Biometrics Recognition Technology Goes to School
Biometrics has come a long way since the FBI assumed responsibility for managing the national fingerprint collection in 1924. Biometric recognition technology automatically identifies a person based on physical or behavioral traits, such as fingerprints, voice, facial and iris recognition, and even palm print matching. Ideally, biometric technology can prevent fraud, combat crime and terrorism, and finally put a stop to people stealing your identity.
In yet another step forward into this brave new world, the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is participating in a pilot biometrics program that makes the School of Mines the first ever biometrics campus.
The pilot program is being tested by fifty students and four faculty members at two locations on campus. Along the lines of a debit card, Mines students and faculty members deposit money into an account, which is associated with their biometric data, and pay for goods by scanning their finger.
According to the announcement, the program involves Nexus USA’s Biocryptology, which goes beyond a fingerprint to read multiple layers into the skin using radio frequency and detects hemoglobin in the blood. Each finger scan is not captured, but encrypted in real-time and turned into a series of valueless numbers that change with every scan. This data encryption ensures security since the numbers can’t be reproduced in a meaningful way.
According to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology Acting President Duane Hrncir, Ph.D.:
Advancing technology to transform lives is what we do at the School of Mines, and we are proud to be not only the first university but indeed the first organization of any kind in the world to pilot this groundbreaking program.
If this technology proves successful, students won’t have to worry about losing their student ID card or credit cards—after all, they really can’t lose their finger.
