Turks and Caicos working to introduce biometric surveillance legislation

June 19, 2017
Stephen Mayhew

Earlier this month Turks and Caicos Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson revealed that the government is working to introduce biometric surveillance legislation that will aid the police in solving crimes committed on the islands. According to a report by Turks and Caicos Weekly News, the entire populace will be entered in the biometric database. “We will have legislation in place for that, it would be absolutely nonsensical to just do part of the population, we must fingerprint everyone,” explained Robinson. “The

Hitachi develops breath-alcohol detection device with facial recognition

June 13, 2017
Justin Lee

Hitachi has developed a prototype system for a new breath-alcohol detection device with facial recognition capabilities. Since developing a prototype with Honda R&D Co. in March 2016, Hitachi has been conducting further research to increase the reliability of the sensor, reduce its size, and develop application software. In March 2017, Hitachi conducted field tests involving employees at three sales offices of Hitachi Capital Auto Lease to verify the practicality of the new breath-alcohol detection device — namely, to figure out

Washington has become the third state to pass biometrics privacy law

June 5, 2017
Justin Lee

Following in the footsteps of Illinois and Texas, the state of Washington has become the third state to pass legislation regulating the commercial use of biometric identifiers, according to a report by Lexology. Governor of the State of Washington, Jay Inslee, recently signed into law House Bill 1493, which will become effective on July 23. Illinois previously enacted the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) while Texas passed the Texas Statute on the Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier. According

Helios and Matheson Analytics, RedZone licenses facial recognition from IsItYou

June 5, 2017
Justin Lee

Helios and Matheson Analytics and RedZone have acquired global licensing rights to IsItYou’s facial recognition technology in the field of crime and terrorism. RedZone plans to integrate RedZone Map’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology and proprietary real-time crime database with IsItYou’s facial recognition technology. Through the integration of the two technologies, RedZone Map users will be able to identify individuals whose image they are able to capture on the user’s smartphone camera or video, if the identification can be collected through

AI firm BrainChip Holdings raises US$4.5M in private placement

May 31, 2017
Stephen Mayhew

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies developer BrainChip Holdings Ltd. has successfully raised AUS$6.0 million (US$4.5 million) through a share placement. The placement, which was oversubscribed, was supported by BrainChip’s existing shareholders and new institutions with Foster Stockbroking acting as sole lead manager. BrainChip will use the raised capital to support its ongoing operational expenses and expand its sales and marketing efforts for two key new products to be launched later this year. “This capital raise will support the

Crossmatch palm scanner selected for UK Home Office’s FABrIC program

May 24, 2017
Justin Lee

Northrop Grumman, a security firm and a technology integrator for the UK Home Office, will upgrade the current criminal booking solution for the department’s Forensic and Biometric Interim Capability program (FABrIC) with the Crossmatch L Scan 1000 palm scanner. By December, more than 375 enrollment and capture stations across the UK will be upgraded incorporating Crossmatch Livescan devices, which allow for high-quality capture of fingerprint and palm print images. In 2000, Northrop Grumman replaced the ink-and-paper method of capturing fingerprints

Biometrics expert honored for work in assisting with murder investigation

May 23, 2017
Stephen Mayhew

According to a report by MSUToday, Anil Jain, a University Distinguished Professor of computer science and engineering at Michigan State University, has been honored by the Lansing Police Department (LPD) and the Michigan State University Police Department (MSUPD) for his work assisting with a murder investigation in 2016. Jain and two members of his biometrics team, post-doctoral student Kai Cao and recently graduated doctoral student Sunpreet Arora, were awarded a Civilian Citation by the LPD “for meritorious actions which significantly

Border biometrics a work in progress, former FBI executive says

May 19, 2017
Chris Burt

Finding the right mix of biometrics to best secure America’s southern border is a work in progress, according to KeyLogic VP of National Security and Chief Information Officer J. Kevin Reid. His extensive career in IT engineering, financial and program management with CJIS and other FBI projects culminated with Reid serving as the Assistant Director of the IT Infrastructure Division of the FBI. He now helps KeyLogic provide high-end engineering, professional and research services to 13 agencies across the federal

UK government seeking fingerprint technology for law enforcement

May 19, 2017
Justin Lee

The UK government is looking to meet with biometric technology firms to help determine existing marketplace capacity to provide fingerprint devices and capture software, which will be used by frontline law enforcement, according to a report by Government Computing. The move comes a few months after the Home Office announced it would provide more than £26 million in additional police transformation funding in support of 28 projects or technology plans over the next three years, including a joint forensics and

Security cameras in the UK will scan thousands of soccer fans’ faces in June

May 15, 2017
Kayla Matthews

This is a guest post by Kayla Matthews, a biometrics and technology writer. From airport body scanners to metal detectors at museums, we’ve become accustomed to increasingly advanced forms of security in public places. However, security officials in the United Kingdom will take things to the next level by using security cameras with face scanners. Learn how this particular advancement might affect human safety, as well as how the security field has changed in recent years. Football Fans and Others