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• reducing the excess of fiduciary money in circulation,as well as the cost and risk of transporting funds;
• boosting and securing electronic fund transfers andclearing;
• ensuring payment to the right person andpreventing identity theft and subsequent fraud;
• developing banking services, encouragingindividual saving, facilitating monthlyexpenditures, etc.
Contact: Hervé Philippe at Sagem, Tel: +33 1 40 70 6257, Fax: +33 1 53 23 20 47, Email:[email protected]
…as Japanese bank opts forvein patternsOne of the largest banks in Japan, The Bank ofTokyo-Mitsubishi, has said it is about todeploy a security system based on vein-patternrecognition technology in its branches acrossthe country.
The bank will begin by issuing smart Visacredit cards, with customer vein-patterninformation stored on the card’s chip. The systemhas been developed in association with Fujitsuand will be used to authenticate the identity ofcustomers when, for example, they use automatedteller machines (ATM).
The cards were scheduled for roll out from themiddles of October with customers able to usethem at 267 of the bank’s branches nationwide –although it is not clear how many ATMs in totalwill be compatible with the system. The Bank ofTokyo-Mitsubishi estimates it will issue up to onemillion of the new cards each year.
The technology works by shining light in thenear-infrared region onto customers’ palms,which are positioned about four centimetresabove the scanner. A snapshot of the palm is takenilluminating the vein patterns just below the skin.
When using the card at ATM, the verificationprocess usually takes about a second, according toa company spokesman. A PIN is still required inorder to make the system as secure as possible.
This deal follows on from an earlier contract withSuruga Bank in June earlier this year. It installed aversion of the system at 65 of its branches.
facial recognition
Facing up to the challengeof agingSome of the most difficult challenges for facialrecognition systems include how to distinguishbetween a pair of identical twins and how todeal with ageing, especially in children. In a bid
to understand how facial recognition algorithmsmight be able to do better, a new project hasbeen launched in South Africa to study datacollected over a long period of time.
The main aim of the study, which has beenlaunched by Interoptic Networks (IN), is to helpin identifying and verifying the faces of missingchildren and therefore contribute to the fightagainst crimes committed against children.
Software available today tends to handle ageingusing mathematical calculations and projections.IN’s study will provide data collected over a longperiod of time (minimum 5 years, with thepossibility of extension to 10 years) taken in a livecontrolled environment with a view to study theeffects of years in the change of children’s faces.The study will provide information on howportions/segments of the faces change with ageingand growth. As well as helping to improve facialrecognition system performance, it could also helpin the technical ‘ageing’ of children’s photographsfrom old to young and from young to old.
The project started in September and a full yearof data collection is anticipated, includingphotographs and facial measurements from twinchildren of different ethnical backgrounds.
Part of the study will enrol the children’s faceson existing commercial facial recognition systemswith the aim of testing the systems for their abilityto handle live recognition of children. A databasewith the children’s facial images will be created forthe identification of the twins in order to see iftheir faces can be distinguished. The same processwill happen on a yearly basis when real liveenrolment of the twins’ faces will be checkedagainst previously enrolled facial images.
Contact: Basia Nasiorowska at Interoptic Networks,Tel: +27 82 733 0030, Fax: +27 11 803 3462, Email:[email protected]
statistics
Office workers are ready for biometricsNew research has found that a majority ofcompanies are considering the introduction ofbiometric technology to increase workplacesecurity. The survey found that a staggering55% of firms are currently considering theintroduction of either iris or fingerprintrecognition systems. In part this adoption isbeing driven by the growing adoption ofbiometric technology by border control andpublic sector organisations.
The independent survey, commissioned aspart of Hitachi Data Systems’ Storage Index,reveals that more than two-thirds of companies
NEWS
Biometric Technology Today • November/December 2004
p r o d u c tn e w s
• Casio Computer hasdeveloped a fingerprint sensorwhich is embedded in the faceof a 1.2-inch LCD screen.The idea is to provide phonemanufacturers with aconvenient way toincorporate biometric securityinto their handsets. Thetechnology is still beingdeveloped but is available as aprototype. The LCD-typescanner comprises a layer ofoptical sensors on a 0.7 mm-thick sensor substrate. This inturn sits on top of aconventional TFT LCD. Thisdiffers from most otherfingerprint sensors whichoften use either a CCD(charge-coupled device)sensor to capture fingerprintimages or a capacitive-basedsystem. The technology couldfind its way into productswithin 12-18 months.
• Bioscrypt has introduced anexpanded 1 to 500 searchcapability for its fingerprint-based physical and logicalaccess control products – V-Pass and MV1200. Accordingto the company,approximately 96% ofcompanies in the US employless than 500 workers, soallowing them to install thetechnology which eliminatesthe needs for tokens or PINs.
• Lexar Media has launched aUSB flash drive with anintegrated biometricfingerprint sensor toauthenticate a user’s identityand provide easy access tosecured files and passwordprotected web sites. JumpDriveTouchGuard functions as a USB2.0 hi-speed portable storagedevice and personal Internetgatekeeper storing andmanaging web favorites and upto 200 user names andpasswords. The device usesFujitsu’s MBF310 Sweep Sensor,which stores and recognises upto 10 fingerprints.
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