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Message no. 1
From: Skye Comstock <bilbo@****.NWLINK.COM>
Subject: [OT] Real World SR: Iris-scanning technology
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 1997 20:34:43 -0800
I'm aware that military installations have all this wizzer iris-scanning
stuff, but this is a bit more public than that. The following text is out
of a small column in the Technology section of the Seattle Times/PI,
Sunday Edition. All copyrights... blah blah blah.

"Get cash in a wink; bank test iris-scanning ATM

Getting cash from a Citibank automatic-teller machine one day may seem
like a throwback to the movie "Mission: Impossible."

The Citicorp unit is testing a device that will require customers to
have one of their irises scanned before an ATM will spit out cash.
If the scan matches a digital image of the customer's iris on file with
the bank, the customer could continue to use the ATM.

Every human iris, which is a membrane in the eye that determines its
color, is unique.

The bank's Los Angeles lab also is tyoing with systems that identify
customers by their fingerprints or the sounds of their voices, hoping
one day to make bank cards and identification numbers obsolete.

With the iris scanner, New York-based Citibank is looking into a system
akin to a scene in the movie "Mission: Impossible," in which an
analyst is not allowed in to a top-secret computer room until his
eye is scanned by a laser-like beam.

Citibank's system isn't quite so dramatic. Instead of a sharp beam of
light, it is testing technology from Sensar of Moorestown, N.J., that
uses a camera to scan an iris from up to three feet away and check for
a match from its file of iris prints."

Any typos are mine, not the paper's. This is rather nifty so I thought
that I'd post it.

-Skye
Message no. 2
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: [OT] Real World SR: Iris-scanning technology
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 11:01:23 +0100
Skye Comstock said on 20:34/13 Apr 97...

> I'm aware that military installations have all this wizzer iris-scanning
> stuff, but this is a bit more public than that. The following text is out
> of a small column in the Technology section of the Seattle Times/PI,
> Sunday Edition. All copyrights... blah blah blah.
>
> "Get cash in a wink; bank test iris-scanning ATM
>
> Getting cash from a Citibank automatic-teller machine one day may seem
> like a throwback to the movie "Mission: Impossible."
>
> The Citicorp unit is testing a device that will require customers to
> have one of their irises scanned before an ATM will spit out cash.
> If the scan matches a digital image of the customer's iris on file with
> the bank, the customer could continue to use the ATM.
[snip]
>
> Any typos are mine, not the paper's. This is rather nifty so I thought
> that I'd post it.

Out of date already... I was watching CNN the other day, where I saw a
report about face-recognition software. The main purpose seemed to be for
use in ATMs: when you insert your card, a video camera takes a picture of
your face and the computer compares it to the faces on file. (One minor
drawback is that it can't differentiate between identical twins, though.)

It looked like it worked reliably enough to be almost ready for use.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
"Winner?"
"You know. It's another word for 'loser'."
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

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Message no. 3
From: Benjamin Pflugmann
Subject: Re: [OT] Real World SR: Iris-scanning technology
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 22:20:04 +0100
>
> Skye Comstock said on 20:34/13 Apr 97...
>
> > I'm aware that military installations have all this wizzer iris-scanning
> > stuff, but this is a bit more public than that. The following text is out
> > of a small column in the Technology section of the Seattle Times/PI,
> > Sunday Edition. All copyrights... blah blah blah.
> >
> > "Get cash in a wink; bank test iris-scanning ATM
> >
> > Getting cash from a Citibank automatic-teller machine one day may seem
> > like a throwback to the movie "Mission: Impossible."
> >
> > The Citicorp unit is testing a device that will require customers to
> > have one of their irises scanned before an ATM will spit out cash.
> > If the scan matches a digital image of the customer's iris on file with
> > the bank, the customer could continue to use the ATM.
> [snip]
> >
> > Any typos are mine, not the paper's. This is rather nifty so I thought
> > that I'd post it.
>
> Out of date already... I was watching CNN the other day, where I saw a
> report about face-recognition software. The main purpose seemed to be for
> use in ATMs: when you insert your card, a video camera takes a picture of
> your face and the computer compares it to the faces on file. (One minor
> drawback is that it can't differentiate between identical twins, though.)

Hm. This software is good for recognizing people (searching a name that fits
to that face), but not for security things... it would be to stupid to
recognize that you are holding a picture of the person in the correct size.
(or try a simple mask)

Though, iris-scanning cannot be fooled by a picture since:
1. The picture would have a too bad resolution
2. The movement of your iris (opening and closing, there is a light
shivering) is recognized from the better systems.

Or is there something that makes the picture method more secure?
(The range that is treated as correct must be big, since it is possible that
you were at holidays since the last taken picture... or another thing: look
how your picture in your driving license or so looks like and you know what
I mean.)

Bye,

Benjamin.

--
pfb08188@*****.physik.uni-regensburg.de
benjamin@*****.leibniz.in-passau.de
Message no. 4
From: mike.paff@*****.COM
Subject: Re: [OT] Real World SR: Iris-scanning technology
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 13:46:54 -0700
> > Out of date already... I was watching CNN the other day, where I saw a
> > report about face-recognition software. The main purpose seemed to be for
> > use in ATMs: when you insert your card, a video camera takes a picture of
> > your face and the computer compares it to the faces on file.
>
> Hm. This software is good for recognizing people (searching a name that fits
> to that face), but not for security things... it would be to stupid to
> recognize that you are holding a picture of the person in the correct size.
> (or try a simple mask)
>
I saw this report on CNN, and it was memtioned that the software looks for
minor facial movements, so it won't be fooled by a picture or mask.
Message no. 5
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: [OT] Real World SR: Iris-scanning technology
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 11:59:15 +0100
Benjamin Pflugmann said on 22:20/14 Apr 97...

> Hm. This software is good for recognizing people (searching a name that fits
> to that face), but not for security things... it would be to stupid to
> recognize that you are holding a picture of the person in the correct size.
> (or try a simple mask)

I don't remember many of the details (I was reading a newspaper at the
same time) but it looked for depth I think. If it does, that would stop
anyone from using photographs.

> Though, iris-scanning cannot be fooled by a picture since:
> 1. The picture would have a too bad resolution

How do you figure that?

> 2. The movement of your iris (opening and closing, there is a light
> shivering) is recognized from the better systems.

That would stop anyone from using a picture, yes. However,
face-recognition software could be programmed to look for the same sorts
of things, like movement of the eyes and mouth.

> Or is there something that makes the picture method more secure?
> (The range that is treated as correct must be big, since it is possible that
> you were at holidays since the last taken picture... or another thing: look
> how your picture in your driving license or so looks like and you know what
> I mean.)

I don't have a driving license, but I know what you mean. Like I said, I'm
hazy on the details, but from what they showed it looked like a pretty
good system.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
"Winner?"
"You know. It's another word for 'loser'."
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

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Message no. 6
From: Benjamin Pflugmann
Subject: Re: [OT] Real World SR: Iris-scanning technology
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 18:48:03 +0100
> > > Out of date already... I was watching CNN the other day, where I saw a
> > > report about face-recognition software. The main purpose seemed to be for
> > > use in ATMs: when you insert your card, a video camera takes a picture of
> > > your face and the computer compares it to the faces on file.
> >
> > Hm. This software is good for recognizing people (searching a name that fits
> > to that face), but not for security things... it would be to stupid to
> > recognize that you are holding a picture of the person in the correct size.
> > (or try a simple mask)
> >
> I saw this report on CNN, and it was memtioned that the software looks for
> minor facial movements, so it won't be fooled by a picture or mask.

Oops. Ok, my fault, I take all back what I have said :-)

Aha. This is then the same idea like the iris scanning device (it records
movements of the iris, not the structure of the iris). Cool.

Bye,

Benjamin.

--
pfb08188@*****.physik.uni-regensburg.de
benjamin@*****.leibniz.in-passau.de
Message no. 7
From: Tim P Cooper <z-i-m@****.COM>
Subject: Re: [OT] Real World SR: Iris-scanning technology
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 12:38:29 EDT
On Mon, 14 Apr 1997 11:01:23 +0100 Gurth <gurth@******.NL> writes:
>
>Out of date already... I was watching CNN the other day, where I saw a
>report about face-recognition software. The main purpose seemed to be
for
>use in ATMs: when you insert your card, a video camera takes a picture
of
>your face and the computer compares it to the faces on file. (One minor
>drawback is that it can't differentiate between identical twins,
though.)
>
>It looked like it worked reliably enough to be almost ready for use.

IMHO an iris scanner would be much more reliable than a full face
scanner...

1) Far less variability.... does it still recognize me if I've grown a
full beard? Or have my glasses on, or after having plastic surgery or
etc...

2) I think it would be MUCH harder to fake someone's retinal pattern than
to fake their face.

~Tim (who remembers this recent news story about how some girl tried to
kill her identical twin sister and steal her identity)
Message no. 8
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: [OT] Real World SR: Iris-scanning technology
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 11:57:41 +0100
Tim P Cooper said on 12:38/15 Apr 97...

> IMHO an iris scanner would be much more reliable than a full face
> scanner...
>
> 1) Far less variability.... does it still recognize me if I've grown a
> full beard? Or have my glasses on, or after having plastic surgery or
> etc...
>
> 2) I think it would be MUCH harder to fake someone's retinal pattern than
> to fake their face.

OTOH taking a picture of the face is more user-friendly than having the
person who wants to get some money from an ATM to look into something.
IIRC iris shots can be made very quickly, but for more reliability it'll
take a few seconds.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
There's nothing we can not ever fix.
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

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Message no. 9
From: Tim P Cooper <z-i-m@****.COM>
Subject: Re: [OT] Real World SR: Iris-scanning technology
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 23:47:49 EDT
On Wed, 16 Apr 1997 11:57:41 +0100 Gurth <gurth@******.NL> writes:

>OTOH taking a picture of the face is more user-friendly than having the
>person who wants to get some money from an ATM to look into something.
>IIRC iris shots can be made very quickly, but for more reliability
>it'll take a few seconds.

Didn't who ever first brought it up mention that they had some method of
getting the iris shot from up to 3 feet away?

~Tim

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