Mobile device biometrics generate big sensors sale, back extensive airport trial

A pair of major developments in native device biometrics were among the most-read articles of the past week on Biometric Update. Fingerprint Cards announced a milestone sale of its under-display fingerprint sensors for mobile devices, and the most extensive IATA trial yet of digital ID for air travelers, with participation from Accenture, Amadeus and IDnow. A different kind of mobile device, body-cameras worn by bouncers for a trial in England, could represent a new market opportunity for facial recognition, and Worldcoin continues to scale, with its sights set on the level of impact the world’s largest digital identity program has.

Top biometrics news of the week

Australia has been conducting identity verification services and face biometrics checks for the past four years, despite the previous government having withdrawn the legislation that was supposed to provide their legal basis. The current government is racing to pass an identity verification law, but critics have called out the apparent illegality of the system until then.

The legal basis for Kenya’s national digital ID has been unveiled on the eve of a pilot launch, in the form of an amended civil registry regulation and Maisha Digital Card law. Face and iris biometrics have been built in to the rules. An outreach campaign, meanwhile, has won the support of religious leaders for the incoming digital ID system.

An order for a million optical under-display biometric sensors has been received by Fingerprint Cards, its largest-ever sale. The customer is an unnamed Asian original equipment manufacturer, and the deal represents a major win in a segment FPC entered only late last year.

IATA has conducted the first trial of digital identity on a mobile phone for a complete air travel journey, with participants including Accenture, Amadeus and IDnow. Amadeus has also introduced a product for personalized flight shopping with digital identity, and Frankfurt Airport has expanded its support for face biometrics across check-ins and aircraft boarding in collaboration with SITA.

Meta is facing a barrage of lawsuits from U.S. state attorneys general over the way its social media platforms engage with children, allegedly without adequate protections for mental and emotional health. Age verification or estimation, either of which would likely involve biometrics, is a likely beneficiary of the litigation.

The UNDP is launching a program to promote the development of inclusive digital public infrastructure, with the goal of standing up digital identity and other tools in 50 countries over the next 5 years. The 50in5 program begins with an online event on November 8 with advice on how governments can quickly and cost-effectively build DPI.

An open science approach to biometrics research could help provide the large and ethically sourced datasets needed for high-quality, reproduceable results, Dr. Wojciech Wodo of the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology said in the latest EAB lunch talk. He argues that using the same biometric and identity data for multiple research projects can also improve the pace of innovation, and its applicability to real-world conditions.

One of the challenges related to data availability is training algorithms to work for everyone, not just people who look a certain way, a problem brought to popular attention by Joy Buolamwini. An article in MIT Technology Review notes that people like Buolamwini drawing attention to AI harms face backlash online and in the workplace, while attention is siphoned away to the hypothetical concerns of futuristic AI harms.

Bouncers at UK nightclubs will trial body cameras loaded with biometric software for three months as part of a crime-reduction scheme. Security workers at seven venues will be able to identify individuals barred from any participating locations using Reveal’s digital evidence management system.

The decision in a lawsuit against Amazon Web Services for alleged violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act with its Rekognition software is analyzed by Baker Donelson Of Counsel David Oberly in a guest post for Biometric Update. The case demonstrates the wide scope of liability for biometrics vendors, he writes, as well as things they can do to minimize their legal risk.

Worldcoin says the World App digital wallet has been downloaded four million times, and has crossed the 100,000 daily active user milestone, just six months after its launch. An executive working on the project likens its digital ID ambitions to India’s Aadhaar.

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Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition  |  week in review