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Veridicom, a spinoff of Lucent Technologies, just demoed (at
CardTech/SecurTech '97) their chip that can perform fingerprint
recognition/authorization. They plan on selling them for $300 each
(same cost as this face recognition system Gregory's mentioned). The
article doesn't say when they will be available.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/chronicle/article.cgi?file=BU41045.DTL&directory=/chronicle/archive/1997/05/22
-- -Anind Kumar Dey (anind@cc.gatech.edu)--------------6ACA1D065CD5 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii; name="22" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline; filename="22" Content-Base: "http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/chronicl e/article.cgi?file=BU41045.DTL&dire ctory=/chronicle/archive/1997/05/22"
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New Chip Verifies Fingerprints
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| News | Business | Commentary | Sports | Daily Datebook | The Gate |
| Thursday, May 22, 1997 · Page B3 | ©1997 San Francisco Chronicle |
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Computer passwords and personal identification numbers could become things of the past, if a Menlo Park startup can persuade banks, corporations and computer makers to use a new chip that can read and verify fingerprints. Veridicom Inc. showed off its postage- sized fingerprint reader yesterday at a trade show in Orlando, Fla., dedicated to biometrics -- the use of physical characteristics to prove that you are you. 
But the Veridicom chip, which was developed by scientists at Bell Labs, is smaller and cheaper than optical systems. That means it could be built into things like computer keyboards, so fingerprints could replace passwords. ``This is breakthrough technology,'' said Peter Bernstein, with New Jersey-based Infonautics Consulting. ``Think about the possibility of being able to place this on keyboards, cell phones, ATM machines and, eventually, credit cards.'' Veridicom chief executive Tom Rowley explained how the chip works. Thousands of sensors built into the chip bounce minute electrical charges off the person's skin. These charges act like radar, measuring the ridges and valleys of the fingerprint. The software that works with the chip records a person's fingerprint. Each time a person wants to use the device, the finger is placed on the chip and the software verifies if there is a match. Rowley said Veridicom's stamp-sized, print reader will start at $300 and drop in price as volume increases. He compared this to optical fingerprint scanners that cost $500 or more, and are roughly the size of a box of wooden kitchen matches. Dan Maase, vice president at Identix, a leader in optical fingerprint scanners, said his firm is developing an even smaller scanner the size of an ice cube ``that will be very cost competitive'' with the Veridicom chip. ``We believe our optical technology provides more accurate verification,'' including the ability to tell a live finger from one that has been chopped off to gain access to a restricted area, Maase said. The Yankee Group, a Boston consulting firm, estimates that law enforcement agencies, corporations and computer firms spent more than $500 million for fingerprint scanners and other biometric devices in 1995. It projected sales to grow at better than 40 percent a year. John Gilmore of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said his San Francisco advocacy group is concerned that as fingerprint scanners get cheaper, organizations will be tempted to keep track of employees in ways that reduce privacy. ``It will be a social issue we've never had to deal with before,'' he said. Maase said 100,000 Woolworth employees in Australia use optical fingerprint scanners instead of punching time cards. ``It eliminated what they call `buddy punching' and has saved 2 percent of payroll,'' Maase said. |
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