onClick Biometrics in touch

A little bit here, a little bit there

It's been a busy week, and not looking to letting up any time soon. Hopefully this in turn means some good onClick news being announced soon. :-)

With that, I will just leave you with something to read. Here is a sampling of everything going on lately: Identity theft, Passports, US-VISIT, the industry forecasts, and tagging livestock.

Identity theft - toughening up in Missouri
The wave of passport change - UK
US-VISIT - the future of the biometric deals
The biometric market - in 2004.
RFID put to new use- tagging livestock to prevent disease

Since there isn't a biometric to identify a 'Moo'...

Yet another use for RFID and biometrics: Mad cow.

A national livestock ID system is being backed by the Agriculture secretary to track animals and minimize disease outbreaks.
The idea is to use RFID, although it has also been suggested to use retinal recognition.

RFID - A kindred spirit.

RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, is very similar to biometrics in its purpose.

Its main use is to identify individual items and track them as needed. When an RFID tag is placed on a product in a store, it creates an easy way to determine inventory and expiration dates. They can be set up to have inventory be automatically reordered when stock is low, so employees can spend their time doing other things, like helping customers...

The RFID tag consists of an antenna and microchip, and when waved within a certain distance of the reader, it sends the requested information. It is different from bar codes because the scanner does not have to "see" the tag to read it.

Additionally, RFID is being used in money transactions, such as Speedpass at ExxonMobil.

So why talk about RFID in a biometrics blog?

Together, they are creating an 'electronic wallet' society. They each have their advantages, and when combined, they make the ultimate secure and convenient tool for any kind of transaction.

You can find out all about RFID technology here. They have an easy to read FAQs page.