onClick Biometrics in touch

Is it in you?

With RFID finding its place among consumers far quicker than biometrics, it's also beginning to find its place IN consumers.

A few months back I read an article in a gadget magazine about bar regulars getting a chip implanted in their arm to become a 'VIP'. With that they are able to order drinks and walk in without payment or cover, only to be scanned quickly and billed later. It seemed like much just to get your drink on.

But maybe a longer lasting and more practical use of the implanted RFID tag would be for pulling up medical records, to minimize the chances that patients are mistreated or misdiagnosed. It definitely has to be the most controversial and debatable use of any RFID or biometric technology thus far, considering that you would permanently have a foreign object embedded in you.

Identity badge worn under skin approved for use in health care.

Hide and Seek isn't fun anymore!

Just as we begin tagging our cattle for better meat tracking, the UK has begun tagging its children for better.. uh... loss prevention?
Apparently, not only can you tell where they are, but a biometric feature allows them to identify medical reading like the heart rate to determine emotional states, or whether the device has been placed on another kid. Most likely though, when you find your kid is breathing heavier and their heart rate has spiked, you'll rush to their rescue, only to find out that they really didn't study for that math final after all. Or maybe they just received their first kiss. Wow. Wouldn't that get annoying. Anytime you experience a highly stressful event, there's mom!
I was amused by this quote referring to the competition:
The device we are up against in the US is called Wherify, which is simply a chunky bracelet locked on to the child somewhere.
A chunky bracelet locked on somewhere. Sounds like a blast!
New satellite tag to protect children against abduction.

RFID update

RFID is making headway quicker than biometrics have been able to. Here's just one of the RFID implementations going on these days.

NASA’s deployment will be the first in the world to use the United States government’s Government Smart Card Interoperability Specification (GSC-IS) standard. This specification is the foundation of the federal government’s effort to develop a ubiquitous smart card interoperability framework that enables large-scale deployment of smart card technology across federal agencies.

NASA launches access system.

Finally putting that pesky thing called skin to good use.

Huh? Human skin as a transmission medium...

Skinplex the new RFID?

What's up with that RFID thing?

I haven't spent much time on RFID lately, so here's a scattering of news blips from this week's InformationWeek:
MIT= RFID + Rx. MIT's Auto-ID Labs is studying how radio-frequency identification and related technologies could be used by the health-care industry for tracking pharmaceuticals in the supply chain and other efforts...
HP, Sun ramp up RFID services. Hewlett-Packard will start marketing consulting services for companies crafting RFID technology strategies to ship products from their supply chains...

The cure for the common password

According to a survey by the organisers of the Infosec security conference, 80 per cent of those surveyed said they were fed up with using passwords and would prefer some kind of smart card or biometric device for authentication to secure systems, whether at home or home.

Now I'm sure they meant home or office, because people are seeking ways to get rid of those nasty passwords everywhere now. What's more is that 71 percent of these people gave them up when asked!
Office workers sick of passwords.

What's on tap for today...

It's Tuesday, so that means From Face to Fingerprint will be on VoiceAmerica. Today the focus will be on smart cards and RFID.
2 PM Pacific Time; 3 PM Mountain; 4 PM Central; 5 PM Eastern.

RFID still standing strong

In the midst of all the negative energy towards RFID, Albertsons must be very sure of themselves to be making an announcement of their support at this time. Not that their decision may affect consumers, but the lack of understanding and the concern over privacy may cloud naysayers' acceptance of any type of RFID rollout.

From this week's eWeek:

Albertsons Inc., the $36 billion food and drug retailer, said last week that its top 100 suppliers must participate in its radio-frequency identification program by April 2005. Albertsons' RFID strategy is similar to those of the Department of Defense, Metro Group, Target, and Wal-Mart stores. Albertsons' suppliers will need to tag all cases and pallets with RFID tags. Albertsons is an active member of EPCglobal, which oversees standards for RFID.

Although mentioned above, Metro Group and Target have ceased using their tags in the cards.

Setback for RFID

RFID is not being well received by the consumer. Whether the mindset will change any time soon is a mystery. There seem to be some strong opinions on this matter.

Whatever the motivation, it's clear that industry is finally getting the message: RFID is fine for pallets of goods in a warehouse, but not for people. In an age of ubiquitous surveillance cameras, government tracking systems, and biometrics, consumers dislike the idea that they can be tracked via packages of cream cheese, razor blades, and shampoo.

Shutting shopping bags to prying eyes.

RFID Soccer

From Gizmodo:
Somewhere in Germany are researchers working feverishly to be the first to come out with an RFID soccer ball.
Not only that, but they want to put the tags in the player's clothing. They expect this will help referees, as well as create a real time report of player's paths, accelerations, speeds and what not.

Here is the article translated in english.