• Sagem Sécurité launches SmartGate in New Zealand

    Sagem Sécurité installs facial recognition system at Auckland International Airport in New Zealand; Aussie and Kiwi travelers with e-passports will be identified from the photo stored in the chip of the e-Passport

  • Improving security with enhanced face recognition technology

    Researchers at the University of Miami College of Engineering have developed ways to make facial recognition technology more efficient while improving accuracy; they say their state-of-the-art system is capable of photographing an image of someone’s face and ear and comparing it against pre-stored images of the same person, with 95-100 percent accuracy

  • Gait-recognition biometric technology to help soldiers manning checkpoints

    SET Corporation is developing a technology which directs low-power radar beams at people — who can be 50 yards or more away; early research indicates that this method could one day be augmented with video-analysis software that spots bombers by discerning subtle differences in gait that occur when people carry heavy objects

  • NIST test proves the iris recognition is idea for ID verification

    A new NIST report demonstrates that iris recognition algorithms can maintain their accuracy and interoperability with compact images, affirming their potential for large-scale identity management applications such as the federal Personal Identity Verification program, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism

  • FBI says facial recognition not ready for prime time

    An FBI expert said that facial recognition does not figure in the FBI’s biometric strategy; he said facial recognition could have been a killer application — but it cannot; “The algorithms just do not exist to deliver the highly reliable verification required. This is even though the FBI has been evaluating facial recognition technology since 1963,” he said

  • Schools are spearheading the use of biometrics

    Approximately 10 percent of U.K. schools are deploying biometric technologies, according to Alasdair Darroch, director of Biostore

  • Aussie forensic biologist pushing for usage of ear biometrics

    Sydney-based ear biometrics specialist says the ear biometrics, which involves analyzing photographs of ears, is an ideal way to identify people; “It’s practical, it’s fast, it’s cost effective and it’s an alternative method so you don’t have to give up cracking a case or identifying a victim”

  • Fingerprint technology beats world’s toughest tests

    Among the fingerprints most difficult to identify are those of brick-layers, but a new technique developed by University of Warwick researchers did so successfully; the secret: the University of Warwick researchers consider the entire detailed pattern of each print and transform the topological pattern into a standard co-ordinate system

  • U.K. abandons DNA retention project

    At present in England and Wales, DNA is taken from every person arrested; at the last count the National DNA Database contained 986,000 profiles belonging to people never convicted of a crime; the DNA records were supposed to be kept for twelve years; the Home Office says it is now reconsidering this policy

  • U.K. Border Agency reinstates DNA tests, sort of

    Africans who want to immigrate to the U.K. found a relatively easy way to do so: they seek political asylum, saying they come from war-ravaged countries; the U.K. Border Agency wanted to make sure, by checking their DNA, that they come from the war-ravaged countries they claim to come from; scientists criticized the scheme as “naive” and “scientifically flawed,” so the UKBA suspended it — only to reinstate it the next day, partially

  • Biometric security for London 2012 Olympic Games already in place

    The U.K. government’s security preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games start early: Laborers on the site of the Olympic village are subject to rigorous biometric checks; the metropolitan police hints that as we get closer to the games, local residents may be subject to similar measures

  • U.K. Border Agency suspends "flawed" asylum DNA testing

    The Home Office wanted to ascertain the nationality of asylum seekers by testing their DNA; scientists described the idea as “naive and scientifically flawed”; “You’d be better off looking at the color of [asylum seekers’] shoes,” one scientists says; Home Office suspends the plan

  • Passport production brings L-1 $195 million

    The latest in a string of biometric contracts brings the Stamford, Connecticut company $195 million deal to provide the U.S. Department of State with a high-security production system for e-passports

  • Apple offers facial recognition for iPhoto

    Biometric technology is used in security and e-commerce, but it can also be used to shorten searches through large digital photo banks; Apple offers facial recognition for its iPhoto

  • Biometric devices bring in $6.2 million for L-1

    Clients keep buying L-1’s HIIDE device; company on a spree of biometric contracts