Biometrics touted for safe live events and flying amid pandemic as workplace solutions roll out

Technologies based on or utilizing biometrics like facial and voice recognition continue to be launched and implemented as organizations attempt to continue operating through the pandemic, with Pangea, Daon, Creative Realities and Sonde Health making announcements. Entertainment venues are also looking to resume welcoming fans safely back, which Idex CEO Vince Graziani says will require biometric authentication.

With the announcement that a vaccine for COVID-19 may soon be available, Billboard reports that Ticketmaster could potentially provide technology for event organizers to be able to require proof of vaccination from fans attending a concert or big-league sporting event, if necessary, through use of a biometric app like that offered by Clear.

Billboard also mentions IBM’s Digital Health Pass as a possible third-party health information component, which would have to be integrated with Ticketmaster’s digital ticket app and a vaccine deliverer like Labcorp and CVS Minute Clinic.

Regional authorities would set the standard for how long prior to the event the test would have to be taken, or if a vaccine would be required, and Ticketmaster would be given confirmation through the health app whether the individual is approved to attend or not, without receiving any sensitive personal health information.

Ticketmaster can scale the system because of its digital ticketing capabilities, which includes identity verification. Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation is a major investor in facial recognition provider Blink Identity.

“For live events to return, biometric authentication is going to play a significant role in enabling people to reliably prove they’ve had the coronavirus vaccine to get into sports events and concerts, and help restore economies,” Idex Biometrics CEO Vince Graziani told Biometric Update in an email. “Using fingerprint biometrics would enable consumers to confirm their identity, on any device, and it will also help to inform ongoing COVID restrictions across the globe. If people can reliably prove they have been vaccinated, then theatres, music venues, sporting venues etc., that have been closed since March, can all reopen to the public and provide a significant boost to the global economy.

“However, these digital interactions must be secure, intelligent, and efficient,” Graziani continues. “To facilitate this, consumers require a user-centric digital ID card that is owned, managed, and controlled by the individual that incorporates their fingerprint biometrics to authenticate who they are and prove they have been vaccinated. This method of touch-free biometric authentication provides the perfect solution, keeping both consumers and employees safe, and enabling the world to begin its transition back to ‘normality’.”

Pangea reaches agreement for telecom employee protection

Pangea has been selected by telecom Liberty Latin America to provide its multi-sensor solution featuring thermal imaging, video analytics and biometric access control for installation at its various locations in Latin America and the Caribbean for employee protection from COVID-19, Israel Defense reports.

Initial deployments have been carried out in Panama, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Miami.

Pangea Executive Vice President Assaf Kaminer is quoted by Israel Defense as saying that “biometric and thermal imaging technologies have been catching on rapidly following the South Korean success in flattening the infection curve.”

American Airlines app to use facial recognition from Daon

A new mobile wallet wellness solution called VeriFLY with facial recognition and digital identity technology from Daon is being trialled by American Airlines to provide simple verification of COVID-19 test results.

Passengers travelling from or through the airline’s Miami hub to Montego Bay or Kingston, Jamaica will be able to meet the testing and documentation requirements for their destination by creating a secure profile and confirming details for their trip for free with VeriFLY. Passengers using VeriFLY will have access to an expedited entry lane when going through departure processes at MIA, and the airline says it is working with multiple countries to have the app incorporated into their arrival processes as well.

“Daon is honored to collaborate with American Airlines in the pursuit of a faster, safer, more seamless customer travel experience,” says Tom Grissen, CEO of Daon, in the announcement. “By leveraging our more than two decades of expertise, American Airlines customers will have immediate access to the most powerful and trusted identity technology on the market.”

Creative Realities and Brother partner for printed compliance badges

Brother Mobile Solutions has partnered with Creative Realities to integrate printers with the ‘Safe Space’ body temperature scanning Thermal Mirror solution.

The integration will enable Brother printers to print identification labels or badges that can be worn to provide validation that the individual has passed workplace or facility COVID-19 screening processes.

The Thermal Mirror uses facial recognition to record employee entrances, while also logging temperature, time of entry and other compliance requirements.

“The Thermal Mirror is a non-contact temperature measurement solution that has been widely embraced by businesses of all sorts as they adjust to newly implemented health guidelines to help corporations manage the safety requirements associated with the Pandemic,” states Rick Mills, CEO of CRI. “Our collaboration with key partners such as Brother Mobile Solutions makes the solution even more appealing to all types of heavily trafficked businesses and agencies that want to demonstrate how committed they are to maintaining a healthy workplace.”

IPVM warns of potential for deception

IPVM, meanwhile, continues to warn potential customers of the ease with which unethical companies could provide unreliable, or even dishonest results. A new video suggests that since people typically have temperatures around 37 degrees Celsius, and can only depart from that by a few degrees, results could be easily faked.

If this is in fact happening, it would represent fraud with potentially deadly consequences.

Sonde Health launches voice analysis API to detect respiratory disease

Sonde Health has launched a new self-service API that it says can detect symptoms of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases from changes in the subject’s voice, available from a new developer portal. The API enables developers to build the capability into their iOS and Android applications.

The company announced it had developed the capability to detect potential COVID-19 cases from a six-second voice sample in August.

The platform has greater than 70 percent accuracy in detecting symptoms of respiratory disease, such as coughing and shortness of breath, according to the announcement. The technology was developed with research on more than a million voice samples from 80,000 individuals.

Sonde’s API platform is HIPAA compliant, and returns a score from 0 to 100 to indicate the likeliness of respiratory disease. This can be combined with demographic or health-based questions to meet the needs of organizations, with health checks costing as little as $0.15 each.

This post was updated at 5:01pm Eastern on November 16, 2020 to clarify that Ticketmaster’s preparations are to potentially offer a capability that customers may require.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  CLEAR  |  Daon  |  facial recognition  |  identity verification  |  Idex Biometrics  |  Pangea  |  Sonde Health  |  temperature monitoring  |  VeriFLY  |  voice biometrics