• Voice recognition capabilities at the FBI -- from the 1960s to the present

    Chris Archer, the online content editor at IDGA (the Institute for Defense & Government Advancement), talked with Hirotaka Nakasone, a senior scientist in the FBI’s Voice Recognition Program; Nakasone examines the use and effectiveness of current speaker authentication technologies at the FBI; highlights the various challenges which are unique to voice recognition, and discusses what plans are in place for capturing voice recordings in line with the FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI project)

  • Not taking faces at face value

    Photographs of faces may not be adequate proof of a person’s identity and this could have serious implications for the accuracy of passport photographs in determining identity

  • Biometrics proves 1 percent of applicants to enter U.S. are unsuitable

    Chris Archer, the online content editor at IDGA (the Institute for Defense & Government Advancement), talked with James Loudermilk, Senior Level Technologist, FBI Science and Technology Branch, about biometrics and biometrics and homeland security; Loudermilk says that biometrics applications helped the FBI determine that about 1 percent of people who seek visa to visit the United States as tourists have previously done things that make them unsuitable guests; the conversation examines the application of biometrics for homeland security, issues relating to privacy and civil liberties, and what can be learned from international biometrics projects, including India’s UID scheme

  • Forensic research using DNA sequencing technology

    The Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM) Sequencer translates chemical sequencing information directly into digital form by using semiconductor technology; it enables the analysis of ninety-six samples in one run, allowing forensic practitioners to obtain more information from the samples they process; the sequencer is suitable for a wide array of forensic identification applications, including missing persons identifications, mass disaster work, interpretations of complex mixtures, and bio-defense

  • Researchers advance biometric security

    Researchers have developed a way for security systems to combine different biometric measurements — such as eye color, face shape, or fingerprints — and create a learning system that simulates the brain in making decisions about information from different sources

  • The complexities of the human face: analyzing facial recognition technologies in unconstrained environments

    Chris Archer, the online content editor at IDGA (the Institute for Defense & Government Advancement), talked with Thirimachos Bourlai, research assistant professor at West Virginia University, about facial recognition technologies; the human face has several advantages over other biometric traits: it is non-intrusive, understandable, and can be captured in a covert manner at variable standoff distances; Bourlai examines the various challenges of facial recognition as a biometric technology faces; defines “unconstrained recognition” and how this challenge is being met; he also explores how facial recognition will be used by the military and commercially in the short and long term future

  • Aging process confounds iris recognition biometrics

    It is commonly assumed that biometric template aging does not occur for iris biometrics; there may well be a need to examine this assumption; two University of Notre Dame scientists found that the rate at which a state-of-the-art, commercial iris-matching software system failed to match two images of the same iris — known as the false non-match rate — increased by 153 percent over three years

  • Advanced investigative facial recognition solution for law enforcement

    Animetrics shows ForensicaGPS, a new facial biometric tool for local, state, and federal law enforcement; the company says ForensicaGPS allows law enforcement to identify criminal suspects, even from a low-resolution photo or video surveillance

  • Biometrics market set to grow by 21 percent CAGR from 2012 to 2014

    The biometric security market set to grow at a CAGR of around 21 percent during 2012-2014; governments’ growing reliance on biometrics for national security, and efforts by corporations to thwart identity theft, are main growth drivers

  • Reason-based behavioral recognition system wins award

    A reason-based behavioral recognition system for video surveillance developed by Houston, Texas-based BRS Labs wins an award at London’s Counter Terror Expo

  • Maryland police defy court decision, continue to collect arrestees DNA

    Police departments around Maryland will continue to collect arrestees DNA despite the state top court’s ruling by a five-to-two decision that such collection is a violation of Fourth Amendment rights to privacy

  • Airport racial profiling app unveiled

    The New York-based Sikh Coalition, together with other civil rights organizations, is today unveiling a mobile application which allows users to report instances of racial profiling at airports in real time; users are prompted with some questions geared specifically toward Sikhs, but that the app also allows for accounts of discrimination from members of all communities who feel their rights have been violated

  • Intelligent surveillance to bolster Aussie national security

    Researchers are working on developing smart technology that combines 2D and 3D video images taken from a variety of challenging environments and makes it possible to identify a person without the need to stand face on to a camera

  • Faster iris recognition solutions less accurate than slower ones

    NIST tested iris recognition software from eleven different organizations; the test: identify individuals from a database of eye images taken from more than 2.2 million people; some software solutions were faster than others, and some were more accurate than others (success rates ranged between 90 and 99 percent); typically, the faster solutions were less accurate

  • Fingerprints offer a wealth of information

    It has long been well established that fingerprints can be used to identify people or help convict them of crimes, but fingerprints can be used to show that a suspect is a smoker, takes drugs, or has handled explosives, among other things