See what happened when this attacker brought a knife to a gun fight

Government

Pentagon Wants to Turn Ordinary Smartphones Into Eye-Scanning, Thumbprint-Taking Super Machines

Feb. 13, 2013 11:59pm Liz Klimas

On Wednesday, a $3 million research contract by the Department of the Defense with a California-based company was announced that will ultimately to leverage technology that could turn ordinary smartphones into biometric scanners.

The company AOptix announced in a press release that the DoD would use its Smart Mobile Identity platform, tailored to the requirements needed of the agency for identity verification purposes in the field.

Department of Defense and AOptix Work to Build Biometric Scanner Attachment for Smartphones

AOptix’s system would work with a traditional smartphone through an attachment that slips over it. (Photo: AOptix)

Wired’s Danger Room was alerted to more ins and outs of the DoD’s potential uses for the technology. The eye-scanning, finger-print taking and voice recognition-type features would not be embedded in the phone but, as Wired put it, “it’s a peripheral that wraps around the phone.”

This addition is reported to weigh less than a pound with the phone, won’t interfere with typical phone functions and is operational with one hand, which Wired pointed out is an improvement upon the current Handheld Interagency Identity Detection System (HIIDE). HIIDE has been used to collect biometric information on 10 percent of the Iraqi population, and, although troops are continuing to pull out of the Middle East, we can only assume such data will continue to be collected.

The smartphone system that being developed by AOptix could replace HIIDE, the bulkier system (pictured here) currently in use collecting biometric data in the field. (Photo: Business Wire)

Here’s more from Wired about the improvements this system could have over HIIDE:

Smart Mobile Identity has limited ability to record biometric data at a distance, but its specs outperform the HIIDE camera. It scans faces at up to two meters away, irises from one meter, and voice from within the typical distance from a phone. Thumbprints will still require a finger against the reinforced glass face of the phone. Joey Pritikin, another AOptix executive, says that an additional advantage of the system is its ability to capture an iris in bright sunlight, which is a challenge for HIIDE and other biometrics device. Apparently the system will also be able to snap an image of someone’s face or eye once the phone running the software focuses on it, without a specific click, swipe or press.

United States Army Sgt. Sean Henry, of Belleview, Wash., records finger prints of village resident Abdul Manan with a HIIDE camera system while on patrol Thursday, May 6, 2010, in Afghanistan. (Photo: AP/Julie Jacobson)

The Wired stated that the contract involves two years of research, at the end of which the DoD will receive the hardware and software.

“Users of these systems in-field will benefit from a more compact, lightweight, versatile and accurate identity verification device than has previously been available,” Dean Senner, chairman and CEO of AOptix, said in a statement. “We are especially pleased to be working with CACI, leveraging its experience deploying sophisticated solutions for government agencies.”

This isn’t the first smartphone-based biometric system we’ve seen either. The FBI was testing out a different fingerprinting device for iPhones last year.

Here’s a look at AOptix’s iris recognition capabilities, which could be used for identification purposes at airport security, to give a sense of the type of technology they have:

–

Related:

Featured image via Shutterstock.com.

This story has been updated to make a photo caption more clear.

Benghazi, IRS, AP...What's next? Only TheBlaze TV offers the truth from Glenn Beck, Andrew Wilkow, and Real News from TheBlaze. Get instant access and a free trial here.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (13)

JEANNIEMAC
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 6:58pm
http://www.greaterthings.com/Conspiracy/SSN_SocialSecurityNumber_666/
Title 42 Sec. 666 concerns the Social Security Act.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Dan_o
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 3:03pm
Ummm, they already have this technology.

http://www.cogentsystems.com/MobilesProdLine.asp

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Saff SGT
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 1:54pm
stay away from this stuff eventually all this electronic junk will kill us all. This stuff is engineered to spie and mistreat Americans. What was your life like before these stupid Kiddie phones cam along. Im 70 yrs old and had one emergency and I drove to the Hostility You weaklings need to get some confidence and some balls and live your life’s.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:25pm
Sounds like a waste of time, an encrypted flash drive that is not writeable, could be just as effective, more secure, and a whole lot cheaper? How many phone hackers are out there? Why do I even bother explaining this? The military will attempt to take “off the shelf technology” then “adapt” it, even though blood and guts are on the line? Why, to save a buck? Build it from scratch? Make it unhackable? Make it unavailable to the public, including the developer tools?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Tigress1
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 9:54am
Why is it that everything that is labeled “smart” is exactly the opposite of that? Smart grid. Smart car. Smart phone…
Is using something labeled “smart” automatically mean that YOU are smart?
Or does using something labeled “smart” mean that you have no brains of your own?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
ares338
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 7:43am
I hate phones of any kind….smart or not.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
HOOT_OWL
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 5:51am
Not to throw more confusion of the ‘the mark of the beast ‘

I was going to respond to a comment below and I came across this site and
I Decided to share it.

The site goes on to describe ‘ there are 666 ways to take the mark of the beast ‘ because there are so many different beliefs .
~~~~~
“He will come as Allah or Imam Mahdi to the Muslims, Maitreya Buddha to the Buddhists, Jesus Christ to the Christians, Krishna to the Hindus, Messiah to the Jews, Saoshyant to the Zoroastrians, the “Dark Lord” to satanists, and so on through the whole list of 666 names.”
~~~~~
Not that it matters much to me .If I’m still here ,I’ll be in the guillotine line .

http://www.markbeast.com/mark/what-is-mark-beast.htm

Thoughts..?

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- SamIamTwo
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 9:13am
  I’ve already lost my head…too much net today. TMNT.
  
  Report this comment
denkat56
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 3:48am
Is this before or after the Obama budget cuts.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
AbrahamsSheepdog
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 2:50am
I want one of those organic screen with apple infinity batteries that combines with the Google glasses or contacts now. Bluetooth stocks must be up if a fellow had a dime to spare.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Ole Svenson
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 1:57am
Here’s a thought. The mark of the beast is a phone number. You hold your phone in your hand up to your head…. and talk to it. Imagine John seeing this in a vision in the prison at Patmos. How would he describe it?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
sparkyrules
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 1:22am
How about one that ex- Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood gets a message that says…

I’m an individual.I’m free and independent.I’m responsible.I don’t need a Bureaucrat to tell me to NOT TALK on a cell phone while driving.Don’t lump me in with the rest.****head.But you already did.And all your kissy face Corporations like UPS and FEDEX said do it.Weak people.
I’m glad you retired,LaHood.Good riddance.I’ll be the one flipping you off at the yield sign.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:08am
How about one that can make a phone call without hanging up when my cheek touches the screen? Or one that lasts more than 4 hours inbetween charges? That is the dang smart phone we need.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.