Fingerprint Sri Lanka

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The Methodist Healthcare System in San Antonio, Texas has implemented an RFID-based asset tracking software in five of its hospitals, according to Health Data Management.

The hospitals will use RadarFind to locate and monitor more than 15,000 pieces of medical equipment, including infusion pumps, compression devices and wheelchairs. The hospitals also have begun planning to track patients in specific areas, such as emergency departments, surgical suites and outpatient facilities.

The RadarFind system uses radio frequency identification technology to read coded tags on equipment and patient wristbands. The tags send location data to readers and ultimately to tracking software via RFID signals. The system’s readers plug into electrical outlets, rather than connect to the hospital’s Wi-Fi network. The readers communicate the location data to a collector box, situated in a data storage closet. Data is then sent over Ethernet cable to a dedicated server and displayed on computers or Web-enabled PDAs via the hospital’s intranet.

Source: www.healthdatamanagement.com

Source: Times of India

LUCKNOW: No ma’am, please put your thumb on the scanner, if you want to take your ward with you. This verification is a must here, says the guard. No sooner than the woman puts her thumb on the scanner, the picture of the student and the woman come on the computer screen. Verification done, the guard allows the woman to take her ward.

With the increasing number of cases of kidnapping of school students coming to the fore in the past few years, Bright Way College in Sector J of Jankipuram has got installed guardian verification system to ensure the child goes back to home only with the right person.

The software developed by Wajahat H Naqvi and Amit Kaushal of GI Biometrics Solution Pvt Ltd has brought both relief and smiles on the faces of the school teachers and management alike.

Now, there is no tension over the fact that the small kids, especially up to primary level, go back home with their guardians only, said Aruna Singh of the college.

Recalling an incident, which actually forced the school administration to put in place the guardian verification system, Aruna said: “Last year we all were actually shaken up when a primary section student came back crying after the school was over saying that some unknown person tried to take him to his home pretending to be a friend of his father.” Luckily, the student came back running to the school, instead, to narrate the incident.

It was then only that the school management had decided to search for some technology and they came across GI Biometrics Solutions Pvt Ltd. Directors of GI Biometric, Wajahat H Naqvi and Amit Kaushal, detailing about the software said, “For long, the company was also feeling the need for some security mechanism to ensure safety of schoolgoing kids and then we developed this software.”

Initially, thumb impression of two guardians of a student were taken and recorded along with photographs of the three, said Wajahat. The data was then uploaded through the new software, he added. A scanner and a computer is all that is needed for installing the system, said Amit.

Any of the two guardians whose data had been stored, could take their ward. On one side, picture of the student along with the class and section would be visible while on the other side, photograph of the person whose thumb impression has been put on scanner would be visible to the staff.

Claiming to be the first of its kind software developed based on biometric technique, Wajahat said the system once installed in a school would put a check on small kids going into wrong hands after the school is over.

He said if a person whose thumb impression is not stored arrives to take the kid, the computer would not show any match. About the feasibility of the system in big schools, Wajahat said: “For big schools, where the strength of the students is more, one needs to increase the number of scanners to streamline the verification.” On the total cost of the installation, along with the training to the school staff to run the system, Wajahat said it would not be more than Rs 30,000. A one-time investment with gain thereafter, he said.

Earlier all the students used to leave the school in five minutes, however, now it takes more than 20 minutes to verify and then allow the students to leave. But, now the school is at least sure that the student is going with the right person.

As concerns over identity theft and ATM or other financial transaction fraud continue to rise, some are pushing for biometric authentication technology to be integrated into ATMs and possibly other devices used in financial transactions.

Among the flaws, the NEXT article is quick to point out the ease with which fraudsters can clone cards, or more commonly in developing countries, get vital account information such as PIN numbers from acquaintances working for banks. Additionally, this call for ATMs with biometric authentication capability is not a call for new technology necessarily as banks such as Western Bank in the U.S., Banco Falabella in Chile, Groupo Financiero Banorte in Mexico, Barclays Bank in the UAE and many others around the world are already offering such technology to their customers.

The most prevalent form of biometrics and most likely to be utilized are fingerprint scanners, which, while more secure, are also subject to fraud. There are other options for biometrics, such as iris recognition and vascular scanning.

The chief argument against iris recognition systems is often its price with a simple recognition system costing thousands of dollars per unit. However, a technology development company named Global Rainmakers insists that it has a solution to this argument, according to a Forbes article. Global Rainmakers has created a small iris scanner system called iSwipe Mini that costs $50 per device. The company argues that it is comparable to its much more expensive counterparts.

Hector Hoyos, founder of Global Rainmakers, claims that in addition to the device’s low-cost it can achieve a match in less than second from up to a foot away from the scanner where many other iris scanners on the market can take 20 times as long and require a user move within inches of the scanner. Hoyos also feels that such technology would be perfect for upgrading ATMs due to its small size and low-cost.

Though none of the iSwipe Minis have been installed into ATMs yet, Global Rainmakers has been striking deals with banks for other uses of the technology including access control at Bank of America headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. and as an optional transaction authentication method for mobile transactions with Deutsche Bank. Hoyos’ hope is that he break into mobile authentication with the device by having them embedded into new smart phones, but has received no interest in utilizing the technology from Apple or Google.

Despite the apparent interest from many in utilizing biometrics to better protect their finances and identity, some privacy and technology experts warn of potential push-back from the public if such technology is adopted. Specifically, people may have negative feelings having their irises scanned by companies that have not yet earned their trust.

Source: http://www.thirdfactor.com/2010/03/25/experts-and-developers-pushing-for-biometric-atms

Integrating RFID data into video images to provide higher visibility has been made possible with the combination of Dallmeier’s experience in video surveillance shared with initPRO’s knowledge of RFID technology.

Data transmitted via RFID tags, such as date, time or serial number, can be integrated into any video image, using management software, allowing users to not only read the tag but view the product equipped with it in real time. The RFID tags automatically register the location of products in the supply chain, but by integrating video images, parcels and even whole pallets can be identified at any given point.

Items are scanned when they come in and when the go out. Using video images also provides definitive information for recovering transport costs due to damages. The combination of RFID technology coupled with video images not only give the location of the product, but the current condition as well, right up to the moment of delivery.

The registered data is saved by the digital recording system, together with the image data, in order to ensure that images and parcel data can later be clearly matched.

Source : rfidnews.org

Stansted Airport has rolled out its new facial recognition security gates, which use document scanning from 3M. Passengers with new biometric e-passports travelling to the UK via Stansted can use the Autogates being trialled in the arrivals area, which can scan their face and check their passport photo in seconds – helping to save time waiting in line. The Autogates use the 3M RTE8000 Full Page Scanner to validate British or European e-passports with an electronic chip and are helping the UK Border Agency process passengers more efficiently. A live image of the passenger standing at the gate is captured and biometric technology then compares this with the image stored on the chip embedded within the document by measuring specific facial points – regardless of changes due to weight gain or loss, for example. If there is a match and they clear security, the automatic gates allow the traveller across the border. Stansted Airport handles around 23 million passengers annually. The trial at Stansted is being run in partnership between the UK Border Agency and airport operator, BAA. Following the trial, the UK Border Agency is expecting to roll-out Autogate systems to 10 additional UK airport terminals as part of the new £1.2 billion e-Borders system helping the UK Border Agency target terrorist suspects, known criminals and would-be illegal immigrants.

Source: secureidnews.com

January 26, 2010

Roll-call has now become an automated process at schools in Hong Kong, Japan, India and Singapore, with the use of biometrics and smart cards, according to FutureGov.

The days of manually taking attendance are over, leaving teachers with more time spent teaching. No more calling parents to inform them about kids missing school. These systems can also automatically alert parents via text message or email, informing them if their kids make it to school late, or do not show up at all.

Students of Fung Kai Innovative School are greeted every day with face scanners, which scan an image of the student’s face – relaying it back to the school’s database for confirmation. At the beginning of the day, teachers can access this information in real-time via their laptops.

To accommodate mass student population, schools in Singapore have taken a different approach, installing fingerprint readers linked to an electronic attendance system – one school quoted to have 1,500 students attending.

Instead of biometrics, almost half of the urban schools in India are using smart cards. Students scan their student ID card using readers installed at school gates, which is transmitted in real-time to the school’s intranet, allowing faculty and even parents to visit. Using a unique user ID and password, parents can access their kid’s attendance records.

Source: secureidnews.com

Biometric ID cards have recently received heat for whether they truly are the best security solution to identity theft. In an article on timesofmalta.com, the biometric ID card is compared to standard credit cards in terms of vulnerability and risk to data breaching.

The biometrics are electronically read and converted to a sequence of ones and zeros and sent to an authenticator to be compared with the sequence on file in the database. The argument remains how a series of numbers on a credit card, which has been stolen many a time, is all that different from a series of numbers making up a digital fingerprint.

Debaters are taking it a step further to say that while credit card companies have the ability to issue someone a new card number, an individual can’t exactly get new fingerprints if their information is stolen.

Protests in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the U.K. have deterred plans for ID card introduction. Current plans were predicting more than 85% of the worlds would utilize biometric documentation by 2012.

Source:secureidnews.com

Concerns about security and confidentiality are putting the German health smart card program on hold, according to a report in eHealth Europe. The card was supposed to be issued to 80 million German citizens.

The card was supposed to store a patient’s health data, medical history, prescriptions and insurance status. The program was supposed to be rolled out in Jan. 2006.

The program is being limited to a pilot in certain regions where the card will only store photograph, patient demographic information and insurance status. With patient consent, the health officials will add a limited clinical record for emergency use only.

Source: Secureidnews.com

Levinoff-Colbex instituted a monitoring system to quickly identify and track any animal products from potentially contaminated or diseased animals.

By Elizabeth Wasserman

Jan. 25, 2010—For decades, the Dubé family owned Colbex, a slaughterhouse based in Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover, in Québec, Canada. In 1988, the Colas family, owner of Levinoff Meat Product Ltée, headquartered in Montreal>, joined with the Dubés, forming the largest meat processor in the eastern part of the country. In 2003, the discovery in faraway Alberta of a sick cow diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, changed the course of history for both firms—and for the Canadian cattle industry.

That initial BSE discovery—there have since been 11 cases found in Canada—led to the slaughter of thousands of head of cattle, a ban on imports of Canadian cattle and beef by the United States, Japan and other nations, and a government requirement, starting in 2006, that cattle ranchers identify each cow with RFID ear tags. In Québec, the government adopted even more stringent livestock traceability requirements. It set up a not-for-profit agency, Agri-Tracabilité Québec (ATQ), which requires calves born on farms in that province to be RFID-tagged within the first week of birth, or before leaving the farm—whichever comes first. The tags can only be removed at the slaughterhouse, thus ensuring traceability from birth to death.

Québec’s ranchers, devastated in the aftermath of the BSE scare—because the price of a cow that could have fetched $1,300 had plummeted at one point to less than $100—sought greater control over the slaughter and processing of cattle. In 2004, the Fédération des Producteurs de Bovins du Québec (FPBQ), which represents cattle producers in that province, convinced the Québec government to purchase Levinoff’s meat products business and Colbex’s slaughterhouse. The company now operates under the Levinoff-Colbex S.E.C. brand, and the 375-employee firm is the largest meat-processing facility in eastern Canada.

As the carcass is moved along a motorized rail, RFID tags are read to meet a Canadian government mandate.

Source: rfidjournal.com

India has issued more than 10 million smart cards to families below the poverty line, according to iGovernment.com. The project, started in April 2008, is designed to cover the cost of health care for poor families of five persons up to a cost of $660.

Minister for Labour and Employment Mallikarjun Kharge boasts the project is the largest effort ever to use information technology tools in rural areas.