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Iris

This mouse reads your eyeballs

It seems logical to bestow the computer mouse with security features, as it's already a natural gatekeeper standing perennially at the ready like a loyal sentry guarding the palace. There have been a number of models on the market, for example, that authenticate fingerprints. But an iris reader?

Maybe it's just us, but we're not in the habit of peering into the mouse--or anything else on our desktop--closely enough for our eyeballs to be identified. That's what would apparently be required to get past this picky peripheral from Qritek Japan, which Plastic Bamboo says has a … Read more

Grab your Visine and prepare to be scanned

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to that club you were thrown out of, they come up with another way to keep you behind the rope.

Touted as a "non-invasive" approach to checking ID, iris scanners rely on pattern recognition of the image reflected from the iris's convex cornea--which, when converted into a digital template, will give you away every time.

The problem with conventional iris scanners is that they require the subject to hold still and submit. Now, a new-fangled unit produced by Sarnoff Labs in New Jersey can reportedly identify up … Read more

Stare into this phone and feel safe

Despite its decidedly creepy photo, this technology might actually help you sleep at night. Japan's Oki Electric has developed an iris-recognition security system for mobile phones and plans to release it commercially in March, according to Pink Tentacle.

What makes this technology different from other eye-scanning systems is that it can work with any camera-equipped cell phone or PDA, as long as it uses Oki's software. Although the company developed the system to improve security for phone payments, the technology presumably could be extended to other important uses as well. A similar system for laptops, for example, could … Read more