A World Tour
Well, as we are fast approaching the end of summer (as it is marked by Labor Day), people all over are probably thinking about those last trips and vacations they can take before the awful, cold weather sets in. As I reflect back on this, it just came to mind that it has been awhile since we have taken a world tour on this blog site, in the world of Biometrics.
Today, we travel to two opposite spectrums of the world (and yrs, both have very warm weather), most notable Argentina and South Korea. First, we land into the huge country of Argentina.
An All Encompassing Biometrics Solution
A Biometrics Vendor known as “Avalon” has just announced an all inclusive Biometrics contract with the government of Argentina, specifically, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The details: “Avalon signed a contract with the prime contractor VALID/Argentina to deliver its state- of-the art Biometric Enrolment System “BioCap” & “Visalon” to provide quality assured live enrol- ment & data capture capabilities in line with international standards and best practice recommenda- tions for all embassies & consulates around the globe for the personalization & issuance of all kinds of travel & id documents . . . Avalon is delivering the live enrolment system for all types of travel & id documents, whether expats living abroad applying for a passport or ID-Card or just want to update their registered information & biometrics details, as well as for foreigners that are applying with their biometric details for a visa.” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9178/).
Wow, I have to be honest, this is probably one of the very few times I have seen a Biometrics contract being awarded, with the convenience of the traveler in mind. These days, when traveling, rather than it being an experience to remember, it has now become an experience not to remember. And as you can see above, this solution is designed to encompass all forms of travel documents. Under this scheme, there will be some 160+ stations which can collect all sorts of Biometric templates and data. Here, the choice of Biometrics includes Facial Recognition, Fingerprint Recognition, and Signature Recognition. Also, from what I can gather, archived Security documents can also be accessed, and it will be fully integrated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Entering Into South Korea
As we now begin on the opposite side of the world, and the founding nation of Taekwondo, a Biometrics Vendor known as “Cross Match Technologies, Inc.” has announced that its Biometrics solution will be used to keep tabs on foreign visitors entering into the country. The details: “Cross Match Technologies, Inc., a global provider of biometric identity solutions, along with technology partner Digent Co., Ltd., has been selected by the South Korean Ministry of Justice to support its Foreigners’ Fingerprint Verification System . . . Digent’s Fingerprint Authentication Server software, allows for rapid matching and verification of captured fingerprints. “Cross Match Patrol systems with Digent Matching software provide biometric verification within seconds,” says Tae Whun Kim, Marketing Director at Digent. “The Cross Match-Digent solution can verify more than 500,000 fingerprints per second, which will aid the Ministry of Justice in fingerprinting approximately nine million foreign travelers to South Korea annually.” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9165/).
Some 30+ immigration offices throughout South Korea will be using this complete Biometrics solution, with the hopes of creating a rather massive Biometrics database. This Biometrics solution has a very impressive processing speed of having the ability to match up to 500,000 fingerprints in just one second, which will be used to keep track of the 9,000,000+ foreign visitors into the country. It will be used at the major airports, and maritime ports of entry.
In this regard, I can almost bet you that the South Korean Government will do a much better job than what has become of the US-VISIT program, in which the intentions are also to keep track of foreign visitors entering and exiting the United States. Although the South Korean people are probably more accepting of Biometrics than their Western counterparts are, one should ask a South Korean what they feel about this: Do they feel that their country is being protected or is this a violation of their Privacy Rights???
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