Boston airport second to test new iris-scanning technology BOSTON (AP) =97 Employees' irises would become their identification badges= =20 under a new security system that Logan International Airport began testing= =20 last week. Logan, which has gained national recognition for its aggressive= =20 pursuit of new security measures since Sept. 11, is trying the iris=20 recognition system on two entrances to secure areas of the airport,=20 according to aviation director Tom Kinton. In addition to using an access=20 card and punching in a security code, a group of Massport employees=20 participating in the pilot project will also have to look into a camera=20 that will scan and verify their unique iris codes. The iris is the colored= =20 ring that encircles the pupil of the eye. "It's another layer of security,"= =20 Kinton said. "People could steal the card or the number, but not this."=20 Logan is the second airport in the country to test the technology. New=20 York's John F. Kennedy International Airport began testing it for employee= =20 access two weeks ago. The system, which is being pitched by Tier Technologies, of Walnut Grove,=20 Calif., and LG Electronics, USA, based in Seoul, South Korea, analyzes the= =20 unique muscle and tissue patterns in the colored ring around every=20 individual's pupils. As part of the testing at Logan, a video image will be= =20 taken of employees' eyes. The iris portion will be extracted and then saved= =20 in a database as a distinct code. When entering through the doors that are= =20 part of the test, the employees will look into a camera that will make sure= =20 the codes match. The technology, which has been around for about 10 years,= =20 is also being used at a few airports internationally and at several U.S.=20 government sites, including the State Department, according to Richard=20 Roth, president of Counter Technology Inc., a security consulting company.= =20 One bank in Texas is using it to verify the identity of their ATM=20 customers, Roth said. CTI and Roth have helped Logan evaluate technologies in the past. The=20 company has not yet consulted with Logan about the iris-scanning=20 technology, Roth said. Logan previously tested facial recognition, another= =20 form of biometrics, but determined it was "not ready for prime-time,"=20 according to Roth. Kinton said that the technology, which compares=20 passengers' facial characteristics to images stored in a database, was=20 accurate but slow. "It did exactly what they said it would do," Kinton=20 said. "But from a speed standpoint, it needs to be further developed." The= =20 iris-scanning system, on the other hand, compares an individual's unique=20 "iris code" to a database within a matter of seconds, according to Mohammed= =20 Murad, director of systems integration sales and business development for=20 LG Electronics' Iris Technology Division. Another advantage of the system,= =20 Roth said, is that it registers very few false positive identifications.=20 And compared to finger-print reading, he said, it is very hard to "spoof"=20 or fool. The possible downsides, he said, are its expense and concerns=20 about its affect on people's eyes. Roth and Murad say the concerns about=20 eye damage are unfounded. Kinton said there are other unanswered questions,= =20 such as whether it works outdoors and how effective it is on people with=20 glasses or contacts. According to Murad, the cost of an iris recognition system starts at about= =20 $3,000 per door. While in the pilot stage, however, the system is costing=20 Massport nothing, Kinton said. The companies approached Logan about testing= =20 their system because "they're trying to take a leadership role in=20 security," according to Jim Weaver, president and chief operating officer=20 of Tier Technologies. Logan has applied to the federal Transportation=20 Security Administration, which took over aviation security in February, to= =20 become one of several pilot airports for emerging technology. No airports=20 have yet been selected. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Island Events) http://www.islandevents.com (Island Events) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************