Biometrics: 'More research needed'

A senior Home Office advisor has warned that biometrics has a massive usability hurdle to overcome before systems can be rolled out.

The biometrics industry is currently being driven by government projects such as the identity cards scheme in the UK - which became law through the Identity Cards Act 2006 - and the US-Visit border control system across the pond.

However, Marek Rejman-Greene, a senior biometrics advisor for the Home Office's scientific development branch, has said far more research into usability is needed before any large-scale implementation. The UK ID cards scheme is due to roll out from 2008.

Appearing on a panel discussion at the Biometrics 2006 show in London, Rejman-Greene said: "I'm surprised how little we know about how people interact with this technology.

"We don't have any idea of the right things to do. We need more research about how people confront this technology, especially if the process goes wrong."

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Rejman-Greene said little research has been done into how well equipment would bear up under constant use and how comfortable the technology is for people to use.

He said: "Even though we have successful sensors, there's a question about how robust they are. Biometrics needs to be more comfortable."

Rejman-Greene also criticised the US-Visit capture process in some airports, saying it is not intuitive and relies on too much human intervention to make it work.

Tom Espiner writes for ZDNet UK