Biometrics

Smartrac buys a 25 percent stake in Multitape
Purchase gives Dutch company an even firmer grip on the ePassport inlay business; Multitape known for its etching technology
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GSA to cease free HSPD-12 testing program
After agency spends $750,000 to catalyze the market, vendors will have to contract with private laboratories for HSPD-12 certification; costs seen as on the downswing; seventy-five vendors have already been approved
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Sony acquires IPIX's intellectual property for $3.6 million
Bankruptcy proceedings offer a ripe opportunity for Sony just as it launches its own video analytics suite; IPIX’s gigapixel camera a tasty morsel; Steve Hunt provides an analysis of Sony’s future success and IPIX’s past failures
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Coming and going
Steven Goldberg replaces Brooks McChesney
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CoreStreet wins Pentagon Force Protection Agency HSPD-12 contract
PIVMAN’s popularity on the rise after a recent deal in Los Angeles; government agencies continue to get their HSPD-12 houses in order; handheld authentication systems show market strength
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UPDATE: ComnetiX board recommends takeover by L-1
Identity solutions company rejects richer all-stock offer by BIO-Key due to concerns about liquidity; shareholders to vote 8 February; BIO-Key finds a silver lining in a $300,000 Oklahoma interoperability deal
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U.K. introduces first-in-the-world shoeprint database
Forensic Science Service asks shoe manufacturers to provide sole impressions; more than 1,000 Nike trainers are enrolled already; Cinderella analysis guides police to the suspect
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Dutch to permit citizens to scan own ePassports for errors
European law permits citizens to review and correct personal data; Rochford Thompson installs RFID readers in application offices; privacy issues continue to hamper ePassport usage
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Lack of readers delays ePassport roll-out
Although more than thirty countries have begun issuing the documents, few have installed (or turned on) the neccesary readers; many wait for market saturization, but often governments are to blame for failing to develop proper privacy regulations
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Bioscrypt selected for Canadian airport I.D.authentication system
Company follows up purchase of A4Vision with a foray northwards; primary contractor Labcal will incorporate Bioscrypt’s fingerprint algorithims into its handheld I.D. readers; twenty-nine airports effected
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NYC employees to punch in using hand geometry scanners
Move sparks cries of “geoslavery,” but mayor denies claims he intends to introduce iris scans and voice recognition systems; managing employee response key to a succesful biometrics roll-out; buddy-punching remains a critical problem
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Maine lawmakers revolt against Real ID Act
State is first in the nation to pass a resolution demanding the act be repealed, but eight others are considering it too; legislators upset over $185 million cost and doubt the program’s utility; privacy advocates call it a national nightmare
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3M, Authentix and others launch International Authentication Association
Industry group will serve as a spokesman and lobbyist with media and government; eighteen companies band together to raise awareness of new anti-counterfeiting techniques; Johnson and Johnson’s David Howard is named chairman
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Reliability continues to plague TWIC
Lockheed wins a major $70 million contract, but low bidding may hide quality issues; “bait and switch” says one critic; cards said to suffer 50 percent error rates with unacceptable processing times; flimsy card stock at issue
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London Olympics to sport photometric stereo facial recognition technology
Intriguing approach uses a single camera and multiple sequential flashes to develop a “facial skin signature”; software uses slightly differing shadows to generate a 3D image of higher quality than conventional facial recognition systems; skin color and tone can both be identified
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