Automotive Iris Scanning and ‘Lightweight’ Facial Recognition – Identity News Digest

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

Israeli Privacy Watchdog Seeks Comment on Workplace Biometrics Guidelines

The Israeli Privacy Protection Authority (PPA) has published draft guidelines concerning employers’ collection of biometric data, and is asking for public comment. “Policy Paper: Collection and Use of Biometric Data at the Workplace” maintains the PPA’s previous position, which generally advises employers to avoid collecting biometric data, though it also acknowledges that employers are entitled to use biometrics to monitor employees’ presence at work during working hours. The deadline for public comment is August 18, 2023.

Chinese Researchers Detail ‘Particle Swarm Optimization’ Technique for FRT

Researchers at Guangdong Songshan Polytechnic have detailed a new technique that they say can help facial recognition systems attain a better balance between speed and accuracy. The technique involves the use of a “particle swarm optimization algorithm”: Essentially, it iteratively explores different ways of configuring face images to get the clearest picture until it finds the best option in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Testing across the ORL, YALE, and MU_PIE datasets showed promising results.

Biometric Security Led to One Arrest at King’s Coronation

The facial recognition technology deployed to secure the Coronation of King Charles III led to the arrest of one individual, the Met has revealed. The police force said that an unnamed man was spotted and subsequently arrested “on recall to prison for breach of a sexual offences prevention order and non-payment of fines.” The Met uses NeoFace, NEC’s facial recognition system, which was found to have no statistically significant demographic bias when used at the default settings in a study conducted by the UK’s National Physical Laboratory.

Michigan Mulls Mobile ID

Legislators in Michigan are considering a proposed bill to establish official, mobile-based digital ID in the state, and the Secretary of State’s office is already researching best practices to help advise on the project should the bill get passed. Proposed by Senator Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), Bill SB 459 would enable individuals to request mobile versions of their state-issued physical ID, and validate their use in interactions with government services, financial institutions, and police.

FPC to Provide Iris Recognition for ‘Tier 1 Automotive Supplier’

Fingerprint Cards has established an agreement to provide its iris recognition technology to a “tier 1 automotive supplier,” the company has announced. The deal will see FPC’s software integrated into a Driver Monitoring System, which will be promoted to automakers as an add-on feature. FPC says its unnamed partner will pay a non-recurring engineering fee for the solution’s development. The news comes after Fingerprints’ announcement of a ‘New Business’ unit, overseen by longtime executive Thomas Rex, that will focus on expanding the company’s business activities into new market areas such as the automotive sector.

Innovatrics Launches ‘Lightweight’ Facial Recognition API

Innovatrics has launched a ‘Lightweight Facial Identification Service‘, an API that enables the integration of the biometric technology onto smart devices without the need for powerful servers or resource-heavy on-device computing. The company says its solution needs just “kilobytes of data sent for post-processing and matching,” in the form of cropped or full-frame face images, which can be matched against large databases. The Lightweight Facial Identification Service is already being used to power a biometric attendance system in over 2,100 schools, Innovatrics says.

TSA Delays Harsher CLEAR Scrutiny: Report

The Transportation Security Administration’s plans to implement stricter scrutiny for members of CLEAR’s expedited passenger processing platform have been pushed back, according to a report from Bloomberg — though the extent of the delay isn’t clear. News of the plans broke earlier this month, with the TSA’s decision revolving around a “security incident” that CLEAR has described as an isolated instance caused by human error. Bloomberg is now reporting that the incident involved a CLEAR customer who had enrolled under an assumed identity, and managed to bring ammunition through CLEAR’s airport screening before being detected by government authorities.

Has Philippines Abandoned Voter Biometrics Plans?

The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (COMELEC) doesn’t appear to have any plans to implement biometric voter verification, despite longstanding efforts to collect voters’ biometric data, according to an investigation Rom Feria, an Associate Professor in the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Web Science Group. Feria looked through the Terms of Reference of FASTrAC, a voting machine that COMELEC has procured to replace its previous Smartmatic machines. In so doing, he found “no mention” of biometric capabilities. The machines are due to be deployed in 2025 for local and national elections.

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July 31, 2023 – by Alex Perala