Technology Trends

Someone decided he didn’t like the last item I posted yesterday, “Can Cell Phones Damage Our Eyes?” — or didn’t like me at all. It was probably because this item was picked by Slashdot, and because this person was jealous of the — maybe — five additional dollars I made through AdSense. So he has posted more than 500 comments by 7 AM this morning here in France. [Read more to know why I'm disabling comments.]

As all these comments were racist or injurious, but more or less random, I decided to eliminate them. But with Radio, from Userland Software, I have to individually check all the comments in order to delete them. Obviously, a “Delete all” or a “Check all” button would be welcome. Is there one in the works?

And of course, you know Murphy’s law: when things can go worse, they do! Since yesterday, and for the next two days, my ISP is having a problem in the 15th district of Paris, which means I’m only connected half of the time at best, with several interruptions per day — I’ve currently no connection as I’m typing this.

Then, as the attack continued, I opened Radio, and modified the parameters for comments, disabling them and automatic e-mail notifications — because this attack was also filling my inbox. I published again yesterday’s item, and now, there is no longer a link to a “Comments” field.

But the attack was still going on, and I continued to receive an e-mail every minute. I guess that the attack was done through a script which ignored that my preferences regarding comments had changed.

Right now, I’m no longer receiving e-mails because I’ve excluded the domain name where they came from — the only thing which was not forged in these e-mails.

But all of this took me time and efforts, which was probably the intention of the attacker.

Several other blogging platforms ask that people register before posting a comment, but this is not possible with Radio, which has only two options: enabling comments or disabling them.

It’s for that reason that I’m taking an extreme measure: I’m disabling comments on this blog. I simply can’t afford to have a thousand of racist comments on this blog.

If you want to tell me something about the subjects I’m writing about, please send me an e-mail (look at the bottom right of every page of this blog to send me a message).

I know this is a drastic measure, but today it’s necessary. If you think you have another solution, please let me know — but not with a comment here

PS #1: The Radio software is maybe not the best one for handling comments, but I’ve started my fourth year using it for this blog and it’s intentional: I’m still happy to pay $40 per year to use this software. I’m using other blogging tools for other purposes, and they still have to learn from Radio in many areas.

PS #2: And guess why Robert Scoble, from Microsoft, is still using Radio for his “Scobleizer” blog? Just because it’s a very good piece of software.

PS#3: It seems that the attacker has switched strategy by now — 10:30 PM in France — and that his script is focusing on trackback links — more than 5,000 as I’m posting this.

Update (July 29,2005): The nice folks at UserLand Software have removed the 5,500 comments and trackback links posted yesterday. Thanks Lawrence!

Now, it remains to be seen if I have also to disable the usage of trackback links.

Update #2 (August 1, 2005): my yesterday’s post, “Software Agents Can Help Time-Stressed Teams” was picked by Slashdot. Less than an hour after appearing there, the vandal who attacked me on July 27 was again at work. This time, he targeted the trackback links. Trackback links are now disabled, and Lawrence Lee cleaned the mess left by the pirate.

But until Radio provides a way to selectively approve comments or trackback links, these features will remain disabled.

Source: Roland Piquepaille, July 28, 2005

Related stories can be found in the following categories.

• Blogs
  
  
• Personal
  
  
• Privacy
  

It’s a well-known fact that GPS devices perform better in rural areas than in urban ones, especially because their signals bounce upon buildings. This is not the case with Wi-Fi networks. So why not applying the concept of triangulation, central to GPS localization, to Wi-Fi? In “One more way to find yourself,” the Boston Globe tells us the story of a start-up company, Skyhook Wireless, which is using Wi-Fi networks to provide location-based services (LBS). When you’re walking or driving, your laptop or PDA can get the ID number of several Wi-Fi access points stored in Skyhook Wireless database, even if the signal is not strong enough to provide a connection. With these IDs, the company will plot a map of where you are. Neat idea, but will it work if people move from an area to another one, taking away their access points with them? Read more…

Let’s start with a diagram comparing the relative performances of the GPS and Wi-Fi signals depending on the area where you are. (Credit: Skyhook Wireless)

Here is a general description of the idea behind the Skyhook Wireless concept.

Their idea: map all of the known WiFi networks in a metropolitan area, then create software that would calculate a user’s location based on the WiFi networks his laptop (or any other WiFi-fluent device, like a PocketPC) could “see” at a given moment. [...] The more networks it can see simultaneously, the more accurate the locational fix. “If you can tune in to five to 10 access points, you can figure your accuracy within 20 to 30 meters,” Morgan says one of the founders.

In a city such as Boston and its suburbs,the company already has identified more than 50,000 Wi-Fi networks, which should be enough to find several access points near your location.

Here is how the system works.

A user of Skyhook’s software doesn’t actually need to log on to any of the WiFi networks to figure her position, and some of the networks may well be password-protected. But every WiFi base station will send out an ID number when hit with a blast of radio-frequency energy from the WiFi card inside a laptop or hand-held computer. And even if the signal is too weak for a laptop to connect to, it can still get the ID, which it then compares to Skyhook’s database and plots on a map.

Below is an illustration showing how the client part of the Skyhook Wireless system works. (Credit: Skyhook Wireless)

Here is how the company summarizes how the client part works: “Wireless device receives signals from Wi-Fi sites in range; Skyhook software compares these signals to its database of geographically known locations; and location data is used to direct safety services, provide driving directions and local information, etc.”

You’ll find larger images of these illustrations in the technology pages of Skyhook Wireless.

This new approach is certainly promising, but the company will need to constantly monitor the Wi-Fi networks to check for new ones or others which move from one location to another.

Anyway, I bet that we’ll see a mix of several technologies to guide us: GPS devices, cellphones triangulation, and LGS based on Wi-Fi networks.

Sources: Scott Kirsner, for the Boston Globe, May 23, 2005; and Skyhook Wireless website

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• Networking
  
  
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According to RFID Journal, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is about to launch a pilot program to track 1,800 inmates using RFID devices. If the test is successful, the technology will be deployed for the 18,000 inmates of the L.A. county jails. With this system, inmates carry a wrist bracelet which issues a signal every two seconds and is caught by RFID readers installed everywhere in the prison. Officers and staff also carry a RFID device attached to their belts. And a central server keeps track in real time of the position of all prisoners and guardians. Besides tracking locations, the system also intends to reduce violence within the jail and to avoid escapes. If this system works as its promoters think, the potential market to equip all federal, state and county jails in the U.S. exceeds $1 billion. Read more…

Tracking prisoners is a great use for RFID tags. If prisons trust RFID technology it’s a wonder why more businesses don’t utilize it. Most still rely on the use of barcode scanners to maintain their inventory records by creating barcodes with barcode software and then printing them out on special barcode printers. One day, the benefits of RFID will most likely overwhelm the use of barcodes in businesses. Until, the debate whether RFID or barcodes is better will continue.

The technology used for this program, the TSI Prism system, is developed and sold by Technology Systems International, Inc. (TSI), a division of Alanco Technologies, Inc.

Now, let’s see briefly what RFID Journal says about the system.

Where the TSI Prism system is in use, every inmate is issued a bracelet when he is processed. Approximately the size of a divers’ watch, the bracelet includes an active RFID tag as well as a bar code if the jail system chooses to use it.

The RFID bracelet sends out a signal every two seconds to RFID readers deployed throughout the facility. The readers send that data to the system’s control center. Officers wear RFID devices similar to the inmates’ bracelets, but have their device attached to their belts. A red button is included with the device for officers to press in an emergency. If that button is pressed, or if an inmate enters a restricted area, an alarm in the control room will alert officers there.

With this system, guards will know if a staff member is in danger, or when an inmate is going off limits. But the program has other goals.

The RFID prison management system is intended to have a three-fold function. It ensures inmates do not escape by issuing an alarm if the bracelet approaches the jail perimeter; it reduces violence by allowing officers to monitor who is congregating with whom; and it allows for administrative functions such as tracking where an inmate is when they are needed.

TSI adds that the system also can reduce costs by eliminating headcounts throughout the day or by reducing insurance costs for prison owners.

For financial information, you can read this Alanco’s press release.

Alanco’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kauffman, commented, “This LASD contract highlights a related new market for TSI PRISM in addition to the approximately $1 Billion potential U.S. Federal and State prison market. With approximately 700,000 inmates currently incarcerated nationwide, the potential U.S. County Jail market for TSI PRISM is in the range of $500 - $700 million.”

The company doesn’t say if this number represents a yearly market or a total amount.

Sources: Claire Swedberg, RFID Journal, May 16, 2005; and various websites

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If you’re inside a building, a GPS receiver cannot find you. But a $40 radio chip from Rosum Corporation will do it, with the help of TV signals. This start-up says that TV signals are 10,000 times stronger than GPS signals according to this article from Mercury News. Right now, these chips are at the prototype stage, but navigation products able to track an individual within a city should be available next year. And Rosum even thinks to integrate these radio chips in future cell phones. Meanwhile, the military envision to use the technology as a full GPS backup system or to track soldiers in dangerous environments. Obviously, privacy advocates warn that the technology could be used to locate and track people without their consent. Considering that one of Rosum’s investors is In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA, we should look at this technology with caution. Read more…

Please read the full article for a complete background. Below are only short excerpts about the technology itself.

James Spilker, one of the original architects of the GPS satellite and founder of Stanford Telecommunications, launched Rosum in 2000 with Stanford University engineering Professor Matthew Rabinowtiz. They realized a synchronization feature in digital and analog television signals could be used for other purposes than to lock the vertical hold for older TVs.

The engineers created a radio receiver chip that could zero in on the TV signal and get the synchronization information. Using precision timing, they figure out how far a TV signal travels before it is picked up by a device equipped with Rosum chips. Next, they compare the measurements against other data that they collect with their own listening stations and then finally calculate the device’s position. The Rosum engineers call this process “multilateration,” which is akin to navigational triangulation.

To set up this system, customers have to put Rosum’s radio chips and the modules that house them into their equipment. These modules, about as big as a matchbook, cost about $40 to make, but could become cheaper and smaller over time with high-volume production. One of the main computational tasks of these devices do is to filter out the wrong signals, such as ghost images that have been reflected off of an object.

Below is a diagram showing the Rosum TV-GPS system components (Credit: Rosum Corporation on this page) about their technology.

The Rosum RTMM is a chipset which can be integrated into the user device to be located or tracked. The RTMM contains a TV tuner module, a digital signal processing module, and other supporting glue logic and memory.

And according to these examples, the technology really works.

Rosum’s vice president of engineering, Greg Flammel, says tests of the technology show it can track someone in the basement floor of the San Francisco Public Library. It also found a person in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district.

So a question remains. If the technology works so well, can it be used by anyone to look after any other person?

Kurt Opsahl, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, said Rosum apparently will operate a location server that will be able to record the movement history of any device being tracked. If the Rosum technology eventually is built into cell phones or other popular gadgets, the government could subpoena Rosum’s customers to track anyone’s movements.

“This is another step toward a surveillance society,” said Opsahl. “They could get your traffic patterns. This is fairly sensitive information.”

Right now, if you want to spy on a specific person without his approval, you need to obtain a court order. So we might be safe from this intrusion for a while…

Sources: Dean Takahashi, Mercury News, May 9, 2005; and various websites

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In this long article, CIO Magazine reports that some cities, such as Indianapolis, are creating regional health information networks to share medical records between doctors and hospitals to save lives and money. In the example of Indianapolis, the “emergency rooms of the city’s five major hospital groups share patient data via an electronic medical network,” and 1,300 doctors have partial access to this network. The first goal of such networks is of course to save lives, but in the case of central Indiana, it also could save more than $500 million per year. Of course, there are many hurdles to overcome, many of them financial: finding money to fund the networks or convincing doctors to invest in new technologies. But the two biggest obstacles are human. First, less than a doctor over five is currently using electronic medical records (EMRs). And obviously, in our world where banks and payroll companies more or less routinely see some of their records leaked to the general public or even criminals, it’s a little bit scary to think about your medical records flying over not so secure networks. But read more…

Let’s focus on the Indianapolis example first.

In Indianapolis, the emergency rooms of the city’s five major hospital groups share patient data via an electronic medical network. And more than 1,300 doctors in the metropolitan area use an electronic messaging service, which is an extension of the ER system, to share laboratory results and other clinical information about their patients.

In Indianapolis, the three hospitals linked up to a pilot electronic medical network saved $26 per ER visit. And as the medical data-sharing system expands, the central Indiana region could save $562 million per year in health-care costs, says Dr. Marc Overhage, CEO of the nonprofit Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE), formed to oversee that region’s data-sharing network.

Of course, it’s not that easy. You need to find money to deploy these networks, and many large departments of health or hospitals in the U.S. put their cash into other projects they think have higher priorities. And there also some local politics. Look at this example.

Doctors aren’t the only barriers to electronic information sharing. Over the past four years, those working to build Indianapolis’s medical data exchange have faced multiple roadblocks. According to Edward Koschka, CIO of the Community Health Network (a group of five hospitals in the Indianapolis area), the clinical messaging project was “doomed for failure” at three points over the past two years. The first time was when hospital CIOs met in June 2002 to talk about collaborating. “Everyone said, Wait a minute — this conflicts with my strategic plan for my hospital,” Koschka recalls. His team devoted three meetings to convincing the CIOs that they needed to collaborate on clinical messaging in order to reduce costs.

It’s also hard to convince doctors to invest money in these regional health networks.

Doctors must pay anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 to buy hardware and software and transfer their paper records to an EMR, says Dr. David Bates, chief of general medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston and a member of the organization working toward a statewide clinical data exchange in Massachusetts. Bates expects that insurers will reward doctors who share electronic records by paying them higher rates once they’ve installed the systems.

And it should be the hardest part, considering that doctors are not really using such systems today.

The biggest obstacle to medical information sharing, however, is the way that most doctors currently practice medicine. Right now, only 5 percent to 15 percent of doctors use electronic medical records (EMRs), and many physicians work in small practices with few extra resources or ties to large medical institutions. Doctors in such small practices don’t have the financial incentive to invest in the expensive hardware and software necessary to link into an electronic medical network.

But even if such medical networks are built, and save lives and money, will you trust them? Will your medical records be safe? Here is a doctor’s answer.

For Dr. Pierson in Whatcom County, the key to guaranteeing patient confidentiality is to offer patients and providers an audit trail of who has looked at the records. Under Whatcom County’s “shared care plan,” doctors and patients and their families have access to computerized records, and patients can note changes in symptoms or medications. If there is a breach in patient privacy, those responsible must be harshly punished, he says. “If someone breaches, they lose their job. There have to be significant penalties.”

So what’s your take? Do you think this kind of medical networks should expand? One personal clue: my answer is yes.

Source: Susannah Patton, CIO Magazine, March 1, 2005 Issue

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You might remember that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in October 2004 the usage of a computer chip for humans, which can be inserted under our skin (read this Associated Press story to refresh your memory.) Maybe it doesn’t sound like a good idea to you, but some people take their jobs very seriously. John D. Halamka, the CIO of both the Boston’s CareGroup Health System and the Harvard Medical School, decided to take the plunge. Health Data Management reports that he’s now a RFID-Enabled CIO. He was successfully implanted with a VeriChip in the arm in December 2004 during a painless, 15-minute procedure. He said that RFID readers can identify him even if he wears several layers of clothing. He added he wanted to check how the chip could be used in future medical applications, such as retrieving information from a nonresponsive patient or checking if a medication or procedure was given to the correct person. Read more…

Here are some selected excerpts from the Health Data Management article.

John Halamka, M.D., does not have a chip on his shoulder. He has a chip in his shoulder.

Halamka, CIO at Boston’s CareGroup Healthcare System, has become the first volunteer to test an implantable radio frequency identification chip for medical use. The VeriChip, from Delray Beach, Fla.-based Applied Digital, was approved in October by the Food and Drug Administration for medical use in humans. In December, it was classified as a Class II medical device with special controls.

But why did he accept this implantation of a chip inside his body?

After Halamka met with VeriChip officials in November, he volunteered to evaluate the device and share his assessment with the vendor and the health care industry. He was implanted with the grain-sized chip on December 22, in what he called a painless, 15-minute procedure.

“The implantation required local anesthesia to a two-inch area of my arm between my elbow and shoulder,” he said Wednesday in an interview with Mobile Health Data. “The chip was inserted under my skin–between the fascia and the muscle. I can’t feel it.”

This CIO is not the only guinea pig in the U.S., but apparently, he’s the first person to get that this implant for medical purposes.

Nearly 40 people across the United States have been implanted with a VeriChip and are testing the device, said Richard Seelig, M.D., vice president of medical applications at Applied Digital. These volunteers, however, are using the system for identification and security access applications — not health care, he adds.

And just in case you would be tempted by a VeriChip, how much will it cost to get one?

Applied Digital will begin marketing the VeriChip system to clinicians and provider organizations next month, Seelig says. It will be classified as a prescription medical device and require a physician to perform the implantation.

The vendor will sell the chips to patients for $200 and the readers to health care organizations for $650, Seelig adds. The cost of the implantation will be established by a patient’s physician.

For more information about the company behind the Verichip, Applied Digital Solutions, you can check its website — if you enjoy Macromedia Flash sites — or go directly to this plain HTML page. You can even get a a $50 discount by filling this pre-registration form, aptly named Get Chipped™.

Finally, I want to reassure you: this implanted chip will not ruin your life. According to this short article from the South Florida Business Journal, “Halamka has since climbed several mountains, including Mount Washington in sub-freezing temperatures without any restrictions.”

Now I have two questions for you. Do you think such a chip could some day save your life? And if you answer is yes, would you be ready to accept such an implant?

Sources: Health Data Management, January 21, 2005; and various websites

Related stories can be found in the following categories.

• Medicine
  
  
• Pervasive Computing
  
  
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• RFID
  

I’m almost certain that some of you experimented some problems at security counters before boarding a plane. You were asked to remove your shoes or your belt — while your laptop was left unattended on the other side of the counter. How frustrating! But I have some good news for you. In “Functional Fashion Helps Some Through Airport Checkpoints,” the Washington Post (free registration) reports these incidents are now so frequent that retailers are offering new products — such as bras and shoes — labeled as ‘airport friendly.’ In fact, a Google search on the ‘airport friendly’ subject returns more than 22,000 results! Read more on this ‘fashion trend’…

Here is a general introduction from the Washington Post.

In this era of tightened airport security, retailers are coming to the aid of the aggravated traveler, offering new products — such as bras and shoes — designed to get passengers through the checkpoints without the indignity of a pat-down.

Shoemakers Johnston & Murphy, Florsheim and Rockport sell dozens of styles without metal shanks in the soles and market them to frequent fliers. Florsheim identifies the styles with tags that look like passports labeled “airport friendly” inside the shoebox.

And many airline passengers are now searching, either online or in stores, for ‘airport friendly’ shoes or clothing. They don’t want to be pulled aside for physical pat-downs.

More than 300 passengers have complained to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that the pat-down procedures are embarrassing and invasive because they involve screeners touching people near sensitive body areas, often to inspect bras and belts. The agency modified its pat-down procedures yesterday, allowing women to place their arms at their sides instead of holding them out during inspection.

Even if passengers do not set off the metal detector, the TSA warns that passengers may be pulled aside for more screening. Typically, passengers who buy tickets at the last minute or buy one-way trips will automatically be selected. Screeners also may choose passengers at random for additional screening, no matter what they are wearing.

So what are your options for finding metal-free shoes or accessories? Here are some suggestions from the Washington Post.

Many men’s dress shoes and women’s pumps contain steel because it adds stability, shoe retailers say. Few women’s shoes with heels are free of metal. Online retailers such as Shoedini.com and Zappos.com have created sections devoted to shoes that will pass through airport security, but the selection for women is small, consisting of Ugg boots, sneakers and sandals.

“Manufacturers need to address the needs of women to get through airports,” said Tom Casale, founder of AirportFriendly.com, a Web site that sells travel-related gadgets.

Below are two examples of accessories you can wear to avoid to be physically screened.

Now, I have some questions for you? Have you changed the way you dress when you have to travel by plane? And do you search for the ‘airport friendly’ label when you shop for new shoes or other clothing accessories?

Sources: Sara Kehaulani Goo, The Washington Post, December 10, 2004; and various web sites

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This is almost certain, according to Ian Pearson, a futurologist working for British Telecom. In fifteen years, local area networks will be replaced by body area networks. As writes BBC News Online, “when technology gets personal,” you can expect a “pervasive ambient world” where “chips are everywhere.” Not only we’ll be surrounded by intelligent objects in the streets, but we’ll wear clothes made of nano-engineered smart fabrics or we’ll carry implants. Pearson thinks that we’ll use wearable technology that runs on body heat such as intelligent electronic contact lenses functioning as TV screens when we are in the subway for instance. Of course, this raises interesting questions about our privacy. Pearson adds that security should be integrated into the design of these future devices. He’s obviously right, but as usually, making money will always have a higher priority than protecting privacy. Read more…

Here are the opening paragraphs of the BBC News Online article.

In 2020, whipping out your mobile phone to make a call will be quaintly passé. By then phones will be printed directly on to wrists, or other parts of the body, says Ian Pearson, BT’s resident futurologist. It’s all part of what’s known as a “pervasive ambient world”, where “chips are everywhere”

Inanimate objects will start to interact with us: we will be surrounded — on streets, in homes, in appliances, on our bodies and possibly in our heads — by things that “think”. Forget local area networks - these will be body area networks.

I’ve already covered MP3 jackets here, but there’s more to expect from “smart fabrics.”

These “smart fabrics” have come about through advances in nano- and micro-engineering — the ability to manipulate and exploit materials at micro or molecular scale.

At the nanoscale, materials can be “tuned” to display unusual properties that can be exploited to build faster, lighter, stronger and more efficient devices and systems.

The textile and clothing industry has been one of the first to exploit nanotechnology in quite straightforward ways. Many developments are appearing in real products in the fields of medicine, defence, healthcare, sports, and communications.

Of course, wearable technology raises important questions regarding our privacy.

If our clothing, skin, and “personal body networks” do the talking and the monitoring, everywhere we go, we have to think about what that means for our concept of privacy. Mr Pearson picks up the theme, pointing out there are a lot of issues humans have to iron out before we become “cyborgian”. His main concern is “privacy”.

“We are looking at electronics which are really in deep contact with your body and a lot of that information you really don’t want every passer-by to know. “So we have to make sure we build security in this. If you are wearing smart make-up, where electronics are controlling the appearance, you don’t want people hacking in and writing messages on your forehead.”

Will he be heard? Time will tell.

Finally, for more information about Pearson’s thoughts, you can read all the articles he published on this British Telecom web site, “Views of the future.” My only regret is that these articles are not dated — at least explicitly.

Sources: Jo Twist, BBC News Online, December 6, 2004; and British Telecom ‘Views of the future’ web site

Related stories can be found in the following categories.

• Future
  


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In the UK, where the recent Queen’s speech about national identity cards generated lots of — mostly negative — coverage, another potentially invasive technology is being tested with very few criticism. For example, several police departments are now testing a 3D biometric facial recognition software from Aurora, a company based near Northampton. The use of facial recognition “is rapidly becoming the third forensic science alongside fingerprints and DNA,” according to a police officer who talked to BBC News for “How your face could open doors.” The company claims its software is so sophisticated it can make the distinction between identical twins. And if the civil liberties groups continue to be neutral, this technology could also be deployed in airports or by private companies. Even banks are thinking to put cameras in their ATM machines to identify you. The good thing is that you will not have to remember your PIN. On the other hand, as with every new technology, is it safe for your privacy and is it possible to hack the system? Read more…

Here is the introduction from BBC News Magazine.

The ethical debate about identity cards has been reignited following the Queen’s Speech, but its facial recognition technology is being used in other areas. Police are hailing it as a forensic breakthrough and a new “foolproof” 3D version could eventually become a routine procedure at cash machines or workplaces.

Once the preserve of science fiction, biometric facial recognition has now become a reality. Despite its association with the controversy of identity cards, it is predicted to become part of everyday life.

But is the technology ready?

As companies become more security conscious, the process of having our faces scanned is set to become more commonplace. And new technology which can produce this in a more accurate 3D form could accelerate this trend

A firm which has developed the 3D software, Aurora, claims it is sophisticated enough to distinguish between identical twins.

The brave BBC reporter tested the software for us.

I underwent the procedure myself and it only took a few seconds. A camera used a near-infrared light to put a virtual mesh on my face 16 times. It merged these into one unique template and calculated all the measurements of my features.

Now, the real questions are to know if the technology gives accurate results and if it’s possible to hack the system.

The government’s biometric trials for passports and identity cards have reportedly experienced a 10% error rate in face recognition. The Home Office denies this and says that in any case its trials were only testing the procedures and the public response, not the technology.

Aurora claims its software eliminates these alleged errors. Founder Hugh Carr-Archer says: “We can’t say it’s 100% but we’ve done tests and have a zero failure rate.

According to the police, the 3D technology is still too expensive to be widely deployed, but it continues to use successfully 2D images.

It works by scanning an image of a suspect’s face - such as a CCTV picture taken from a crime scene or a drawing based on eye-witness accounts. This produces a 2D map of the face which marks attributes such as the distance between the eyes.

Then the computer uses an algorithm to compare the data of this face to thousands of others on a database of offenders - people who have ever been arrested or charged. Within seconds it lists the matches in order of relevance, just like a web search engine.

Of course, this technology is not approved by the justice and can’t be used in courts. But it’s used by the police to detect potential suspects, which says the technology is really effective.

The West Yorkshire Police says 70% of images searched have produced useful intelligence worth researching further, with two or three arrests a week as a result.

So what’s your opinion? Is this technology threatening our privacy or not? Do you like the idea to be filmed and having your image compared to millions of others just to get $50 at a cash machine? Post your comments below.

Sources: Tom Geoghegan, BBC News Magazine, November 25, 2004; and various websites

Related stories can be found in the following categories.

• Forensics
  


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When your newspapers write something about RFID tags, it’s almost always about Wal-Mart or how these tags are threatening our privacy. But they often miss the important innovations brought by this technology. For example, in Florida, RFID drives highway traffic reports on more than 200 miles of toll roads. Or take DHL, which is tracking fashion with RFID tags on more than 70 million garments in its French distribution center. Elsewhere, in Texas, 28,000 students test an e-tagging system which promises better security for them. And what about RFID tags which could prevent surgical errors and have just been approved in the U.S last week? So, what do you think? Are these innovations promising a better future for us or not? Read more…

Let’s start with a tag which promises to reduce the number of surgery errors — which apparently kills several thousands people every year.

Here is what the Associated Press writes about the device.

A radio frequency tag that patients can affix like a bandage to ensure doctors perform the right surgery on the right person won government approval Friday.

The tag, manufactured by SurgiChip Inc. of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., aims to prevent wrongful surgeries that records show kill thousands of patients a year.

But don’t be afraid: even if the tags are scanned during several times before actual surgery, you always have to confirm if the information is correct — except if you’re unconscious.

Tracking garments is obviously less important for your life than avoiding a surgery error, but here is what DHL is doing in France.

DHL Solutions Fashion, a global logistics service provider for clothing manufacturers and retailers, is offering the French fashion industry a way to test item-level RFID tagging of garments in order to help speed the delivery of their products as well as enable shipments to be tracked through the supply chain.

During the summer, DHL worked alongside NBG-ID, RFID specialist based in Cavaillon, France, to deploy an RFID network in a 500-square-meter room at DHL’s Paris distribution center. In July, DHL ran a trial of its new RFID capabilities with one of its customers. Now, the company says it is looking to offer its RFID services to other customers looking to incorporate RFID into their operations.

And don’t think it’s a small experiment.

DHL Solutions Fashion’s Paris distribution center serves as a hub between a number of different fashion clothing suppliers, mostly in France, as well as boutique operators, also mostly in France. Each year, 70 million garments pass through the center on their way to wholesale suppliers.

And what about controlling car traffic — which has been already done elsewhere?

With an eye to improving traffic management and information access, the Orlando/Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA) is deploying an RFID-based traffic-monitoring system in central Florida. The system will use roadside RFID readers to collect signals from transponders already installed in about 1 million E-Pass and SunPass customer vehicles. E-Pass (used on roads operated by the expressway authority) and SunPass (used on the Florida’s Turnpike system) are both automatic toll payment methods used in central Florida.

Like the DHL deployment, it’s also a very significant one.

The trial phase of this system will last about two years, but after that time the system could be expanded to additional state roads in central Florida and other reader sites along roads used during the trial. The OOCEA is deploying 128 RFID readers for the initial phase of the testing. The first readers were installed mid-2004 by the FDOT, with project completion by May 1, 2005. Altogether, the system will cover about 228 miles of toll roads and nontoll state highways.

Finally, let’s look at how RFID technology could prevent kidnapping in Texas — and elsewhere.

Hoping to prevent the loss of a child through kidnapping or more innocent circumstances, a few schools have begun monitoring student arrivals and departures using technology similar to that used to track livestock and pallets of retail shipments.

Here in a growing middle- and working-class suburb just north of Houston, the effort is undergoing its most ambitious test. The Spring Independent School District is equipping 28,000 students with ID badges containing computer chips that are read when the students get on and off school buses. The information is fed automatically by wireless phone to the police and school administrators.

Now that I’ve described several examples of how RFID tags could improve our lives, what do you think? Are you convinced that this technology will be used for a better or a worst future? Please post your comments below.

Sources: Catherine Ilic, RFID Journal, November 15, 2004; Claire Swedberg, RFID Journal, November 17, 2004; Matt Richtel, The New York Times, via CNET News.com, November 17, 2004; Associated Press, via Mercury News, November 20, 2004

Related stories can be found in the following categories.

• Innovation
  


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• Wearable Technology