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NEWS/COMMENT

Biometric Technology Today September 2013

...Continued from page 3Some gamers had voiced concerns that the

Kinect camera, which can track users in the dark and has facial recognition capabilities, could allow spying from external agencies.

Facial biometrics power secure retail payments

Biometrics that provide high levels of security and an intuitive customer

experience might be the solution for secure mobile payments according to researchers Frost & Sullivan. This comes as PayPal trials of ‘facial recognition’-based mobile app for payments have met with criticism on security grounds.

As the facial recognition element of the solu-tion is in fact carried out by a person and is not technology-based there are concerns that PayPal’s trial is a diversion from technological development of biometrically enabled mobile payments. Finnish company Uniqul, for exam-ple, has launched a face recognition payment system that enables customers to pay without having a wallet, card or mobile phone.

Uniqul users set up an account linked to a credit card. Cameras at checkout counters and facial recognition software will have recognised the customer before he or she even reaches the checkout and payment will be taken when the customer signs their name.

Frost & Sullivan global program director, ICT in financial services, Jean-Noel Georges, says, “We expect to see biometrics becoming increasingly prevalent over the course of the next three to four years, driven by a desire among vendors and consumers alike to be bet-ter protected when accessing mobile services.”

Shoppers in 12 stores in Richmond UK are using a PayPal app for iOS, Windows OS or Android to see which nearby shops accept PayPal. Shoppers then pay for their purchases using PayPal and show a photograph of them-selves on the mobile app to the shopkeeper who verifies their identify by checking that the person holding the phone is the same as the person shown on the photograph.

Vessel mapping takes face recognition to next level

Researchers believe that a thermal imag-

ing scan that maps facial blood vessels

could provide instantaneous face recognition

that would be almost impossible to spoof.A team at Jadavpur University in Kolkata,

India, writing in the International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies explain how the pattern of blood vessels just beneath the skin of our faces is as unique as a fingerprint, iris or other characteristic. It can be revealed easily with an infra-red thermal imaging camera.

Tabletop combines image display and fingerprint recognition

Researchers Christian Holz and Patrick Baudisch have developed

Fiberio, a rear-projected multitouch table that identifies users biometrically based on their fingerprints. Fiberio is able to display an image and sense fin-gerprints at the same time.

Fiberio accomplishes this using a large fibre optic plate. The plate diffuses light on

transmission, allowing it to act as projection surface. At the same time, the plate reflects light specularly, which produces the contrast required for fingerprint sensing.

SignWave Unlock app maps hand geometry

Battelle has released SignWave Unlock,

a new app for the Leap Motion 3D

motion control device that allows users to

interact with computers in natural ways. SignWave Unlock requires a wave of a hand

in front of the Leap Motion Controller; the app verifies the user’s identity and unlocks the computer.

The Leap Motion Controller lets users pinch, grab and move objects by naturally moving their hands over the controller. The $79.99 device launched in July and will be available at Best Buy outlets in the US.

As Biometric Technology Today went to press, Apple shook the biometrics world with the launch of the iPhone 5s with 360 degree readability

fingerprint recognition based on capacitive technology. The ‘home’ button of the new iPhone5s is now also a Touch ID fingerprint sensor that allows users to unlock their phone with their finger and to make iTunes purchases without the need to enter their Apple password.

A number of biometric firms had already pinned their colours to the iOS mast; Aoptix has just released a software development kit (SDK) for its Stratus MX hardware and app package. Stratus MX transforms the iPhone 4 or 4S into a full-fledged biometrics scanning tool. Also this summer Precise Biometrics Tactivo for iPhone 5 fingerprint biometrics-based case, has been approved by Apple and is now ready for global launch.

Biometric Technology Today went to press before it was possible to get our hands on the new iPhone and see its fingerprint biometrics in action, but the industry will be watching consumer reactions to the usability of the feature with great interest.

Even hints that the iPhone might include biometrics put the biometric sector in the spotlight, with Businessweek reporting giant leaps in the price of stock for fingerprint recognition firms Precise Biometrics, Fingerprint Cards and Norwegian Idex.

In recent weeks Fingerprint Cards has received its largest mass production order so far of over 3.1m units for its swipe sensor technology for the Asian smartphone and tablet market. Fingerprint Cards points out that this new order from partner CrucialTec targets the Japanese market, but will act as a springboard for further launches in other Asian markets. Apple’s iPhone has low penetration in some Asian markets, such as China, but Apple is now fighting hard for market share with the latest launches of the lower cost 5C and the 5s.

Consumer use of biometrics technology, in gaming, social networks and now, more than ever, on mobile phones is teetering on the edge of mass adoption. The iPhone 5s launch may mark a tipping point. This year’s Biometrics Show in London from 15–17 October (see show preview page 9) will showcase many of the latest biometric solutions and their real world use.

I look forward to meeting many of you there.

Tracey Caldwell

COMMENT

R&D

retailhand biometrics