Technology convergence

Technology convergence

A trend in which different hardware devices such as TVs, computers

and phones merge and have similar functions.

http://www.davechaffey.com/E-marketing-Glossary/Technology-convergence.htm

"PLACE YOUR HAND ON THE SCANNER"

In a world increasingly dependent on electronically stored information, both consumers and businesses are seeking greater data security. The answer could lie in biometric identification, in which the unique characteristics of part of a person's body - the
ir hands, for example, or the pattern of their irises - are used to verify the identity of that individual.

Some Japanese banks have already begun installing biometric ID systems at their ATMs in an effort to combat cash-card fraud. But biometric ID has many other uses, including keeping track of who enters and leaves offices, protecting computers from tampering, and preventing unauthorized entry to apartment buildings. Manufacturers of these hi-tech security systems report that demand is booming.

http://web-japan.org/trends/science/sci050510.html

Fingerprint Matching:

Among all the biometric techniques, fingerprint-based identification is the oldest method which has been successfully used in numerous applications. Everyone is known to have unique, immutable fingerprints. A fingerprint is made of a series of ridges and furrows on the surface of the finger.

The uniqueness of a fingerprint can be determined by the pattern of ridges and furrows as well as the minutiae points. Minutiae points are local ridge characteristics that occur at either a ridge bifurcation or a ridge ending.

http://biometrics.cse.msu.edu/fingerprint.html

Embossing Braille printer recognizes things for the visually impaired

Chinese designer Danni Luo has designed a printing device to create special embossed labels, so the visually impaired could also distinguish products with similar characteristics, such as pill bottles, CDs, files, etc., effortlessly without seeking help from others. Dubbed the “Embossing Braille Printer,” the hand-held label printer lets the users install the name or brief information of the particular product onto a 25mm x 50mm label with embossed Braille characters via a voice-recognition recorder, so the sight-impaired could avoid misidentification of analogous objects, which often leads to grave consequences.

http://www.thedesignblog.org/page/3/