Iris scanning

[Trei, Peter]

> Harmon Seaver[SMTP:hseaver at cybershamanix.com]
> 
>   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? 
> 
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3003571.stm
> 
Iris scanning does not use lasers. It uses a high-definition TV camera to
image
the iris (the colored ring around the pupil). Retinal scanning sometimes
uses 
lasers, but does not have to. 

There are some HUD displays  which paint an image directly on the retina 
with low powered lasers, but they're pretty rare.

Biometrics seems to be in a bit of a lull right now. Many people noted the
*absence* of many biometrics at the RSA conference this year; I myself
saw nothing besides fingerprint readers.

Peter Trei