biometrics

Computers

Apple’s Ideas for Seamless Biometric Security on iPhone and MacBook

4:50AM Matt Buchanan | To me, the biometric readers you see on most laptops are obnoxious blemishes—they really can’t make them more discrete? Apple feels the same way, so I like their ideas for seamless biometric security. More »
Science

Homeland Security Wants To Use Your Foul Stench as a Lie Detector

4:00AM Sean Fallon | The Department of Homeland Security is planning a study to find out if human body odour can be used as a biometric identifier and/or a means of detecting a lie. More »
Press

UK Spends Billions On High Tech IDs, Has No Way To Read Them

10:40AM Sean Fallon | Kudos to the British government for spending the equivalent of $US6.6 billion US on a biometric National Identity Card program without budgeting for a single card reader. Truly, they operate like a finely-tuned machine. More »
Gadgets

Sony’s Mofiria Authentication Technology Scans Your Scary Finger Veins

7:00AM Sean Fallon | Sony has announced “mofiria,” a biometric technology that relies on the unique vein pattern in fingers to authenticate users. Apparently, this method is more accurate than traditional fingerprint techniques. More »
Gadgets

Million Dollar Border Security Machines Fooled with Ten Cent Tape

4:00AM Jesus Diaz | So much for biometrics and immigration security: A South Korean woman managed to fool a million-dollar fingerprint reading machine in Japanese border controls using a simple piece of tape stuck to her fingers. More »
Gadgets

Jewellery Box Features USB and Fingerprint Authentication Security

12:20PM Sean Fallon | Perhaps Paris Hilton would have avoided the $US2 million theft of her jewellery recently if she had one of these BioMirage Coffers. It can only be opened via fingerprint identification or a USB key. More »
Design

At the End of the Day, $US15,000 Carbon Fibre Biometric Door Is Still Just A Door

6:30AM Jack Loftus | Carbon fibre is pretty, and it’s a cool technique to implement with car design… but what about doors? Who cares, you say? I agree, but it still didn’t stop this door from becoming a reality. More »
Gadgets

Business Schools Getting Serious About GMAT Fraud With Palm Scans

6:20AM Sean Fallon | Apparently, proxy test taking is a big enough problem that the nation’s top business schools will soon require that students undergo a palm vein scan before taking their GMATs. Like a fingerprint, the system of veins running through the hand is unique to every individual, and supporters claim that using vein scanning is not only superior to the current digital fingerprint method, but it also does not come with the same stigma. More »
Gadgets

Motorola Patents Biometric and Touch Sensitive Bluetooth Headsets

5:30AM Sean Fallon | A series of Motorola patents recently made public reveal that the company has given some thought to incorporating biometric monitors into Bluetooth headsets and adding touch sensitive controls to the ROKR S9. Actually, there are two different versions of the biometric Bluetooth headset, both of which utilise a watch-like device to measure heart rate, temperature and other vital signs then transmit them to a mobile phone and on to a distant server. More »
Science

New Biometric Face Scanner Can Tell the Difference Between Identical Twins

1:20AM Adam Frucci | A new biometric face scanner from the Japanese company Sagawa Advance has taken the technology to the next level, able to differentiate between identical twins with no problems at all. It does this by using an infrared scanner to analyse a whopping 40,000 data points on your face. More »