New R&D Center Hopes To Fix Problems With Biometrics

It’s been used to scan for crooks at NFL games and it’s expected to one day nab known terrorists at the airport -- it’s facial recognition technology. And despite the greater security proponents of the technology think it promises, some experts say at present it’s useless. That’s how Dr. Venu Govindaraju, a biometrics expert at the University of Buffalo, described the current state of the technology in a recent press release from the university.

However, a new R&D center at the university plans to identify and address some of the current shortfalls of face recognition technology in hopes of building more reliable biometric systems in the coming years. "We believe success depends on being able to combine and 'tune' technologies," said Govindaraju. "The technology for these applications exists. Now it's a question of figuring out how to build the best devices."

Funded by the National Science Foundation and the NY State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR), the new facility will bring together other existing biometrics research centers in Michigan and West Virginia. While more work is required to make facial recognition a viable technology, experts predict that biometrics will evolve into a $4 billion industry by 2007. According to NYSTAR, the U of B facility will help.

“U of B's biometrics center will play a major role in the commercialization of biometrics technology," said Russell Bessette, executive director of NYSTAR.

For more information, visit http://www.buffalo.edu/news/fast-execute.cgi/article-page.html?article=64760009