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 Welcome
to the premier issue of a new newsletter designed to keep you informed
about the Automatic Identification and Data Capture marketplace.
This issue will mark the first of what will be a new
newsletter to keep you appraised on the AIDC Industry. As we identify new
areas to cover they will be included. At some point there will be an
extended version of the newsletter available for a fee, and the free
version will only contain the highlights. Feel free to pass this issue on
to your friends and colleagues. The subscription information is on the
last page.
This newsletter will cover all aspects of AIDC, and so to
start it off, I have included some interesting points on Biometrics. In
later issues we will cover other "new" technologies as we can
along with news about the current technologies. Of course we won’t
forget the standards side of things, and we hope to have some hard hitting
articles as well.
If you received this newsletter, but you are not yet a
subscriber, then see the "Fine Print" at the end for details on
subscribing.
If the links in the newsletter appear to be broken, then
copy and paste the full link in your browser.
If you have a topic to cover, a point to make, or even
just a comment on how we are doing, then send it to news@hightechaid.com.
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Biometrics? Is the time right? |
WASHINGTON - (May 15) President Bush signed the
much-anticipated Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act. This
legislation will bring much needed reform to the way the USA does business
at our borders. Mandating that all foreign visitors will have to be issued
with a machine readable biometric enabled ID card. The bill is expected to
cost about $3.2 billion over the next three years, with the first cards
being used by October 2003, and the selection of technology by October
2002. For more details on the bill signing:
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/05/20020514-4.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16069-2002May14.html
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=search&StoryID=960286
While the bill goes on to require a lot more in the way of
increasing the security at US borders, by detailing the need for more
inspectors, improving the IT capabilities of the INS and other much needed
improvements, I will concentrate on the ID card.
While many have been extolling the virtues of a true ID
card over the past years, the problems of September 11 have certainly
brought a much higher focus to the need for a Universal Biometric
identifier (UBID). Some of you may be aware of the INS Port Pass system
that has used a hand identifier to speed frequent flyers through the
immigration lines at select US airports. Although the machines are still
there, I discovered the other day, that they are not issuing new cards or
even renewing old ones (my needs to be renewed). To quote one of the INS
people, "the machine was broken more times than it worked
anyway".
An article on September 12 by Rachel Konrad, CNET News.com
called "Airport security technology under scrutiny" ( http://news.com.com/2100-1001-272938.html?legacy=cnet)
tried to show the range of Biometrics devices available for increasing
security at the airports. So what form of BioID should be used and how
will it be carried?
One of the first in line to be used, must be the
fingerprint. That is until this week! In the press this week we learn that
Tsutomu Matsumoto et al of the Graduate School of Environment and
Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Japan have presented a
paper "Impact of Artificial "Gummy" Fingers on Fingerprint
Systems". CounterPane a newsletter providing summaries, analyses,
insights, and commentaries on computer security and cryptography published
a summary and some links to slides ( http://www.counterpane.com/crypto-gram-0205.html#5
). Another article this time in the New York Times also had some comments http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_0-1003-200-9914626.html?pagewanted=print&position=bottom.
The full text of the paper can be seen at http://cryptome.org/gummy.htm.
So are fingerprints secure? You decide. And what about
other biometric devices. Perhaps the ultimate device that is being talked
about as part of airport security is the "electronic strip
search" machine. Two companies that I have found make these machines,
and although not currently in use at airports for security screening, the
US Customs are certainly looking into these machine. This certainly puts
anew light on checking out all the biometric features you can think of, as
well as checking whether you have a weapon concealed on your person!
Rapiscan Secure 1000, manufactured by Rapiscan Security
Products ( www.rapiscan.com).
BodySearch Personnel Inspection System. AS&E http://www.as-e.com/
And what about the card to hold this biometric
information? Obviously some form of secure card is needed. Optical cards
(using a media like a CD ROM on the surface) or smart cards (using an
integrated circuit embedded in the chip) are two ways to go.
In the UK a smart card is being implemented for Asylum
Seekers across Europe. This is a smart card using two thumbprints
for identity and holding basic details on the card. You can read more at: http://194.203.40.90/news.asp?NewsID=128
about the European agreement on a
fingerprint database and http://194.203.40.90/news.asp?NewsId=119&SectionId=1
is the Press Release (Jan 2002) describing the smart card implementation.
But is the card really secure? Again this week, there have
been several articles decrying the security of smart cards. Two University
of Cambridge researchers have published a paper on how a $30 camera
flashgun and a microscope can be used to break the security of most smart
cards.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/13/technology/13SMAR.html?pagewanted=print&position=bottom
And what about standards for biometrics? Well there is
currently a ballot taking place to form a new committee under JTC1 (If you
don’t know about the ISO structure visit the www.hightechaid.com
site, under standards) which will deal with the standardization of these
technologies. The ballot is it passes will create a new SubCommittee under
JTC1 which will be dedicated to biometrics, specifically generic biometric
standards. Card based biometrics will remain in SC17. If it is
approved, the INCITS Technical Committee, M1, has been assigned to be the
U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the new Subcommittee.
And then to give you something else to think about. The LA
Times ran the following headline on May 9, 2002:
"First Humans to Receive ID Chips Technology: Device implanted under
skin will provide identification and medical information." Visit pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/abstract/118857652.html?did=118857652&FMT=ABS&FMTS=FT&desc=First+Humans+to+Receive+ID+Chips%3b+Technology:+Device+injected+under+the+skin+will+provide+identification+and+medical+information.
for the whole story.
Two major events in AIDC, and in particular RFID need to
be listed this month.
incorporates
Frontline Solutions RFID Summit and the RF Innovations RFID
Conference. Supported by AIM UK and the British Government’s
Department of Trade & Industry together with Frontline Solutions
magazine and RF Innovations magazine. THE event for RFID takes place
at the NEC - Birmingham, the UK’s premier exhibition centre,
alongside Frontline Solutions Europe on the 8th and 9th
October 2002. It will comprise of a two track conference targeted at
end users at different levels of adoption and knowledge and will be
built around high quality user experience from around Europe. The
conference will cover three days.
The Conference is supported by a Showcase, which will enable attendees
to see real time demonstrations of RFID trials or in-use applications
on the Frontline Solutions show floor. While plans are still to be
finalized the likely cost of a ‘demonstrator’ in the RFID Showcase
will be no more than £750."
For more information about RFID Conference and Showcase 2002 contact:-
Karen Parks, Advanstar Communications (karen.parks@advanstar.com)
Ian Smith, RF Innovations and AIM UK (ian@aimglobal.org).
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The Second Annual RFID
SUMMIT, will be held on Monday - September 23, 2002
8:00 am – 5:00 pm at the Frontline Solutions Expo – McCormick
Place Convention Center, Chicago, IL.
This summit follows on the heels of the highly
successful conference and show in 2001 and is Developed In partnership
between Frontline Solutions Expo and AIM, Inc.
The conference will cover a broad array of application
areas like:
- asset tracking
- security
- pallet & container identification
- inventory control
- parts marking
- warehouse management
- supply chain collaboration
- yard & dock management
- package shipping
- distribution/logistics
- manufacturing & robotics
- fleet management & more
After a chance to have lunch with an expert, The RFID
Summit will divide into two breakout groups. One group, led by Procter
& Gamble’s Director of B2B Supply Chain Innovation, Larry Kellam,
targets retailers and explores "RFID Retail Applications."
The other group investigates "RFID Industrial & Service
Applications" and is intended for key IT and Operations
professionals in manufacturing, warehousing, distribution/logistics
and field service.
To register or obtain more information about the US
Frontline Solutions RFID Summit, go on-line at: www.frontlinexpo.com
or call one of Frontline Solutions phone operators at 800/331-5706.
Every month, we will try to update you on the world of
standards. If you are interested in AIDC standards then we hope this will
be the first place you come to. There are currently many activities in the
standards world that need to be covered. Too many for this issue, so we
will point you to some sources for information to get you up to speed on
standardization and then next month we will start to fill in the gaps.
Most countries have a national standardization
organization. In the UK it is BSI, in the US it is ANSI. Each of these
organizations has two functions: (1) to create national standards for
their own country and (2) to participate in the work of ISO (the
International Standards Organization).
At the ISO level there are a variety of committees
operating in many different areas to create global standards. From ISO
TC23/SC19 on Agricultural Devices (including RFID of animals) to JTC1 SC17
on Identification cards and JTC1 SC31 on AIDC techniques.
Visit http://www.hightechaid.com
to get an introduction to the world of standards. Take notes and be
prepared to do battle next time.
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