The iPod, iPad, iPhone, etc., etc.
Well, how was everybody’s weekend??? I had a marvelous time with my beautiful girlfriend Anita. On Saturday, we both went for a walk in memory if my uncle, Mukund Phadke. He died about two years ago from heart disease. Before that, he suffered a heart attack at the local YMCA in Valparaiso, IN. Due to the vigilance of the staff there, he was able to come back to life again with the help of a defibrillator. So, this walk was hosted by my aunt Dolly Phadke, and her two daughters, Neena and Sonia Phadke, and the YMCA. Anita and I went for a three mile walk, in an effort to raise money for the cause. It was truly a touching time, as my parents also died of heart disease. And, my uncle was my mother’s brother.
After the walk, we all congregated at my aunt’s house for a visit, and of course, to devour on some good ole Indian food. But, there was one other common theme at this informal get together: Everybody’s mobile device and netbook. A few of my relatives have the iPad, so I spent some time actually marveling at it. I have been very tempted to buy one, or at least something similar. But truth be told, I don’t need at the present time, it would just be another techie toy for me. But anyways, it is really a slick new piece of technology.
And during this walk, of course, participants even had their iPod with them as well. So it is with all this as background, I found a Press Release which discussed a new breed of Security Technology for the iPod: Biometrics. The Biometrics Vendor who created this solution is known as “Fulcrum Biometrics”, and here are some of the details behind this: “Fulcrum Biometrics, an international provider, distributor and integrator of multiple biometric identification systems and biometric devices has today announced its FbF™ mobileOne fingerprint biometric accessory and companion app are now available exclusively for iPod touch. The world’s first fingerprint biometric solution designed exclusively for iOS, FbF mobileOne is an elegant, high-quality fingerprint reader accessory that easily snaps onto iPod touch (2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation). By harnessing the processing power of iPod touch, FbF mobileOne enables the development and deployment of reliable, portable and networkable biometric identification systems that are cost-effective and powerful enough for government, medical and law enforcement applications . . . Portable biometric identification systems are in use worldwide, however these systems usually involve a laptop PC, tethered fingerprint scanner and other equipment that require separate power sources, making them difficult to use in remote and rural areas. Because of its pocket size and 9+ hour battery life, FbF mobileOne is perfectly suited for mobile identification systems such as biometric voter registration, on-site time and attendance for construction or farm workers and law enforcement warrant searches . . .” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/8931/).
Final Thoughts On Today’s Posting
As you can see from the above quote, the Biometric Technology of choice utilized is that of Fingerprint Recognition, and apparently, from what I can gather, this is the first use of Biometrics for the iPod. This Biometrics solution possesses a number of succinct advantages, and can be summarized as follows:
*It is extremely portable and thus very light weight, making it effective for easy carrying;
*It has a very long battery life of about 9+ hours (now this is a long time, considering the demands which are placed upon it, especially for comparing the enrollment and verification templates);
*This Biometrics solution can be used across a whole host of applications, ranging from logical Security to physical Security.
As I have mentioned before in previous Postings, as all things go wireless and even more miniaturized, battery power management and consumption will probably be one of the strongest key factors not only from a technical standpoint, but also from a consumer buying standpoint as well. I mean after all, we all want something which will have power to it for quite some time, and not be inconvenienced about having to charge it constantly.
And, this issue will also become of prime concern for the Biometrics Industry, as the technology keeps getting smaller. Probably one of the other biggest advantages of this solution is that it seems like it is extremely easy to use, from the standpoint of the customer, because it is all plug and play: “The FbF mobileOne accessory plugs into the Apple 30-pin connector on iPod touch. The FbF mobileOne captures fingerprint images when a finger is placed on the sensor and securely uploads the data to the FbF mobileOne App on iPod touch . . .” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/8931/).
But even more importantly, a thought came to me as I write this Posting: I can very well see Apple being a strong market driver for the Biometrics Industry. It’s easy math: Miniature gadgets + Increased Need for Security = The Need for Biometrics. In the future, I can see a lot of strategic partnerships being formed with Apple amongst the various Biometrics Vendors in an effort to bring out enhanced, convenient, and best of all, affordable Security. The craze was once (and still continues to be) apps for Apple products and devices, now I forecast the craze to be Biometrics for Apple products and devices.
aunt frances-- the one i wrote that story about? she used to
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