Sarnoff wants to scan your iris without your knowledge

Okay, so it's more like the US government wanting to snag shots of your eyeballs sans your knowledge, but still, Sarnoff Corporation (yet another New Jersey firm interested in ocular studies) has recently filed a patent application that spells out a snazzy method of quickly photographing a helpless individual's facial region multiple times in order to (hopefully) capture one solid look at the iris. This newfangled manner of jacking biometrics from clueless pedestrians is actually being requested by the American government, as it apparently hopes to use it to run constant background checks with the information on file in order to peg a threat as they're strolling through. The device is slated to beam a "powerful, infrared strobe light" onto the subjects' faces, which syncs up with the camera exposures and creates a bank of hopeful photos for each individual, presumably chewing through terabytes of hard drive space in the process. Regardless, even this tactical approach probably won't be effective for long -- you know, considering every potential baddie now knows to rock the welder's glasses from here on out.

[Via ]

[S @ Feb 8th 2007 1:49PM]

Well, looks like the device used in Minority report all over the city for eye scanning may soon be a reality.

-Sal

[CowboyGA @ Feb 8th 2007 1:57PM]

The US gov't comes out with (and is marketed with) tons of odd gadgets for security purposes. Very few of these items ever see any actual use. In this case, I'm hoping this idea never really gets off the ground... 'cause that would mean Uncle Sam is that creepy uncle you're afraid to leave your kids with. You know, the one with a make-shift bomb shelter.

[Dave @ Feb 8th 2007 1:58PM]

I'm paying money to my government so that they can afford to invade my privacy. Yay!

[F1ghter @ Feb 8th 2007 2:02PM]

There's an easy and non-threatening workaround to this one. While sunglasses would be a pretty fair tip to security personnel, colored contacts would successfully trick this device, while remaining unnoticeable.

[Harmon Wood @ Feb 8th 2007 2:30PM]

Are your AMAZING colored contacts laced with copper? If so, where can I get some of those?

[Derek @ Mar 15th 2007 8:59AM]

Actually, I used to work for Sarnoff and was used as a test subject for this product when it was still being researched. One of the benefits of their design is that with the InfraRed light to illuminate the eye, it is not affected by sunglasses. Sunglasses are usually designed to block UV light (i.e. - the opposite end of the visible spectrum) because that's the light that can damage your eyes.

The other benefit is that it can be done many meters away and while you are moving (such as through an airport metal detector). The planned deployment of this, from Sarnoff's perspective, was that it would be trying to match iris information it had databased on known bad guys. There's no plan to store the images it takes, and only to use them for comparison against known persons.

Of course, I understand this means nothing to those of you who will absolutely insist on being conspiracy fruitcakes (and you know who you are).

[(01) @ Feb 8th 2007 2:05PM]

Sal, I was thinking the exact same thing...They could have at lease given us transparent displays as compensation :-)

[Wiserun @ Feb 8th 2007 2:11PM]

As long as they don't add them to those freaky little spider creatures from Minority Report, I'm ok with it. Wondering about glasses, contacts, though. Wouldn't that provide enough of a glare/blur to screw it up? Especially with tinted /dirty lenses?

[saboola @ Feb 8th 2007 2:37PM]

Karnov??

http://www.planetnintendo.com/thewarpzone/boxes/karnov.jpg

[Dave @ Feb 8th 2007 3:03PM]

Reminds me of the movie "Idiocracy"

[mroach @ Feb 8th 2007 3:20PM]

I'm actually supposed to be getting OUT of jail today.

*whack*
You're in the wrong line.

---

I love that movie

[mike @ Feb 8th 2007 3:04PM]

What a bunch of whiners!!!

If you don't have anything to hid, you don't have anything to worry about.

[Chris @ Feb 8th 2007 10:22PM]

ok then, next time you are at a stoplight a cop will ask for your license and do a quick background check. like that idea?

where do you think this stops? invasion of privacy doesn't just apply to the guilty. A cop can't pull you over and run your drivers license number just because he feels like it, you need to do something suspicious first.

I'm sure a device like this has its place in very high security areas, but this will never be loosed on the public.

[CowboyGA @ Feb 8th 2007 3:11PM]

Uh... Mike, do you realize that you're whining about whining? Just a thought.

[world peace @ Feb 8th 2007 6:01PM]

"What a bunch of whiners!!!

If you don't have anything to hide, you don't have anything to worry about."

Okay, fine. Let me see how pink your anus is every Tuesday, and let me install cameras to view all of your loved one's nipples.

Thanks,
U.S.A.

[macona @ Feb 8th 2007 6:06PM]

Sunglasses will not do the trick. Interested thing I found with my my IR modded Sony DSC-V3 is that sunglasses are nearly transparent to IR. I took a pic of my friend with sunglasses on and the pic looked like she was wearing regular glasses.

[Kai @ Feb 8th 2007 7:25PM]

^^ Right, but if you IR coated your glasses (which shouldn't be that hard) you'd have a foolproof way of fooling the machine.

[LJKelley @ Feb 8th 2007 8:48PM]

This is horrible... It so nice to be spied on!! Soon the government will know everything you do and you make one mistake or say a wrong word or appear to make a mistake and your in jail... It just too much of a Nazi/Comi thing to do.

http://www.startblue.net

[angelsvairwaves1 @ Feb 8th 2007 9:51PM]

i dont think any of you need to worry too much about a way to fool it because it will NEVER go into production..... it sounds very hit or miss especially if you want to try and "track people" with it.

[Vince D @ Feb 9th 2007 3:07PM]

Chris;

"I'm sure a device like this has its place in very high security areas, but this will never be loosed on the public."

You are forgetting that the same was said about surveillance cameras (now ubiquitous in some cities). As soon as it becomes economical enough, our masters will steal enough funds from us to implement it. Say bye-bye to public anonymity.

[Vince D @ Feb 9th 2007 10:50AM]

Mike, I hope YOU welcome our new NSA overlords, because I, and all other liberty-loving Americans sure don't.

[Harry Wagstaff @ Aug 14th 2007 7:46AM]

Answer: Carry a shotgun, blast any surveillance devices as you walk by.

[Keith Richard Radford Jr @ Nov 11th 2007 2:37PM]

Anyone who knows anything about this type of technology which is no more than VooDoo science knows that the iris changes due to changes in the in the persons life.
The reading of irises only reflect the person at the time of the scan. It is ridiculous to think there is any security validity by use of this method. The truth is finding a way to reduce people to numbers is only designed to continue the enslavement of societies were people are marginalizing into uniformity without concern to the environment created by there zoo keepers, who are the ones that are the creators of the ills these societies suffer. How difficult is it to see we are being tagged for bagging by people who know they are not a part of the solution but are the problem.