Eye-scanners may soon be used to verify cell phone users according to Xvista, a UK-based company which has developed the first portable iris scanner.

Photo: Iris Scanning Cell Phones a Reality Photo 1

Developed through a $3.4 million, six year partnership with the University of Sussex, the xVista system offers an accurate and secure method of checking an individual's identity.

xVista's technology discreetly and securely map the iris for individual characteristics, first registering the eye to a central database by creating a template. Then be checked against all further scans, the system can verify the user's identity.

With the chances of two separate human irises matching approximately one in 7 billion, iris-scanners have been one of the highest level of security available against identity fraud, with potential applications within passport control, financial transactions, and mobile phone security.

Capable of running from any low power computing device or camera equipped mobile phone, the system uses a standard 256 MB memory card to hold over 250,000 iris templates. From a database of 1,000,000 irises, it will take less than one second to verify an individual's iris.

"The xVista technology performs a similar task to the traditional signature, photograph or pin number in confirming an individual's identity, but is far more reliable," said Karlis Obrams Managing Director of xVista. "The fact that the system can run from portable devices like the mobile phone and SIM card opens up fantastic potential for its use, making it far more effective than other scanning systems that are usually bulky and limited to fixed points."

Previously the realm of science fiction, biometrics are increasingly becoming an important part of modern security systems, with a pilot iris scanning scheme having recently been introduced into passport control at Heathrow Airport.

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1. Posted by Cadd	Mon May 22, 2006 7:39 am
Whoa Straight out of Mission Impossible.
2. Posted by PunkRock	Mon May 22, 2006 11:15 am
... "Capable of running from any low power computing device or camera equipped mobile phone..." So does this mean the camera lens will be doing the scanning? Maybe it's just me but I always imagined there'd be a laser of some sort. But then again that just sounds dangerous.
3. Posted by mgoblue	Mon May 22, 2006 2:22 pm
nah you watch too many movies. i'm sure the camera lens takes a photo and matches it to the templates in storage.
4. Posted by stargrl357	Tue May 23, 2006 5:46 am
Wow... really futuristic. I guess if mobile wallets are going to be put onto cell phones, losing it or having it stolen would be pretty bad. Maybe passwords or codes aren't secure enough.
5. Posted by GSMDude	Tue May 23, 2006 6:07 am
Biometrics is coming faster than you know it. if not iris scanners then fingerprint readers. Passwords are inherantly poor security devices with lots of flaws that make them exploitable. Biometrics on the other hand... is somewhat more secure.
6. Posted by Cadd	Tue May 23, 2006 9:05 am
I'll believe it when I see it. Plus if the camera lens takes a photo of your eye, whats the prevent someone from copying that image and uploading it to the verification system to falsely identify the person?
7. Posted by brianthebmf	Tue May 23, 2006 12:15 pm
very true, maybe it stores it on an offphone database and verifies that way? you know like backup assistant
8. Posted by booboy	Tue May 23, 2006 3:13 pm
that doesnt sound so secure. i'm sure it wont take a picture. if anything it'll use the lens as a scanner. but i agree, the potential for fraud seems pretty high.
9. Posted by mgoblue	Fri May 26, 2006 10:14 am
just take a picture of someone's eye and print it out. then hold it up to the lens

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