European Biometrics Association wraps up Research Projects Conference 2018

The European Biometrics Association (EAB) has issued the EAB RPC 2018 Conference Report (PDF) following the conclusion of its Research Projects Conference 2018 in Darmstadt, Germany.

Organized in collaboration with the EC-DG-JRC (European Commission-Directorate-General-Joint Research Centre) for the fifth consecutive year, the conference hosted 17 EU research projects with a combined budget of EUR 75 million. It also occurred at a time when several issues related to identity and biometrics, including the recent Facebook privacy scandal, the introduction of GDPR, and migration and border challenges, have taken on increased importance.

The conference was chaired by Javier Galbally of the EC-DG-JRC, and was attended by nearly 200 participants from 26 countries.

Rasa Karbauskaite of FRONTEX’ Research and Development Unit said in a keynote address that biometrics and interoperability are important to EU border management and internal security, and that there is a need for international standards on the area. She reported on FRONTEX’ harmonization efforts, analysis of the need for mobile border solutions, the problem that face morphing presents border control, and upcoming FRONTEX pilots.

Krum Garkov, the Executive Director of eu-LISA, spoke about the importance of defining standards and adhering to best practices to facilitate border management. He also shared observations on the need for technology used at borders to meet different environmental challenges in different parts of the EU, and the need to avoid technology silos.

Dr. Els Kindt from KU Leaven’s Centre for IT and IP Law (CITIP) delivered a keynote presentation on the legal aspects of biometrics, and in particular the role of biometrics in GDPR. She noted the definition of “biometric data” according to GDPR, and an apparent contradiction with Recital 51, which allows the collection of raw face image data. Dr. Kindt also joined the EAB board during the conference.

The conference included a presentation on the LIGHTest project, and a round table discussion on privacy in the context of GDPR. The EAB unveiled its new strategic plan, which Biometric Update recently discussed with new EAB CEO Michiel van der Veen, at the conference.

Next year’s event will be co-located with the IEEE BIOSIG conference, and take place September 16 and 17 in Darmstadt.

Article Topics

biometrics research  |  conference  |  EAB  |  European Association for Biometrics