UK

driver license, drivers license, EU, UK

European Commission Approves Biometric Driving Licenses

Smart driving licences coming to UK (PR Web at Yahoo!)

The EC has given the go-ahead for new plastic licences to include biometric data on drivers, but no address, and these could come into effect as soon as 2015, by which time the UK Government has said it wants to end the need for the paper counterpart to the present licence.

The press release seems to have been put out by Businesscarmanager.co.uk. I didn’t find any additional information on the biometric license there, but I did find this, which is fun:

I say Rupert, slow down! Diamond Insurance has revealed the Top Ten men’s and women’s names associated with speeding offences.

Adding a “te” onto the end of Juliet’s name doesn’t slow her down much at all. Juliet is #1; Juliette is #6 on the list for women.

gait, UK, University

University of Southampton Showing Off World-Changing Research Including Biometrics

Join University of Southampton’s free 60th anniversary celebrations (Daily Echo)

The institution is holding a special open day tomorrow at its Highfield Campus, aimed at showing off some of the world-changing research that has been carried out there over the last 60 years.

Unique experiences on offer will range from the chance to watch exciting demonstrations in some of the university’s cutting-edge hi-tech laboratories, to poring over historical pictures and documents from through the centuries in its Special Collections Archive.

Visitors will be able to discover their own “signature” of the way they walk thanks to the world’s only electronics and computer science (ECS) Biometric Tunnel.

Sounds fun!

face, UK

UK Home Office to Use Facial Recognition in Citizenship Checks

Home Office spunks another £12.8m on face recog tech (The Register)

The new multi-million pound face scanners would be used to determine an applicant’s right to a British passport: and must be able to compare the biometric data extracted from the scans of the faces of punters as well as their related biographical data against huge datasets.

The new facial recog tech will need to work within the existing framework of the Border Agency’s tech systems – systems demonstrated recently to be fragile – and will operate with the same biometric and biographical data that is currently used.

adoption, schools, UK

UK: Biometrics in Schools – Times have changed

Students will use fingerprint technology to pay for school dinners (This is Somerset)

When students buy food or drink they will be identified by a biometric fingerprint.

A print of the index finger is taken and it is then translated to an alpha numeric number and the image is then discarded. The number generated will be used to charge accounts.

The fingerprint captured is different to system used by the police and instead the system identifies certain points on the finger and turns them into encrypted numbers.

When students make a purchase they simply place their finger on a scanner at the till and the server will show the students name, class and current balance. It is hoped the new high tech system will also reduce the amount of time students spend queuing for their lunch.

It wasn’t too long ago when articles on this subject, especially in the UK, followed a very different template.

finger, law enforcement, mobile, Scotland, UK

Scotland Yard Equipping Officers With Handheld Fingerprint Devices

Mobile fingerprint scanners to be adopted by Met Police (BBC)

The Metropolitan Police is the 25th force in the UK to have adopted the devices.

“Evidence has shown that a full identification arrest can tie-up both the subject and the police officer for several hours,” said the Metropolitan Police Service’s assistant commissioner Mark Rowley.

“Even a traditional identity check conducted on the street can take an extended period of time to complete.

A big question, of course, is the database these mobile devices communicate with.

humor, London, Olympics, UK

Mascot For The 2012 Olympics Has A Huge Camera Eye

Kashmir Hill’s treatment of Wenlock at Forbes is funny. Alas, She has a lot to work with.

London decided to make its surveillance yen a dominant feature of its otherwise goofy mascots. “Wenlock” and “Mandeville” both have a huge single eye made out of a camera lens so that they can “record everything.”

There’s even a Wenlock Policeman Figurine. Pictures & video at the link.

If Twitter is more your speed, you can follow Ms. Hill here.

Antigua + Barbuda, border, UK, visa

UK Border Agency Holding Mobile Biometric Clinic in Antigua & Barbuda

Lately, most any mention of the UK Border Agency (UKBA) in the media will have focused on the crisis in UK border management. To day a small item on the UKBA gives us cause to contemplate not three hour waits to clear customs, but the Caribbean paradise of Antigua & Barbuda.

Antigua & Barbuda. Source: CIA World Factbook

UKBA to offer one-time mobile biometric clinic in Antigua & Barbuda (WorkPermit.com)

The UK Border Agency will provide visa applicants from Antigua & Barbuda with a local Mobile Biometric Clinic on 18 May 2012. The one-time mobile biometric clinic will be located in St John’s, Antigua.
…
Recently the UK expanded the biometric system to require all applicants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) applying to stay in the UK for more than 6 months to register their fingerprints and digital facial image. 

airport, border, travel, UK, visa

UK Border Management: Revolution on the Horizon

This is not the most convenient time for Britain to be undergoing a complete rethink about how it manages its border — the best time is always before a crisis — but the UK may no longer have the luxury of choosing the timing of a significant revamp.

UK Border watchdog attacks airport gridlock (Financial TImes – Reg. Req.)

Bad management of diminishing numbers of staff and failure to make the most of electronic scanning gates are behind the immigration gridlock at airports, says a report by the border watchdog.

John Vine, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, hit at the lack of any “cohesive” management plan at Heathrow, at a time when the Home Office faces mounting pressure to end long queues at the UK’s largest airport as well as Stansted and the Eurostar before this summer’s Olympic Games.

See also:
UK Border Scandal Update: Independent Inspector’s Report Published
UK: Airlines Warn Government of Potential Gridlock this Weekend
Does £9m Really Buy 60 Immigration Agents?
UK Struggling with Both Halves of International Traveler ID