AYUMI NAKANISHI / ANAKANISHI@STARBULLETIN.COM Operations assistant of the 1350 Ala Moana condominium Mano Gilman checked the computer monitors at the front desk on Saturday. The one on the left shows if the person's identification is granted or denied when they are using the eye reader for entry. The ones in the middle and on the right show the people entering the building through cameras set up inside of the building. At top, operations assistant Daniel Kealoha looked into the eye reader that identifies registered residents and employees of the building and unlocks the entries to the building.

A conference will examine
the emerging field of biometrics

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By Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com

The threat of terrorism since the 9/11 attacks has spurred more sophisticated methods of identifying people, such as with eyes, fingerprints and voice patterns, says computer specialist Peggy Regentine.

A person's walk, or gait, is the latest addition to the computer technology known as biometrics, she learned at a recent conference in Arlington, Va.

"Biometrics is an automated method of identifying persons using physiological characteristics or behavioral characteristics," explains Regentine, Windward Community College computer science professor.

With biometrics systems just beginning to appear in Honolulu, WCC is planning a conference Nov. 10-13 at the Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel to educate government officials, high tech providers and the public about the technology.

The meetings, funded partly by the Pacific Center for the Advancement of Technology, will cover such topics as homeland security, public safety, identity theft, administrative and criminal applications, e-commerce and consumer protection, legal and ethical issues.

Regentine, conference director, said the film "Minority Report," where eyes are scanned as a security measure, "may sound futuristic," but the technology already is in use here.

At 1350 Ala Moana, almost 1,000 people in 353 units cannot get into any of the entry doors or the exercise room without looking into an optical camera reader.

In March it became the first condominium in Hawaii to adopt a security system based on iris patterns, said Jennifer Gerard, resident manager.

She said people register for the system by looking into a mirror, and an iris scanner captures a mirror image of the eye.

"It's really an excellent system for security purposes," she said, "because no one can borrow keys. We pretty much have control over all the residents."

Gerard said many residents, especially some of the older ones, were "a little bit hesitant. They didn't really understand the process. They thought lasers were going to be shot in their eyes.

"Now everyone is pretty happy with it. They don't have to use their hands to open a door, so if they're loaded with packages, groceries or homework, it's really an easy access."

The condominium was looking at a fingerprint reader but decided it would take too long, she said.

"This system costs a little bit more, but by the time you replace keys or cards, other systems end up costing more in the long run."

Tom Keener, owner of Keener Technologies Inc., said the iris system is more expensive than some of the others, but "it takes less than two seconds to get into the door, which is pretty amazing."

Also, he said: "The iris is preferable in emerging technology because it is noninvasive. You don't have to touch anything anyone else touched."

AYUMI NAKANISHI / ANAKANISHI@STARBULLETIN.COM John Oki, a resident of the 1350 Ala Moana condominium, looked into the eye reader for entry on Saturday. The system is hands-free, but Oki says that it is sometimes slow and "could be better."

Keener said business was extremely bad the last quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year.

"Then it just exploded in March, and it hasn't stopped."

He said hand geometry and single fingerprint readers are popular.

Most of the business comes from commercial hotels, shopping centers, condos and military bases.

It is believed biometrics eventually will replace personal identification numbers, passwords and digital signatures as methods of identification, Regentine said.

She said physiological methods include fingerprints, facial, hand, iris or retinal scanning. Behavioral methods use voice recognition, typing technique and mouth movement, she said.

Three of the world's top biometric experts will be among speakers at the WCC conference, she said.

They are James Wayman of San Jose State University, biometrics director under the Clinton administration; Anil K. Jain, Michigan State University senior biometrics researcher; and Tony Mansfield of the National Physical Laboratory in Middlesex, England.

Among others will be Lt. Jim Main and systems analyst Scott McCallum of the Pinnellas County Sheriff's Office discussing facial recognition systems recently installed at the St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport in Florida. The system checks each ticketed passenger against a database of terrorists and wanted felons.

The registration deadline is Nov. 3. Fees are $495 for two people for the three days or $125 per day. The cost includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

For more information and to register, call 235-7312, e-mail peggy@hawaii.edu or log onto biometrics.wcc.hawaii.edu.