"Imagine a world where your stereo and TV know who you are," his eyes sparkle and his arms glide outwards, gently emphasising the fluidity of his vision.
Far from the ominous and omnipresent big brother so often associated with biometrics, Dunstone believes personal-identification technologies will ultimately lead to a freer and fairer society for all.
"As long as it is implemented properly," he cautions.
Realms of possibilities
There is a certain amount of mystique associated with the biometrics industry, and as a result, an awful lot of confusion as to its capabilities.
In the wake of the World Trade Centre attacks in the US, biometrics vendors world-wide have been caught making all sorts of promises regarding the efficacy of their particular solutions, however many within the industry are more guarded.
As an evangelist of the overall benefits of biometrics technology, and CEO of the Biometrics Institute, Clive Summerfield is concerned unqualified claims could do more harm to the industry than good.
"We have seen some US vendors come out and say that if their technology was being used in airports the tragedy could have been prevented," he says. "However, all indications are that Mohamed Atta and the rest of them had not been identified as terrorists in the past so there is no reason why they would have been stopped. Biometrics is about establishing people's identity, not reading people's minds."
Founded in July 2001, the Biometrics Institute aims to provide independent advice to users of biometric technology, as well as liaise with the community about possible privacy concerns over the implementation of the technology.
Summerfield points out that without an industry body, end users would have to rely on the advice provided by biometrics vendors.
"It is important to have an independent group able to advise in the use and implementation of the different technologies," he said.
While fingerprint technology is by far the most widely used form of biometric identification, there has also been a passing interest in hand geometry and retinal scans.
As architecture director of security with Unisys, Ajoy Ghosh is focussing on proven technologies, and finding new ways to integrate them into security and identification requirements.
"We are mostly working on areas of identity verification, making sure people are who they say they are," explains Ghosh. "Using fingerprints to check electoral rolls and so forth."
Ghosh also says that since September 11 there has been an increase in the integration of fingerprint technology into identity cards, such as the Malaysia Card and similar projects in Colombia.
"Some governments are able to simply implement these types of systems, things that would be very difficult in Australia," Ghosh said.
An increase in concern for state security has even seen governments traditionally curtailed, for fear of a voter back-lash, openly suggest national identity cards.
September 11 has also added impetus to ,iris-scanning technology, which had already been gaining increased interest as improvements to the technology brought prices down.
According to John Grimes, director of business management for Iris Australia iris scanning is growing in popularity due to its non-invasive nature and accuracy.
"Globally we are looking at a series of cases where databases are being compiled based on voluntary enrollments, especially in the areas of travel and immigration," Grimes said. "The technology has never had an instance of a false accept, and the participant is aware they are being scanned and is actively involved in the process."
Multimodal biometrics is also carving out a niche in areas where secure access is paramount.
Rather than relying on one mode of biometric verification Nick Janic, General manager at BioData InfoSecurity explains that an interaction of several metrics provides a highly secure, and flexible system for identity verification.
While the multimodal biometric system BioData offers is available as a software development kit, Janic says its uses are essentially created for identity verification for security purposes rather than surveillance.
"The system is based on a combination of voice recognition, lip pattern and face recognition," Janic explains. "You could link the information which identifies each individual back to a database of information, but to use the system they must be willing participants in the whole process. It is more use as access control, either in terms of physical access, or in terms of who has and hasn't accessed certain information within a company. "
Also on the horizon are DNA-based recognition, ear shape, keystroke patterns, personal signature, vein pattern and voice recognition. In many cases the technology exists to measure or record the specific biological signatures, but the commercial applications of these measurements remain to be seen.
Further out in the ether, methods for recognising body odour and capturing gait patterns also loom large, however few are taking these as serious options at this stage.
However, one of the most contentious technologies is face recognition, with critics describing the technology as unreliable and its implementation--in terms of surveillance--as unethical.
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