biometric Technologies to Confirmix
Confirmix will use the biometric technologies to develop enterprise and consumer identity authentication products, marketing the enterprise products through its flagship brand, Confirmix, to combat the identity theft and online fraud activities.
The licensed technologies include capabilities for image enhancement and restoration, face and eye detection, task detection and matching, and dual-mode and dual-scenario matching, which provide the key aspects of identity management solutions.
Introducing on-Card Fingerprint Biometric Payments From MasterCard and Zwipe
Zwipe AS and MasterCard announced the launch of the world’s very first contactless payment card with embedded fingerprint biometrics. Combining on-device biometric authentication with the convenience of a contactless credit card, the new solution allows for a purchase of any amount to be made without the entry of a PIN, something that has never before been offered by a payment card.
Teen Wins $50,000 Grant to Build Biometric Gun Safety Sensor
A 17-year-old inventor in Boulder, CO, will receive a $50,000 grant to help develop a biometric sensor designed to prevent unauthorized people from firing guns. “I’ve been interested in technology for as long as I can remember,” Kai Kloepfer said. “After the mass shooting in the movie theater in Aurora in 2012, I started thinking about the role technology could play in preventing accidents and death related to firearms. The idea actually came to me in a dream and I have been working since then to make it a reality.”
LaserLock Licenses Multi-Factor Biometric Platform to Major Financial Firm
LaserLock Technologies announced that it has signed an agreement to license its VerifyMe Identity Services platform to a major financial services advisory firm. At this time, the firm is unnamed, but according to LaserLock it consolidates hundreds of billions of dollars in assets for around 100,000 investment banking clients.
Nigeria to Issue National Mastercard-Branded Biometric ID Cards
Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC) announced it has launched the eID pilot program, issuing MasterCard-branded identity cards with electronic payments functionality to 13 million civilians. The program marks the largest rollout of a biometric verification card with an electronic payment solution in Nigeria, as well as the broadest financial inclusion program in Africa. The eID card is a key part of the NIMC’s mandate to develop, maintain and run Nigeria’s first central national identity database and provide proof of identity to Nigerians 16 years and older.
FBI Digitizes Millions of Records to Prepare for New Biometric System
The FBI announced it has digitally converted millions of files stored at its Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) division’s warehouse in Fairmont, West Virginia, as the Bureau prepares to transition to its new biometric system, according to the FBI website. Over the last two decades, the agency has digitally converted more than 30 million records […]
Morpho Presents World?s Fastest Contactless Fingerprint Scanner At Global Identity Summit
Morpho (Safran), today announced the commercial launch of Finger On the Fly®, the world?s fastest contactless four finger scanner. Using advanced imaging technology, this innovation simultaneously captures four fingerprints from a single wave of the hand. Finger On the Fly will be on display at the 2014 Global Identity Summit in Tampa, Florida from September […]
PatientSecure To Provide Columbus Community Hospital With Biometric Solution To Identify Patients
This fall, Columbus Community Hospital will be introducing a biometric patient identification system developed by PatientSecure. The palm vein recognition solution will ensure correct medical records are used for each patient and speed up the registration process, according to a report by ColumbusTelegram.com. Using palm vein recognition to identify patients, the PatientSecure scanner’s infrared light […]
Aruba Airport to Test Biometric Tokens
Biometric News Brief: Air France-KLM is to test a single biometric passenger token concept at Aruba Airport, Future Travel Experience reports. When a passenger checks-in, their e-passport will be validated and either a photo of their face, an iris scan, or their fingerprint or a combination of two or more will be collected. This information […]
Venezuela To Introduce Biometric System For Food Purchases
Venezuelan President Maduro announced details of the new system on Friday (Prensa Presidencial) as basic, regulated food is being sold at black market prices, and gangs are smuggling food across the border to Colombia, the Venezuelan government has launched an offensive, and implemented a biometric system in shops across the country. President president, Nicol