Emerging biometrics markets draw a crowd

Biometrics startups and giant multinationals collide as each tries to navigate emerging markets in the most-read stories of the week on Biometric Update. Sri Lanka needs more biometric passports while its contract with Thales and a much smaller local partner is on hold, and Intel is spinning out RealSense to tackle 3D facial authentication and other applications on its own. J.P. Morgan is angling in on the retail biometric payments market, and BorderAge is planning to challenge age assurance incumbents with a novel and privacy-preserving technology.

Top biometrics news of the week

The FBI’s CJIS has started the process to contract the ongoing operation and maintenance of an ABIS in Somalia with an RFI. The biometric system is used by Somalia’s federal police to identify criminal and terrorist suspects, and its database holds more than two million ten-print fingerprint biometrics records. Responses are due by the end of next week.

Ethiopia is seeking to separately contract the development of an IT system and 3,000 biometric registration kits, each in support of a project to improve inclusion and access to services through digital ID. The IT system involves two lots, the first for the design and installation of a secure computer network, and the second to stand up a data center.

Sri Lanka’s biometric passport issuance saga has taken another twist, with the government considering running a new tender to keep up with demand while a legal challenge of its recently-awarded contract plays out. The portion of the contract awarded to Thales and local partner Just in Time Technologies for machine-readable passports has been allowed to proceed, but will run out soon.

The deadline for U.S. federal agencies to enforce REAL ID specifications for identity credentials has been pushed back by two more years to May 5, 2027 by the TSA. The previous deadline to meet the security standard for ID documents did not give states sufficient time to implement the changes, coming a mere 20 years after the passage of the legislation mandating the change.

An eleventh-hour executive order by U.S. President Biden presents the adoption of digital ID, in the form of mobile driver’s licenses, as a national cybersecurity imperative. The EO stipulates security requirements for software supply chains and policy changes to enable better threat detection and more stringent access control measures. Federal agencies are instructed to consider grants to support mDL rollouts by states.

U.S. President-elect Trump’s nominees for border czar and leadership of the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement could align with a Republican trifecta to advance biometrics at America’s borders. Increased investment in biometric border security would be welcomed by the tech community, but could face pushback, including from Congressional Republicans like the two House committee chairs asking for a detailed GAO review of TSA’s biometrics use.

A pair of multimodal biometric authentication terminals for retail points-of-sale have been introduced by J.P. Morgan as the company continues its aggressive push into biometric payments. The Paypad and the smaller Pinpad each feature infrared cameras and offer authentication with palm vein and face biometrics, as well as support for QR codes, and touchless or contact-based transactions through electronic chips or magnetic stripes.

Intel is spinning out its RealSense division, maker of 3D cameras for facial recognition and other specialized applications, as its own company. The plan is for RealSense to target the markets for facial authentication, autonomous mobile robots and physical therapy metrics as an Israeli startup within the first half of 2025.

French startup BorderAge has developed an age assurance method based on the analysis of hand gestures and without collecting any personally identifying information, executive Jean-Michel Polit tells Biometric Update in an interview. The ACCS has found the method 99 percent accurate, and it avoids adult content websites having to ask people to submit face biometrics or ID documents, which Polit says is the industry’s biggest barrier.

Age verification was as area of significant activity on both sides of the Atlantic this week. Ofcom published guidance that approves of both age estimation and reusable digital ID in its Age Assurance and Children’s Access Statement, and the U.S. Supreme Court has begun hearing arguments in a challenge of Texas’ age assurance law.

A broader implementation of biometric ticketing at the Australian Open this year is supplied by Wicket, but Information Age reports that consent was not handled with the degree of transparency some attendees and privacy advocates would like.

Turkey is up to 99 percent coverage for its national digital ID, which includes fingerprint biometrics and has integrated it with a wide range of public services. Regulations requiring biometric identity verification for cryptocurrency wallets are taking effect in February, and businesses like Colle AI are integrating the national ID system with blockchain to further digitize the economy.

The UK government has introduced its plan for “national renewal” through AI, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggesting the technology can boost productivity and economic competitiveness. Former Labour PM Tony Blair argues the nation’s AI potential positions it well to benefit from digital ID.

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Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  week in review