Gizmodo: Biometric

Biometric Social Security Cards Proposed to Combat ID Theft

Sean Fallon — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:50:00 EST

Two Illinois congressmen are introducing legislation with the goal of upgrading that flimsy paper piece of crap we call a social security card to include a photo, fingerprint and computer ID chip. Recent data shows that nearly $45 billion is lost each year due to identity theft, which makes it increasingly necessary to safeguard our important documents from fraud. The only drawback is that the new cards will cost around $8 to make as opposed to the current 50 cent price tag. Damn...we've been paying 50 cents for those things? [Chicago Tribune]

Biometric System Narcs On Kids' Eating Habits at School

Sean Fallon — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:00:39 EST

In an effort to curb unhealthy eating habits, one Catholic school in Utah has implemented a biometric finger scanning system that is used to track what kids are eating during lunch. Parents are then given the information in hopes that they will use it to help children make better choices.

Here is the thing though—the parents probably have the same horrible eating habits, so it would be hard to dole out the discipline without looking like a hypocrite. Besides, if the school is so concerned about the kids' nutritional welfare, why do they continue to serve them crap food? Oh, and the school claims that that the stored information recorded has "no forensic value." Yeah, right. I'll bet you drop one joint on the ground behind the school and your fingerprints combined with data indicating that you enjoy large quantities of sugary and salty snack foods will do you in. [Breitbart]

Biometric Fingerprint Safe is NRA Endorsed, Futuristic

Jason Chen — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:20:29 EST

This Sequiam Biometrics BioVault 2.0 is officially endorsed by the NRA as a biometric gun-safety device, meaning it's safe enough that an organization that specializes in guns believes it can prevent your kids from getting at your guns. And not only is it safe, it's convenient too. How many times have you heard an intruder outside, run over to your security vault and forgot your password? Too many times! We can't remember the last time we couldn't locate our finger (most of the time it's up our nose or in our ear). We'd totally spend the $399 for this if only we had something to put in it besides our emergency stash of "Snatch, the Magazine" for power outages. [SharperImage via Random Good Stuff]

Master Lock SmartTOUCH Biometric Garage Door Opener

Brian Lam — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:58:22 EST

The Skinny: Opens your garage via fingerprint of up to 20 others. Survives in extreme temps from -30 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit and wet weather. Costs $130 bucks.
The Catch: The preferred way to open a garage is still the good old janky wireless remote from inside your car. [Smarttouch via Gearlog]

FBI's $1 Billion Biometric Database Will Help Catch the Bad Guys

Haroon Malik — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:20:10 EST

The FBI is planning to spend $1 billion on the world's largest biometric database. The database will be used to ~~create a big brother state, in which you will ultimately have little autonomy~~ assist the FBI's efforts in catching the bad guys. Apparently, compilation of digital images, including mug shots, fingerprints and palm patterns have already begun.

The FBI is expected to step-up the initiative in January 2008, when it will award a 10-year contract to a company that will assist with the construction of the database, named the Next Generation Identification system. Further, employers will be able to request information regarding their employees is retained, which will mean the system will have a dual function for forensic and identification purposes. We are thinking it's not such a hot idea; having everyone's info all in one place, with a dual purpose, just seems like a bad idea to us. How do you guys feel bout it? [Reuters]

Pay by Touch System Tested by Gas Stations, Grocery Store

Charlie White — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:48:38 EDT

Here's a better way to pay for stuff. By just touching your fingertip to this Pay by Touch biometric system, you can pay for anything in the ten Chicago Shell stations that are now testing the tech. So this means there's no need to reach for that credit card or even your wallet; all you have to do is touch a certain spot on the pump or in the store, and your online credit or debit card account pays for your gas. Add this tech to Shell's multimedia pumps currently deployed in 300 gas stations across the U.S., showing NBC programming (and advertising) as well as news, weather and sports (also with ads) from Fuel Media International, and people might start hanging out at the high-tech gas pumps for the afternoon. But so far, uptake is slow.

Shell's not advertising this pilot program yet, so not many people are using the finger scanners thus far. Sunflower Market is another Chicago store testing out the Pay by Touch system. The company has installed the finger-scanning kiosks in its grocery store, and store manager Debbie Britton says only 2% of the customers have signed up. She says people are wary of the new technology. "I think it scares people. They're more confused about the whole system. Some of them say, 'Well, now the FBI can find me.'"

Fraidy cats. We're thinking people should rest easy with this tech, because unless criminals cut off your finger and take it to the biometric device, this system seems more secure than the current credit card system. We've been waiting for this stuff for years. It's similar to that MobilPass we used at gas stations for a long time, lubricating the entire payment routine with its RFID device stuck to the car's rear window. That's how we like our payment and toilets: touchless. [Yahoo News]

Fujitsu Launch Palm-Vein Scanning Mouse, Finally

msparkes — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 05:42:06 EDT

This press release from 2002 shows a Fujitsu mouse that could authenticate logins by scanning vein-patterns in a user's hand. By taking an infrared scan of a person's hand, the system can get a clear picture of their veins - the pattern is then used to authenticate users. Five years later, they have finally launched the product. So what have you been doing for 5 years, Fujitsu?

New software will come bundled with the mouse, removing the need for an authentication server, like with previous Fujitsu biometric systems. Fujitsu are calling the system Palm Secure, and it is launching at a cost of ¥30,000 (about $260). [Japan Corp]

Oki Japan Bring Iris Scanning to Existing Cellphones

msparkes — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 06:09:04 EDT

Oki Japan has developed software that brings iris recognition security to existing cellphones. Before now, biometric security has meant either hugely expensive military systems or cheap, novelty peripherals. This new development is part of a growing number of practical and affordable solutions. The software can be used to add another layer of security on any device that has a camera of at least 1 megapixel and is claimed to only give one false positive for every 100,000 scans. [Digital World Tokyo]

Pen-One Fingerprint Pen Steals Your Identity

Jason Chen — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 13:42:33 EST

What's the point of a pen that can take your signature when you sign? Imagine your credit card being stolen, but if the person who's signing gets their fingerprint taken when they sign, you'll have a record of who the thief was. A stupid example for sure, but there are other, more important uses for the device. Some that take advantage of its authentication features:

Chain of custody documentation, Child care and custody records, Patient consent and HIPAA compliance, Sarbanes-Oxley signoff for corporate SEC filings, US Customs Entry and Biometric Passport Authentication

Not really a big deal for everyday use, but for high security situations like handing off a Metal Gear, you want to make sure the guy you're giving it to really is who he is, and not just Snake in a mask. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Pen-One via Red Ferret via Oh Gizmo]

Sequiam BioLock Forces Burglars to Break Your Window Instead

Louis Ramirez — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 13:28:47 EDT

Yeah, this lock has a fingerprint-reading scanner tucked underneath, but we're not sold on the idea that it'd deter a burglar from breaking into someone's apartment. Nevertheless, the $249 lock can register up to 50 different digits and can be used on pretty much any door. It also comes with two back up keys. We'll stick to our tazer glove instead. – Louis Ramirez

Sequiam BioLock [via Electronista]

ADEL Biometric Keyless Door Lock

Jason Chen — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 16:15:21 EDT

For only $199, you can outfit your front door with a biometric fingerprint-recognizing lock that will remember up to 100 prints and is constructed out of stainless steel and PCB sealed with epoxy. In addition to the fingerprints, you can also get in via PIN number or mechanical key, which we guess is a fail-safe if you get amnesia and have your fingers chopped off. No worry of power outage either, there's a battery point where you touch a 9V battery to juice it up temporarily.

We'd love to outfit one of these in our apartment doors so we won't have to do the one-arm shuffle when holding a metric assload of groceries. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Brick House Security via Gadgetell]

Biometric Microdrive/CF Reader

Jason Chen — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 17:43:11 EDT

This microdrive/compact flash reader has biometric fingerprint protection so your tasteful self-nudes will never be leaked out to the public—without your permission. The V117 lets you stick in your CF card and access it like a normal reader. Using the PC software, you encrypt all data stored on the card so that it can only be decrypted and accessed if the reader gets the right fingerprint.

Even though others take the MD/CF out, they still cannot read the files that have been encrypted because of our advance "Hardware-like" and software encryption/decryption technology.

Not entirely bulletproof and only "hardware-like", but it should be good enough to keep your photos and other data out of your prying roommate's hands. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Greengine via Red Ferret]

Biometric Paying Becoming a Reality?

Travis Hudson — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 12:52:40 EDT

It seems so. A chain of convenience stores in Tampa, Fl have recently installed a biometric payment system that simply requires a push of the finger to pay for your smokes, beer, gas, condoms or Doritos. The Coast To Coast chain is the latest business to incorporate this payment system.

For the user, you have to go through a simple process registering your fingerprint to the system and linking it to some kind of checking or debit account. The system currently doesn't work with credit cards. Pay by Touch, the company that provides these pay systems currently has units in Virginia, Illinois, North and South Carolina and some other states. Any readers have a chance to try out this system? What did you think? Leave a comment or shoot us an e-mail with some feedback. – Travis Hudson

Floridians Can Now Pay With Their Finger [I4U]

Pantech PG-6200: Urban Biometrics, Yo

johnb — Wed, 10 May 2006 12:35:47 EDT

This sexy black beast is just loaded with "urban cool" which apparently stands for "biometric security." It is a tri-band GSM phone with a 2-megapixel camera and music player. There's also 20MB internal memory, MicroSD slot, and Bluetooth to round things out. Not much else to say, except that while we'll never see it on these shores, but you can pick it up in Taiwan, Russia, or Hong Kong.

Pantech PG-6200 Fingerprint phone with 'Urban Cool' [MobileMentalism]

Fujitsu F702id: Two-Camera FatFone

Charlie White — Tue, 09 May 2006 10:55:35 EDT

With all the super-slimline handsets hitting the market lately, the Fujitsu F702id looks positively corpulent, but it does have quite an unusual-looking color, doesn't it? Besides this gold version you see here, it's also available in the obligatory pink.

Fujitsu has added a couple of unusual features as well, such as two cameras—a 1.28-megapixel primary camera, and a secondary 1.1-megapixel camera that might just be useful for videoconferencing. Another weirdness is that biometric fingerprint sensor you see at the bottom of the keypad. No pricing or availability info was forthcoming.

Fujitsu F702id [TechEBlog, via MobileMagazine]

Bio Computer-On-A-Stick

Noah R — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 10:38:02 EDT

Bionopoly, known to some for its fingerprint readers and to others for its goofy name, has announced the launch of what they claim is the first USB drive with built-in biometric authentication—although to my knowledge that highly specialized claim probably belongs to Project BlackDog. Bionopoly's "Bio Computer-On-A-Stick" goes a bit farther than the typical USB drive, in that it has its own operating system and software suite ready for use on any host machine. Furthermore, it is on a stick. Not so much a literal stick as a metaphorical one. It uses the power of biology to fight crime on the mean streets, accompanied by its trusty pretend stick.

See the link below to the IBM SoulPad project for more on why this class of device is interesting.

Bionopoly claims world s first Bootable Flash Drive with Biometrics [MobileMag]
SoulPad [IBM]
Project BlackDog [Product Page]

Samsung Anycall: Fingerprint Protected

gizmogo — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 11:06:23 EDT

The one device that probably gets lost or stolen more than any other gadget is the cellphone. And with that misfortune comes the inevitable heartbreak of having lost all your contacts, as well as the potential misfortune of having your personal data misused. Samsung Korea, which appears to be barraging the world with news today in order to shift attention away from its $300 million price-fixing fine, has come up with a possible solution: the Samsung Anycall SCH-S370, a cellphone with a fingerprint sensor built right into the device. Now you can protect all that valuable information with one swipe of the finger, and won't have to worry about thieves getting at all those secret Paris Hilton-type photos. It'll accomodate up to 5 fingerprints, in case you want different users to have access to the phone (I guess this is good if you lend your phone out to people sometimes). The phone also comes packed with a 1.3 megapixel camera, an MP3 player, GPS functionality, and PictBridge compatibility. It'll be out by the end of the year, though no idea if this will make it out of Korea.

Samsung SCH S370; for those who remain paranoid about security [phoneyworld]

Biometric (In)Security

Noah R — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 13:11:47 EDT

Siemens and Lufthansa announced that they have successfully tested a fingerprint recognition security system for use at airport check-in. This comes just days after a British prison admitted that its fingerprint recognition security system was hacked by inmates. Feel safer now?

Eyes and fingers airport security [We Make Money Not Art]
Fingerprint-Lock Failure In a Prison [Schneier on Security]

Fingerprint Jewelry: Unquestionably Yours

gizmogo — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 13:00:18 EDT

So this isn't really gadgety or anything, but it certainly has a geek quotient to it. You send a copy of your fingerprint to fancy schmancy jewelery maker Piaget, and they'll make a watch or pendant design out of it. The swirls of your print will be laid out in diamonds and white gold, which means this thing will be uber pricey. So pricey, that Piaget isn't saying how much it'll cost — you'll have to ask 'em yourself.

Piaget [Piaget via Gear Live]