From the Telegraph

Facial recognition passport gates shut down

Border gates at Manchester Airport that rely on facial recognition technology had to be shut down after they failed to recognise that a couple had swapped passports.

The incident occured on 8 February and the gates were out of action for three days while immigration authorities investigated.

It is understood that the couple accidentally mixed up their passports and did not deliberately attempt to breach security. They were stopped by an official who was supervising the system and released after their immigration status was verified.

Brodie Clark, head of Border Force, the part of the UK Border Agency responsible for passport control, said: "There was no breach of security or immigration control.

"The E-gates were temporarily suspended whilst an investigation was carried out."

"The gates have now re-opened and we will continue to monitor their performance to ensure they operate safely and securely."

The gates are designed to speed up passport control, and work by comparing travellers' faces to photographs stored on a microchip embedded in every UK passport issued since 2006.

Since the first trials at Manchester Airport in 2008, they have been rolled out to other major airports including Heathrow and Gatwick. Mr Clark said that Border Force's investigation of the failure concluded that other installations were not affected.

The three-day shut down is just the latest problem to face the gates.

In December by John Vine, the Independent Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency urged a rethink on facial recognition. His inspection found that the system often broke down and that the "effectiveness of the facial recognition gates is in danger of being compromised both by the unreliability of the technology and the frustration of staff towards their use".


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FROM ENGADGET

AIRPrint performs ranged fingerprint scanning, won't let the terrorists win
By Michael Gorman  posted Jan 18th 2011 7:12AM

While ears may be the new biometric du jour, Advanced Optical Systems (AOS) is doing its best to keep fingerprints as the preferred method for identifying enemies of the state. The company has built a fingerprint scanner with the ability to accurately read a print up to two meters away, and our military views the system as a means to reduce the risk to soldiers at security checkpoints all over the world. The AIRPrint system is a significant upgrade over previous biometric security systems because it allows a person's identity to be confirmed by military personnel from behind the safety of a blast wall or armored vehicle, which keeps our serviceman out of harm's way. AIRPrint uses a source of polarized light and two 1.3 megapixel cameras (one to receive vertically polarized light and another to receive horizontally polarized light) in order to produce an accurate fingerprint. The prototype is able to scan and verify a print in under five seconds, but the device can presently only process one finger at a time, and that finger must stay a fixed distance from the cameras to get a precise reading. Despite these current limitations, AOS claims that soon the equipment will be capable of reading five prints simultaneously while a person is moving toward or away from the device. The system will be ready for market in the third quarter of this year, which is bad news for terrorists and soccer hooligans, but a windfall for Big Brother.

FROM POPULAR SCIENCE SHILLS

What's Next: Bodywave's Scanner Tracks Brain Waves to Keep You Sharp

Game your way to razor-sharp attention skills. North Carolina– based Freer Logic’s new biofeedback device, the Bodywave, trains you to become aware of your brain function, so you are better able to regain focus when you drift off at work, lose your steam on the back nine, or nearly fall asleep at the wheel. It’s the first brain-wave scanner to be worn on an arm or leg, forgoing clunky headgear.

The Bodywave works by tracking your brain-wave activity as you play games or engage in virtual-reality simulations. When synapses fire, they release electrical pulses that move through the body. The iPhone-size device uses three carbon contacts to tap the signal through the skin, while software filters out electrical interference from moving muscles, particularly the heart. The system comes with software, such as games or virtual-reality training scenarios, and it prevents you from engaging in any program until you’re in the zone. To determine focus, the Bodywave looks for brain-activity patterns indicative of attention, including beta-level waves from 12 to 30 hertz, which neurologists accept as a sign of concentration.

The system is currently used to help coach kids with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and has also been adopted as a virtual-reality training tool in nuclear power plants. In the future, expect similar sensors in real-world scenarios.

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The Los Angelas Times

Shut up and be scanned
The airport security devices may be intrusive, but they're also a necessary evil.
Editorial
November 17, 2010

Would you rather pose for a nude photograph or be groped by a federal employee? To hear many fliers these days, those are the only two choices for air passengers as the Transportation Security Administration installs full-body scanners at airports and introduces a more invasive pat-down technique that some have likened to sexual molestation. We're not wild about the new methods either, but they're a necessary evil in the era of suicide bombers who board planes with chemical explosives in their underwear.

Objections to the enhanced procedures are many and varied. Some center on the scanners, which are increasingly replacing metal detectors at airport terminals, and for good reason — old-style detectors can't find the plastic or chemical bombs favored by today's terrorists. Yet the new scanners effectively peer through passengers' clothing, earning them the nickname "porno scanners" from such groups as We Won't Fly, a grass-roots consumer organization. Passengers fear that the nearly nude images will be saved and disseminated, or they are just uncomfortable with the idea of a security screener peering at their bodies. Others fret that the scanners pose a health risk. And then there are those, such as software engineer John Tyner, who refuse the scans, only to be confronted with an even worse alternative: the new TSA pat-down, which leaves no area of the body unexplored.


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From DVICE

Big brother trailers can nail drivers for five different offences


If you're sick of those red light and speed cameras that seem to be popping up everywhere, you should hope that your local community doesn't start rolling out these super snooper trailers that are starting to pop up in Europe.



In addition to the familiar speed camera, the trailers have a 3D camera that can determine whether you're wearing your seat belt, and if you're tailgating the car ahead of you. If that wasn't intrusive enough, the trailers also read your license plate, and can figure out if your registration is expired or insurance is lapsed.



The project is called ASSET, which stands for Advanced Safety and driver Support for Essential road Transit. That's quite a mouthful, but the project's website is even worse, with lots of mumbo-jumbo about "Holistic System Design" and "Natural Mobility", but nothing about how much money this is expected to bring in.



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FROM PhysOrg
New scanner aims to make liquids on planes safer

October 14, 2010 By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN , Associated Press Writer

Stephen Surko, program manager of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency, explains during a demonstration in Albuquerque, N.M., on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010, the workings of a new machine developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory that can detect whether a passenger is carrying liquid explosives. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

The latest airport security technology being developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory could open the door for airline passengers to bring their soft drinks and full-size shampoo bottles on board again.

Homeland security officials put the latest generation of the bottled liquid scanner to the test Wednesday during a demonstration at Albuquerque's international airport. Everything from bottled water and champagne to shampoo and pink liquid laxatives were scanned to make sure explosives weren't hiding inside.

The device, about the size of a small refrigerator, uses magnetic resonance to read the liquids' molecular makeup, even when the substances are in metal containers. Within 15 seconds, a light on top of the simple-looking metal box flashes red or green, depending on whether there's danger.

The device is so sensitive it can tell the difference between red and white wine, and between different types of soda.

"What we're doing is really looking for the real dangers, like liquid homemade explosives," said Stephen Surko, program manager of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency. "We're just real excited at the progress we're making."

The technology is still a few years from being deployed in the nation's airports, where fears of liquid explosives have stopped passengers from bringing more than small amounts of lotions and other toiletries in their carry-on bags. Surko said the lab will have to partner with a manufacturer, and the machines will have to go through testing and certification.

With the bottled liquid scanner, Surko said Transportation Security Administration officers would be able to quickly check the liquids that are allowed in carry-on luggage. If the technology is successfully implemented, it may eliminate the need for passengers to stuff all their toiletry bottles - each no larger than 3.4 ounces - into a single quart-sized plastic bag.



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School installs £9,000 facial recognition cameras to stop students turning up late... and teachers could be next target


The Mail Online
Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:36 CDT



The £9,000 Face Register system monitors more than 200 sixth-form students at the Sir Christopher Hatton School in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. 

Two cameras produce a 3D scan of pupils and identifies faces using minute measurements of eyes, noses and face shape. 

The software can even recognise students as they grow and their features change. 

It monitors and records students' attendance and enables the school to force anyone arriving late to make up the time at the end of the day.

The school was the first in Northamptonshire, and one of 12 across the country, to install the technology. 

Another 18 schools nationwide have expressed strong interest in the system, developed by Northampton company Aurora Computer Services. 

Kelli Foster, the school's sixth form head, said: 'The technology is just incredible. 

'Before, each pupil had to sign in and out of reception by filling in a form but now it takes under ten seconds to gather so much more information. 

'When they use the machines, they have to enter their PIN and when their faces have been matched up they select whether they are signing in or out and the reason why. 

'This information is then sent to our registration system which stores it as a record so we can track each time they come in and out of school and the common room. 





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