Iris scanning

[Major Variola (ret)]

At 09:08 AM 5/7/03 -0500, Harmon Seaver wrote:
>  An article on BBC mentions how little iris scanning has actually been
tested,
>and that China, for instance, is refusing to use it because of possible
dangers,
>or at least, perceived dangers. Which has me wondering, could there be
actual
>dangers from iris scanning, say a malfunctioning laser damaging the
eye?

Very interesting question.  I wonder if the engineers who make the
things
consider a transient that blows the diode, and fries your fovea too.
I'd
like to see the technical argument that it "can't happen".  99.999 %
still means a few cyclops a year.

The laypeoples' (albeit largely irrational) fear of ionizing radiation
keeps some
domestic body-scans from happening (though not at the borders).  There
might be more serious cause for concern from lasers in eyes.  A few
stray
lawsuits could obtain free publicity.  Maybe from folks taking meds that

make them photosensitive, folks with macular degeneration, or just plain

HAARP-makes-me-crazy folks.

Good question.