Biometrics: identifying the future – a mission to Japan · 2012-11-01 · BIOMETRICS: IDENTIFYING THE FUTURE – A MISSION TO JAPAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This DTI Global Watch mission,

GLOBAL WATCH MISSION REPORT

Biometrics: identifying thefuture – a mission to Japan

NOVEMBER 2003

The DTI drives our ambition of‘prosperity for all’ by working tocreate the best environment forbusiness success in the UK. We help people and companiesbecome more productive bypromoting enterprise, innovation and creativity.

We champion UK business at homeand abroad. We invest heavily inworld-class science and technology.We protect the rights of workingpeople and consumers. And we stand up for fair and open markets in the UK, Europe and the world.

Global Watch Missions

The UK government Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)Global Watch service provides funds to assist small groupsof technical experts from UK companies and academia tovisit other countries for short, fact finding missions.

Global Watch missions serve a number of related purposes.These include establishing contacts with overseasorganisations for the purposes of collaboration;benchmarking the current status of UK industry againstdevelopments overseas; identifying key developments in aparticular field, new areas of progress or potentiallydisruptive technologies; studying how a specific industryhas organised itself for efficient operation or howgovernments, planners or decision makers have supportedor promoted a particular area of industry or technologywithin their own country.

Disclaimer

This report represents the findings of a technology missionorganised by the Association for Biometrics (AfB) with thesupport of the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).The views expressed represent those of the mission teamand should not be taken as those of DTI, AfB or theemployers of the individual team members.

Unless referenced to a secondary source, the informationcontained within this report is based on material gainedduring the mission. Information is given in good faith butno liability can be accepted for its accuracy or for any use towhich it might be put.

Comments, views and opinions attributed to organisationsthat were visited in the course of this mission are thoseexpressed by personnel interviewed. Unless explicitlystated to the contrary, they should not be taken as those ofthe organisation as a whole, its board or management.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that theinformation provided in this report is accurate and up todate, DTI accepts no responsibility whatsoever in relation tothis information. DTI shall not be liable for any loss ofprofits or contracts or any direct, indirect, special orconsequential loss or damages whether in contract, tort orotherwise, arising out of or in connection with your use ofthis information. This disclaimer shall apply to themaximum extent permissible by law.

Biometrics: identifying the future

– a mission to Japan

NOVEMBER 2003

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BIOMETRICS: IDENTIFYING THE FUTURE – A MISSION TO JAPAN

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CONTENTS

Executive summary 4

1 Introduction 61.1 Rationale 61.2 Key terms 61.3 Biometrics and applications 61.4 Mission aims and objectives 71.5 Why Japan? 81.6 Mission participants 91.7 Organisations met 101.8 Seminar overview 101.9 About this report 11

2 Visit and meeting reports 122.1 Hitachi: ‘inspire the next’ 122.2 Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi 122.3 Panasonic: ‘ideas for life’ 132.4 NEC Multimedia Research Labs 142.5 Fujitsu Ltd 152.6 Animo Ltd 162.7 Narita Airport Authority (NAA): 17

‘the world’s leading IT airport’2.8 Toshiba Corp: from mail sorting 18

to facial recognition2.9 Digital Development Systems 18

(DDS): low cost fingerprinting2.10 Japan Biometrics Security 19

Consortium (JBSC)2.11 Yokohama National University 21

3 Japanese industry analysis 223.1 General economic background 223.2 Biometrics market trends 22

4 Academic research in Japan 24and the UK

4.1 Mission perspective 244.2 Research perspectives 244.3 Universities and academic 26

research4.4 University teaching and skills 27

development4.5 Research conclusions 28

5 Observations, conclusions and 29recommendations

5.1 Observations and conclusions 295.2 Recommendations 29

AppendicesA Acknowledgments 30B Mission participants 31C Japanese contacts 37D Seminar attendees 38E Seminar synopses 40F Glossary 42G List of illustrations 44

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This DTI Global Watch mission, coordinatedby the Association for Biometrics (AfB),achieved all of its goals and even exceededthem in a number of areas. The knowledgethat was gained by the mission participantshas added significantly to the understandingof the Japanese biometrics marketplace andits focus and has provided some fascinatinginsights into the areas of research anddevelopment (R&D) and academic support forbiometric technologies within Japan.

The fact that the biometrics marketplace inJapan is firmly in the hands of largemultinational companies (MNCs) highlighted anumber of interesting parallels between ourtwo countries, particularly within the area ofR&D to market routes. The budgets set asidefor R&D in biometrics were seen to be farhigher overall in Japan than they are in theUK, and it was very noticeable how thisbudget was apportioned between internalcompany spending and government-supported academic efforts, with the bulkbeing spent by the companies themselves.

Whereas in the UK and other developedwestern economies the drivers towardsmarket for biometric technologies residepredominantly in large-scale governmentapplications, in Japan this trend is not asapparent, with the focus appearing to be onthe domestic consumer market. There wasevidence that the Japanese were keen tocollaborate on the international scale. Theirgrowing interest in the formation ofinternational standards for biometricssupported this observation. However, themission did not identify many areas wherecollaborative effort between UK-basedcompanies and those in Japan could be builtas effectively as they could between UK andwestern countries.

It was noted that Japan is slowly moving tothe realisation that biometrics is beingadopted on the global scale in applicationsdriven by the need to secure national bordersand protect a country’s economic position.This realisation is changing the balance ofbiometric usage, which has to date beenclearly focused on the (one-to-one)verification of a person’s identity, to morelarge scale (one-to-many) database searches.

The size of the biometrics market (measuredin financial terms) in Japan has grown from£15 million in 2000 to £41 million in 2003 andis predicted to be around £85 million by 2007.

Sector activity, as measured by patent filing,indicates that fingerprint technology is by farthe largest area of interest with approximately43% of total patent activity. The activities forother biometrics are approximately: bodies (ingeneral) 12%; face 10%; signature 8%; iris7%; composite (multi-modal) 7%; and voice 5%.

It was further stated that, as the level ofequipment shipments has increased, the unitprice has fallen, resulting in the need for newbusiness models. The tendency is nowtowards total solutions in the form ofauthentication services and solutions asprovided by the large systems integrators. InJapan there are around 10 systemsintegrators and some 80 technology vendors.In 2000 the market for systems was 10 timesthe market for equipment, and this isexpected to continue beyond 2005.

The changing views on international marketsand the need for international standardsseems likely to result in Japan ‘opening up’ toglobal markets, and the mission team notedthat the recent formation of the Japan

Biometrics Security Consortium (JBSC) wouldfacilitate this shift. It is for the UK market nowto capitalise on the opening up of theJapanese industry by grasping theopportunity to build collaborative links andpartnerships as the opportunities arise. AfBwill continue to work in this area on behalf ofits membership and the UK biometrics areaas a whole.

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

The Global Watch service of the UKgovernment’s Department of Trade andIndustry (DTI) aims to improve thecompetitiveness of UK companies by raisingawareness and promoting the application ofglobal developments in technology andmanagement best practice across all sectorsof the economy.

As one aspect of this, the Global Watchservice funds and operates technology fact-finding missions to overseas markets. Eachmission comprises a small group ofparticipants from UK companies and arepresentative of a relevant area of academia.Each mission spends a short period of timeabroad learning about technology and marketopportunities in another country. The missionsincrease the flow of information and promotegreater awareness amongst senior industryrepresentatives through direct contact withkey organisations and personalities overseas.The host countries are chosen for theadvanced state of their interrelated technologymarkets in the area of interest to the mission.Each mission also features a sector-specificsponsoring organisation that is responsible fordissemination activities in the UK.

In November 2003, the Association forBiometrics (AfB), the world’s largest fee-supported biometrics body, led a GlobalWatch mission to Japan with a focus toinvestigate the Japanese biometrics marketfrom industrial, academic and governmentperspectives. The entire mission process,from inception through planning tocompletion, had taken more than sevenmonths. The published findings of themission will add greatly to the knowledge

base and help considerably in promoting greater effectiveness across all sectors of thebiometrics community and providebackground to UK companies in consideringopportunities for international collaboration.

1.2 Key terms

Biometrics is the automated identification orverification of human identity through therepeatable measurement of physiological orbehavioural traits.

In general terms identification means thesearch of a biometric sample against adatabase of other samples in order toascertain whether the donor is alreadycontained in, or new to the database.Verification refers to the ‘one-to-one’comparison between one sample andanother to ask the question ‘are you who yousay you are?’ The majority of access controlapplications utilise verification techniques,rather than attempting searches of databases,which could compromise accuracy and raisecosts. The one major exception to this is irisrecognition, which is nearly alwaysimplemented in a ‘one-to-many’ scenario.

1.3 Biometrics and applications

In general terms security is now usuallybased on either ‘something you know’, or‘something you have’, or a combination ofboth. Take the example of a cashpoint card.You have the card and you know the PIN.However, the card may be lost or stolen, yourPIN may be stolen by stealth – or simplybecause you wrote it down and kept it withthe card. Maybe the ‘something you know’ isa password, but how many of us havemultiple passwords and how many of us

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write them down and leave them where theycan be found? How many costly calls to ITHelp Desks are concerned with forgottenpasswords? How many employees are‘clocked’ in and out by friends when they areactually somewhere else?

Biometrics adds a ‘something you are’. Youcannot leave your fingerprint at home in themorning like you can your office pass. Canyour iris be stolen? This is the primeadvantage of a biometric – it is part of theperson and is not therefore easilycompromised. Consider also the issue of‘non-repudiation’. It could be claimed that aperson had lost their cashpoint card beforemoney was withdrawn, or that somebodyhad found, or guessed, a computer logonpassword. However, it would be hard foranybody to claim that his or her iris patternhad been copied and used by somebody else.

All biometric systems work in much the sameway. A sensor (camera, microphone, etc)captures a physical or behaviouralcharacteristic. The ‘image’ is then convertedto a numerical code (template) using aproprietary algorithm. This is either thenstored, or compared against other numericalcodes created during the ‘enrolment’ process.The result of the comparison is an automateddecision. This may be ‘Does this person haveaccess to the building?’ or ‘Can this personbe logged onto the computer network?’

The applications for biometrics are vast andexpanding all of the time. Their use is nearlyalways as part of a larger, overall system inwhich the physiological trait is used either toverify a person’s identity or ascertain whetherthe person is already enrolled into thesystem. Traditionally, a biometric is used toestablish a person’s right to a privilege, suchas access to a computer system, area of abuilding, or perhaps citizenship rights.However, the list of actual and potential usesis vast and one must always remember that abiometric may also be used simply as a

convenience tool in applications wheresecurity is not the issue.

At the time of publication, there are a numberof UK government applications of biometricsthat are either mature, or in the planningstage. For nearly two decades the UK hasrelied on a fingerprint biometric system(NAFIS) to ensure the validity of our nationalcriminal records, and for over fifteen yearshand-geometry biometrics have beenemployed to control and validate visitor, staffand inmate movements within our prisons.The events of 11 September 2001 havespurred a number of new initiatives, including biometric-enabled travel documents, andrecent announcements by the Home Officepoint to the introduction within ten years of aNational Identity Document and a NationalIdentification Database.

Biometrics may therefore provide manybenefits, from the personal convenience ofnot having to remember passwords, tosupport of the national security of wholenations and indeed the world at large. Theability to ensure a person’s identity throughthe use of their unique physiological orbehavioural characteristics adds much to theeconomic, social and political wellbeing of anycountry, and there is no doubt that biometrictechnologies will continue to find more andmore applications in the modern world.

1.4 Mission aims and objectives

The primary purpose of this mission was togain an understanding of the currentdevelopment of the Japanese research,supply and demand side biometrics sectorand to learn about Japanese industry andgovernment views of the future of biometricsand how both the public administration andbusiness areas may adopt them. The missionwished to understand the priorities for futureresearch and development (R&D) and howthese will drive the future development anduptake of biometrics.

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We also wished to understand thecommonalities between the UK, European,US and Japanese industry at the presenttime, based upon current status and futurevisions, to help identify opportunities forcollaboration and cooperation.

While in Western economies many of thebiometrics developers are small or mediumenterprises (SMEs), with the beginnings ofsector consolidation underway, in Japan it isthe large multinational companies (MNCs)that represent the main players.Understanding their strategic approach toglobal biometrics markets as well as theirdomestic agenda will allow us to assess thepotential for UK collaboration.

A recent announcement from Hitachi of theformation in Japan of a 39-body organisation,the Japan Biometrics Security Consortium(JBSC), set up to promote the unification ofinternational biometrics standards, providesproof of Japan’s interest in the sector on theinternational stage. The AfB mission provideda timely opportunity to understand the focusand aims of this new group, and position theUK at the forefront of internationalcollaboration with it.

Additional objectives were to:• Understand the educational and training

developments for biometrics in Japan• Gain an appreciation of the current

developments in academic R&D and wherethis may complement UK developments,with a view for collaboration

• Understand current and future micro-scaleand manufacturing developments in Japanassociated with sensor technologies andhow this may impact the uptake andperformance of large-scale biometricsapplications

• Gain an understanding of the supply anddemand side structure of the Japanesedomestic biometrics sector

• Assess how UK companies maycollaborate with their Japanese

counterparts, and what aspects ofcollaboration might generate the bestshort, medium and long term opportunities

1.5 Why Japan?

Japan has a number of elements in respectof biometrics that complement developmentshere in the UK and hence stimulate interestin visiting the country. Geographically andculturally Japan is a long way from the UK,and with the continuing globalisation ofbusiness it was valuable to gain anappreciation of developments in Asia andhow issues associated with privacy andsecurity are being addressed whenconsidered in the context of biometricsapplications.

Japan is a world leader in the development oftechnologies associated with micro-scalemanufacturing and sensor technologies.These two areas will have a significant impacton the emergence of biometrics as a massmarket, high volume solution for automaticidentification. An understanding of currentstatus and future intentions in these areashelped identify opportunities for UKcompanies for collaboration, partnering andlicensing to ensure they achieve and maintaininternational competitiveness.

The Asian market provides a huge opportunityas well as risk for many UK companies, notleast due to the long distance and culturaldifferences of the market. As a maturemarket, Japan represents an ideal partner andpotential hub for UK companies to extendinto the wider Asia Pacific region.

These market aspects are wellcomplemented by the UK skills andexperience of the development of bestpractice, training and education, standards aswell as system level integration.

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1.6 Mission participants

The mission participants came from bothacademia and the business community andrepresented technology researchers,developers and system integrators thusproviding the widest perspective of theemerging biometrics R&D, application andintegration market:

Mr John DaviesDirectorAssociation for Biometrics (AfB)

Professor Michael FairhurstHead of DepartmentElectronic Engineering Laboratory University of Kent

Mr Andrew SapelukDirectorSecurivox Ltd

Mr Keith GoodyManaging DirectorDectel Security Ltd

Mr Cliff RobinsonTechnical Director & CTOISL Biometrics Ltd

Mr Francis ToyeManaging DirectorUnilink Computers plc

Full contact details of the participants are inAppendix B.

The companies represented were all SMEsand members of the AfB. Althoughbiometrics technologies have been developedfor some time there continues to beconsiderable R&D being undertaken withinuniversities to research new technologies anddevelop existing techniques so as to provide arobust and reliable solution. A number of themission members had previously been on aGlobal Watch mission, thus providing an

experienced view of how to ensure the mostwas achieved during the visit.

In particular, Professor Mike Fairhurst hadjoined the Global Watch mission to the USAin 2001, and provided his invaluableexperience. The University of Kent hasconsiderable experience of various biometricstechnologies, and Professor Fairhurst wasable to take an objective view of the differentdemonstrations we were shown. A recentindustry collaboration project at the Universityof Kent has looked at the opportunities formulti-modal biometrics and this knowledgeserved the mission well when discussingfuture directions with the Japanesecompanies.

Securivox as a core technology developer ofvoice biometrics were interested in how theJapanese viewed the adoption of biometricsand what their approach was to integratingsolutions with licenced intellectual property.The majority of Japanese companies active indevelopment of biometrics are large MNCs,and Andy Sapeluk was able to assess how farthey had come in development ofcommercially viable solutions.

Dectel Security, ISL Biometrics Ltd andUnilink Computers are system integratorsof biometrics with various focuses on themarket – Dectel looking at a broad range ofapplications, in particular areas of securityimage management; ISL Biometrics Ltdfocusing on authentication software forsecure enterprise networks and applicationlogon, with considerable experience in thehealthcare sector; and Unilink Computersfocusing on applications for the criminaljustice system and immigration.

With the AfB as the lead representing itsmembers across the whole range of interestsin the UK, the balance of the mission teamwas truly representative.

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DTI International Technology Promoter (ITP)Phillip White has responsibility for Japan inidentifying emerging areas of technology thatoffer opportunities to UK companies. Incollaboration with the AfB, Phillip hadundertaken prior research of the Japanesebiometrics market to ensure the best breadthof coverage was achieved with the visitprogramme and, along with the BritishEmbassy’s Science and Technology team inTokyo, contributed significantly to ensuringthe success of the mission.

1.7 Organisations met

In Japan, the mission team met withrepresentatives of the followingorganisations:

• Hitachi Ltd• Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi• Panasonic• NEC Multimedia Research Labs• Fujitsu Ltd• Animo Ltd• Narita Airport Authority (NAA)• Toshiba Corp• Digital Development Systems (DDS)• Japan Biometrics Security Consortium• Yokohama National University

Reports of visits and meetings with theseorganisations are in Chapter 2, and contactdetails in Appendix C.

1.8 Seminar overview

Due to logistics the seminar that normally isundertaken at the beginning of a GlobalWatch mission was not able to be arrangedand had to be scheduled for the end of themission instead. Although initial concern wasraised about not being able to brief our hostsbefore we met them on an individual meetingbasis, these concerns turned out to beunfounded. By holding the seminar at the endof the week, in fact the final event of themission, the mission team was able to

include in their presentations their week’sexperience in Japan, and we had already metmuch of the audience thus ensuring a moreinteractive and informal event.

All of the mission team providedpresentations on various aspects of theemerging biometrics market with thefollowing running order:

Opening remarksMr Brian FerrarFirst Secretary S&TBritish Embassy Tokyo

Introduction to the Association forBiometrics and the European BiometricsForumJohn DaviesAssociation for Biometrics (AfB)

Challenges for international research inbiometricsProfessor Michael FairhurstUniversity of Kent

Speaker verification – what are wewaiting for?Andrew SapelukSecurivox Ltd

Development and perception of facerecognition in the UKKeith GoodyDectel Security Ltd

Integrating biometrics into directoryservicesCliff RobinsonISL Biometrics Ltd

Applications of biometrics for detaineesFrancis ToyeUnilink Computers plc

Synopses of these presentations are inAppendix E.

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Following the presentations, a question andanswer session was held with all thespeakers; this was followed by a networkingreception allowing further discussions on aone-to-one basis.

A list of seminar attendees is in Appendix D.

1.9 About this report

This introduction has attempted to set thescene for what follows:

Summaries of the visits and meetings are inChapter 2. The Japanese industry analysis inChapter 3 delivers a view of the general trendof biometrics development and application inJapan and how this compares with the UK.Then follows in Chapter 4 a detailed view ofacademic research in Japan and the UK. Afocus on the future for the UK biometricsindustry is provided and how this links toacademic research currently being undertakenand planned.

The appendices acknowledge the supportreceived by the mission team both in the UKand in Japan; give details of the missionteam; contact details relating to the meetingsheld; a list of attendees at the seminar held inTokyo at the end of the mission; synopses ofthe seminar presentations; a glossary ofterms used in this report; and a list of theillustrations.

This document has been prepared byamalgamating the reports that eachparticipant provided and should be viewed asa joint effort to which all mission teammembers have made a valuable contribution.

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2 VISIT AND MEETING REPORTS

2.1 Hitachi: ‘inspire the next’

• Tomoichi Kitzume, Department Manager,Social Systems

• Masayuki Akatsu, Senior Engineer, SocialSystems

• Shinichi Inoue, Engineer, Social Systems• Kumi Funamoto, Social Systems• Yasuo Utsunomiya, SW Project Manager

Hitachi are committed to the development ofsystems that incorporate biometrictechnology. They see progress towards theapplication of biometrics assisting in thedevelopment of the ‘social infrastructure’ ofJapan. The corporate goal is to be a ‘bestsolutions partner’ that creates value for theircustomers, providing information systemservices and social infrastructure systems,aspiring to become a global supplier of totalsolutions. This will mean some changes tothe type of business they have traditionallybeen involved in. Developments in biometricshave to be ‘safe and reassuring’ to the public.A mission from Hitachi recently visitedEurope with a view to establishing furthercooperation in the field of biometrics.

Two of the more recent influences on currentbiometric technology developments include acentral government policy statement in 2000that directed companies to ‘make sure ofsecurity and reliability in IT networks’, and thepost 9/11 impact of the US HomelandSecurity requirements for visa/passportsecurity. In addition there is need forimproved security in the public sector forusers of e-government (driving licences,social security cards, etc) and in the financialsector with developments in cash/debit/creditcards and e-money.

Hitachi are actively involved in JapanBiometrics Security Consortium (JBSC),holding the Deputy Chair, and also activelyparticipating on ISO SC37, SC17 and SC27.

Three biometric applications weredemonstrated and discussed: face recognition,finger vein and fingerprint systems. The currentstatus of the products indicates that therecould be significant potential, particularly giventhe apparent level of investment in R&D.However, the intended applications for themarkets, outside Japan, are not clear, perhapswith the exception of the fingerprint scanner foraccess control. It was noted that the fingerprintchip was not Hitachi-owned technology.

2.2 Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi

• Hiroshi Shimada, Manager, StrategicComprehensive Card & Credit Division

• Yasuyuki Taneda, Manager, Retail BankingPlanning Office

A new division has been established withinthe Bank, with the aim of implementing anew multifunctional IC (integrated circuit, or

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Figure 1 Finger vein verification at Hitachi

chip) card. The desired functionality wouldinclude electronic purse (Mondex style), debitcard and credit card incorporating contact andcontactless technology. Biometric technologyis required to enhance standard forms of cardsecurity as it is perceived as more convenientto use and more secure.

The type of biometric technology to authenticatean individual is still under consideration. Initiallythe card is likely to have only one biometric;however, as no one biometric is perceived asbeing overwhelmingly better than another,evaluations are continuing with the prospectultimately of using a multi-modal approach.

There is yet to be a final decision on themethodology, but it is expected that data willbe held on the card and not on a centraldatabase. Any processing of data within theBank system will be encrypted to ensure theconfidentiality of all personal data.

The Bank anticipates that it will be the firstbank to use biometric card security in Japan,with implementation planned from April 2004through to March 2005 in several phases,commencing with basic functionality and onebiometric technology. A significant budget hasbeen allocated to the project.

Initially no commercial benefits for the Bankare considered likely, but it is hoped that theadded security and functionality of the cardwill give the Bank unique selling points and astronger competitive edge over its rivals. This,it is hoped, will attract additional customers.

Public awareness and potential acceptance ofbiometric technology will be the subject of asurvey. The card will be offered as an optionto all new customers, and it is anticipatedthat uptake will be in the region of 500,000 to1,000,000 in the first year.

The project appears to be ambitious in technicalterms as well as in the anticipatedimplementation timetable, but it is well funded.

2.3 Panasonic: ‘ideas for life’

• Masaharu Nakayama, General Manager,Strategic Business Development

• Nobuhiro Hamba, Senior Staff Engineer,Central Government Solutions Division

• Yukihiro Kaneko, Staff Systems Engineer• Takanobu Uesawa, Europe/CIMA Team,

Overseas Sales Group• Shunsuke Sonaoda, Supervisor, Central

Government Solutions Division• Tomoaki Kawai, Senior Coordinator, Iris

Access Control Engineering Group

Panasonic is a division of Matsushita ElectricIndustrial Co Ltd. Their mission is ‘to deliversafety, security, convenience and comfortthrough the rich and ubiquitouscommunications that advanced digitalnetworks provide’. Within the four maindivisions of Panasonic, the main biometricinterest resides in the AV & SecuritySolutions Division.

Panasonic have been involved in videotechnology for 46 years and have the largestmarket share in the world for surveillancecameras. This expertise very muchcomplements the development of biometricsapplications. Currently there are three areasof potential application for biometrics,covering the public, corporate andhome/personal sectors.

Panasonic’s view is that iris recognition is avery important biometric development,innovative, with good reliable performance.Their first system (BM-ET500) was producedtwo years ago and they have recentlyintroduced a far more compact version (BM-ET300). An application combining iris and facerecognition has been running at Japan Airlines(JAL) to provide a fast-track facility forpassengers.

Many applications are anticipated for irisrecognition, including automated tellermachines (ATMs), access control, airline check-

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in, petrol filling stations, etc. Performance iscurrently measured at 94.4% successfulrecognition, with potential to improve.

An application for an e-passport system wasdemonstrated using a possible combinationof iris recognition, face recognition, fingerprintmatching and passport machine-readable dataOCR scan. The development of irisrecognition has clear priority for the company,and major efforts are likely to be made inboth current system sales and furtherdevelopment of the software and hardware.Face recognition will continue to bedeveloped but Panasonic stated that theymight not stay with their own algorithms.Although well advanced in the developmentof iris recognition systems, Panasonic do notappear to be placing great emphasis on theirown technology development, but rather ondevelopment of systems using either theirown or third party technology.

2.4 NEC Multimedia Research Labs

• Hidenobu Harasaki, Senior Manager• Kaoru Uchida PhD, Principal Researcher

The IT & Network Solutions Division seethemselves as the driving force for the next-generation research. Their mission is to developnew technology for NEC worldwide, 70-80% ofwhich is in the domestic Japanese market.

NEC’s R&D budget is some 6% of ¥296 billion(¥17.8 billion), of which the MultimediaResearch Labs’ budget is around ¥90 million.

The laboratories are currently focused on sixareas:

1 Information systems2 Networking3 Electronic devices4 Fundamental technology5 Environmental technology6 Production technology

In addition, they emphasise the acquisition offundamental and comprehensive patents andother intellectual property (IP) rights for newtechnology. Multimedia Research Labs areresponsible for biometrics, which are at presentfingerprint and facial recognition systems.

During the meeting a number ofdemonstrations were shown, the first being asystem for face detection (NeoFace). A videocamera was able to successfully target faceswithin a frame. The system relied upon acombination of eye detection and facedetermination.

The facial recognition system was thendemonstrated. The main problem such asystem encounters is in the lighting and poseof the target when compared with the

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Figure 2 Reading passport biometric information for alive comparison

Figure 3 Machine readable biometric passport detailsare compared with the passport presenter

reference. To overcome this, NEC have usedtheir multimedia expertise to convert a two-dimensional (2D) image into a three-dimensional (3D) image rendered with variousillumination models and angles to createdifferent poses under different lightingconditions. The results were very impressive.However, the system relies heavily uponcomputer power, and the test systememployed eight central processing units(CPUs) working in parallel across a multi-partitioned database comprising 820 testimages. The reference template isapproximately 3 kilobytes (KB). NEC claimthat liveness checks can be performed on thefacial system by throwing lighting onto theface and checking for shadows as well as eyeand mouth movement.

The fingerprint recognition system was thendemonstrated. NEC started work onfingerprint systems as early as 1971 withAFIS. The first system was introduced inJapan in 1982, with overseasimplementations in 1984. NEC’s fingerprintalgorithm combines minutiae extraction withridge count, between them creating arelationship map. NEC believes that includinga ridge count gives higher accuracy, thetemplate size being approximately 1 KB.

Combined with this, NEC have produced anew fingerprint reader, using in-finger lightdispersion. The user presses their finger ontothe sensor, which switches on a row of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and this light is sentthrough the finger to the (optical) chip.

NEC believe that this new reader is good fordry or sweaty fingers. It is resistant to impactand is small and thin, with 800 dpi. NECshipped 500,000 fingerprint readers last year,with an end-user price of around US$300. NECclaim that liveness checks can be performedon the system, as light reflection on thesensor checks for a real finger and latent printsare not possible (This claim, however, wasshown to require further examination duringour visit to Yokohama National University,where Professor Matsumoto successfullyspoofed the NEC reader with a gelatinefingerprint – see Section 2.11).

2.5 Fujitsu Ltd

• Shoji Suzuki, Director, I/O SystemsLaboratory

• Yoshitaka Hiratsuka, Director, PlanningDivision, External Affairs Group

• Seigo Kotani PhD, Director, SecuritySystems Division

• Shigeru Sasaki, Director, Media SolutionsLaboratory

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Figure 4 Fingerprint verification using USB connecteddevice at NEC Multimedia Labs

Figure 5 NEC’s fingerprint verification systemSecureFinger®

• Takashi Shinzaki, Senior Researcher, I/O Systems Laboratory

• Masaki Watanabi PhD, Senior Researcher,Media Solutions Laboratory

Fujitsu’s corporate aim is to be a one-stop-shop for clients in providing end-to-endservices and system solutions by continuallydeveloping products, services and solutionsbased on the most powerful and advancedtechnologies. Established in1935 and havingconsolidated revenues of £22 billion, whileemploying 157,000 people worldwide, thecompany’s R&D budget is around £1.5 billionacross software and services, platforms andelectronic devices.

Fujitsu see e-text (the transfer from paper to adigital format) as the hot topic in Japan,spurring development in document imagescanning and storage. The informationtechnology (IT) business area is the keystoneof the company. Fujitsu are engaged in variousstandards activities, including SC37, SC17 andSC27, and are key members of JBSC.

Fujitsu presented their biometric solutions –fingerprint, palm vein pattern, face and voicerecognition – and provided a demonstration ofthe first two.

The fingerprint system – which begandevelopment in the 1980s – uses analgorithm, that adds a relationship betweenminutiae and uses a ridge correctingtechnology. Image compensation is applied fordry and wet fingers. Fujitsu provide a networkserver, which is capable of supporting some200 users and costs about £1,600. In July2003, Fujitsu introduced a fingerprint readerfor Japanese mobile phones.

The palm vein pattern system presented wassaid to have the advantages of beingcontactless, unchanging, and difficult to steal.

The face recognition system is based on a 2Dimage, and authentication takes place by

matching the image pattern and location ofthe eyes, nose and mouth. Fujitsu claim that,with correct lighting and facial orientation, it isequivalent to Visionics FaceIt.

Fujitsu also have a voice verification system,that is used by Animo Ltd (see Section 2.6).

Fujitsu were not prepared to divulge anytemplate details for their technologies. Theydo not plan to develop iris or signaturebiometrics: the company believe irisrecognition is too easily broken – a paper waspublished in July on how to do this – andsignature biometrics is just not used by theJapanese.

2.6 Animo Ltd

• Akira Suzuki, Managing Director, Voiceand Sound Solution Department

• Shinta Kimura, General Manager,Technical Division

Animo was established in 1994 as a firstventure company of Fujitsu. They arecapitalised at approximately £1.5 million andemploy 30 people. The company’s businessfocus is in the use of voice relatedtechnology, and they are members of theBiometric Committee of the InformationTechnology Research and StandardisationCentre (INSTAC).

Animo provided a presentation anddemonstration of their VoiceGate II product,which is a text-dependent solution, andVoiceSync II, a text-independent technology.

VoiceGate II is installed at a local bank(Sennsyuu Bank), which use it for telephonebanking. The enrolment process takes around20 seconds to complete and the userverification about 5 to 10 seconds. Around30,000 users are enrolled in this application,with the reference template stored as part ofthe customer’s financial record. Enrolment isrequired on the telephone equipment to be

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used by the customer, ie do not enrol using aland line if normally you are going to use amobile phone.

2.7 Narita Airport Authority (NAA):

‘the world’s leading IT airport’

• Mr K Murayama, IT Director

Narita is Tokyo’s largest airport, situated somefive hours from central Tokyo. A key objectiveof Narita Airport Authority (NAA) is toimplement ‘simplified passenger transport’(SPT) to reduce the check-in and transit timesfor travel. The systems planned would likelyalso reduce the cost of passenger processing.

We were able to see the implementation ofeAirport, an ‘e-checkin’ joint venture betweenJAL, Panasonic, NTT DoCoMo and theMinistry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.We discussed a planned trial of a biometriccheck-in due to commence in December2003 with All Nippon Airways (ANA), NTTData Corp and OKI Electric, and also theirproposal to use radio frequency identification(RFID) for luggage handling.

The JAL system trial is nearing completionand employs iris and facial recognition incombination with passports and mobilephones for up to 1,000 members of JAL’sfrequent-flier programme using e-tickets. Atregistration, passport, iris and facialinformation are recorded and a chipped cardor mobile phone clip is issued. A registeredpassenger proceeds to the first class check-inwhere 1:1 facial verification allows access tothe automated check-in machine, whereinsertion of the card and passport produces aboarding pass. The passenger proceeds tothe crew security gate and is allowed accesson completion of 1:1 iris verification. This isthen repeated at the departure gate.

The planned ANA trial will use facialrecognition and is intended to cover anypassenger purchasing an e-ticket. Users

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Figure 6 eAirport, fast track through Departures – irisrecognition in use at Narita Airport

Figure 7 A passenger using their eAirport ticket toobtain information

Figure 8 A frequent flier going through the enrolmentprocedure for Narita’s eAirport at the check-in desk

register over the web and print out a barcodeat home. This barcode and their passport ispresented to the check-in machine, whichchecks the passport and carries out 1:1 facialverification. The face template is encodedonto the boarding card. At both the securityand boarding gates this card is used for 1:1facial verification, with the barcode finallybeing destroyed at the departure gate. Thishas the advantage that no biometric is stored.

The planned trial of RFID for luggagehandling, with six other international airports,is ultimately intended to allow home-to-destination delivery of baggage.

We did not observe the JAL system in use asthe iris registration machine was unavailableand the iris scanner at the security gate wasswitched off – staff had lowered theacceptance thresholds on this equipment and‘did not like the system’. The planned systemby ANA due to start next month is potentiallyof great interest as are the RFID trials.

2.8 Toshiba Corp: from mail sorting

to facial recognition

• Mr Ozawa, Technology Director• Mr Shimuzu, Marketing Manager• Dr Okazahi, Biometric Technology

Toshiba is an MNC with over 160,000employees worldwide and massiveinvestments in power systems and consumerelectronics. Working in many technologicalfields produces spin-offs, eg in Java cards,facial recognition and personal identification.

We were shown a facial recognition door entrysystem, which uses image recognitiontechnology originally developed for postalsorting (Royal Mail is a customer). Thecomplexity of the Japanese character setrequires complex pattern recognitiontechnology. The FacePass product is wellpackaged and registration is achieved by movingthe face up and down and side to side. Images

are extracted from the video sequence, andpattern matching is done against these selectedimages. Two mission members were enrolledand there was some success and some falserejects. It is designed for identification of one-to-many matching with a database of 100. Theproduct will be sold in Japan and there are noplans to market it abroad. Facial recognition isseen as having the important advantages inJapan of being contactless and not havingnegative associations (such as fingerprints), andis faster than iris recognition.

Toshiba is releasing a software developmentkit (SDK) – ‘SmartFace Pro’ – for use with PClogons, access control, etc. The software hasnot been tested outside Japan to see howthe system performs with different facetypes. In particular, the products have notbeen subjected to the open FacialRecognition Vendor Tests (FRVT).

Other projects mentioned briefly included:driving licence production, electronic tollcollection, Java smart card development, banknote counterfeit detection, and train ticketingmachines. Toshiba is also doing research into‘personal identification assurance’, looking atidentification concepts and processes.

2.9 Digital Development Systems

(DDS): low cost fingerprinting

• Mr Futamura, Head of R&D• Mr Yoshimine, Deputy Head of R&D• Mr Hoguro, Chief Researcher, R&D

Digital Development Systems Inc (DDS) is adevelopment company working with largercompanies such as NTT to deliver fingerprintdevices and algorithms designed for use inconsumer devices such as mobile phones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), cars,faxes, etc. DDS perceive a gap in the marketfor a low cost fingerprint device. We wereshown statistics showing the dominance andgrowth of fingerprints as a means ofbiometric identification.

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DDS demonstrated a high quality fingerprintsystem using a line sensor and analysissimilar to that used in voice recognition. Thiswas compact, relatively low cost, notsusceptible to dust, did not have theassociations of fingerprint devices (becauseof sweeping the finger over the sensor), andwas quite accurate. On the other hand, weobserved that the sweeping takes practice(three sweeps to enrol) and the physicaldesign is key to making it successful. One-to-many identification against a database of 100was said to be feasible for this technology.

DDS contrasted the different technologiesused for fingerprint recognition: minutiae,pattern matching and the spectrum analysiswhich they use. The line scan gives afrequency spectrum, that is then analysedin the same way as voice in accordancewith the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS)TRX0053. Individual devices – an SDK and a‘UB Safe’ product – are available now. Themain objective of DDS is to work with largecompanies and integrators to design productssuitable for local mass market applications.

2.10 Japan Biometrics Security

Consortium (JBSC)

• Yoichi Seto, Chief Researcher, Hitachi Ltd• Daisuke Amako, Specialist (Security

Systems), Mitsubishi Corp• Shuichi Ikeno, Manager, Secom Ltd

JBSC was established in June 2003 but hasexisted in an informal way since January2003, when Japan became a participant ininternational standardisation through SC37.The consortium comprises 39 memberswhich include both commercial andgovernment bodies, and its stated high-levelaim is to promote standardisation.

The move towards standardisation in Japanhas resulted from three initiatives. The firstwas a Hitachi project funded by theInformation-Technology Promotion Agency

(IPA) and began in 1999. The scope of theproject was to produce two sets of guidelines:accuracy evaluation guidelines, and operationalrequirement preparation guidelines.

The second initiative was by AIM (Japan) andbegan in 2002. It produced guidelines on privacy.

The third initiative was a private consortiumformed in 2002 to consider protection profiles(PP) and public key infrastructure (PKI). As aconsequence of these initiatives, theJapanese became involved in SC37 (January2003), and JBSC was formed (June 2003).

The major objectives are to popularisebiometric technology, to propose effectivebusiness models, and to improve globalcompetition. JBSC has two divisions –Technology Division and ApplicationDevelopment Division. In addition, jointmarketing will be undertaken by members, aswell as seeking an agreement on standardsfor privacy protection.

A presentation on the biometrics industry andactivities in the UK was provided as well as apresentation on the biometrics industry andactivities in Japan. The Japanese presentationcan be summarised as follows:

The size of the biometrics market (measuredin financial terms) in Japan has grown from£15 million in 2000 to £41 million in 2003 andis predicted to be around £85 million by 2007.

Sector activity, as measured by patent filing,indicates that fingerprint technology is by farthe largest area of interest with approximately43% of total patent activity. The activities forother biometrics are approximately: bodies (ingeneral) 12%; face 10%; signature 8%; iris 7%;composite (multi-modal) 7%; and voice 5%.

It was further stated that, as the level ofequipment shipments has increased, the unitprice has fallen, resulting in the need for newbusiness models. The tendency is now towards

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total solutions in the form of authenticationservices and solutions as provided by the largesystems integrators. In Japan there are around10 systems integrators and some 80 technologyvendors. In 2000 the market for systems was10 times the market for equipment, and this isexpected to continue beyond 2005.

The two divisions of JBSC were described,and can be summarised as follows:

Technology Division

Objectives:

• Common issues of personal authenticationtechnology using biometrics:

– Interoperability– Performance– Assurance– Societal aspects

• Promotion of biometrics:– International standards– Cooperation with other bodies

• Production of a 2003 to 2007 roadmap• Education of users:

– Issues of weakness– Proper use of personal information– Medical safety

The Technology Division working groups areSecurity and Evaluation, Biometrics SecurityProtocol, and Social ethics.

Application Development Division

Objectives:

• To organise environments in which userscan use biometric authenticationtechnology ‘without a sense of resistance’and ‘without stress’ by forming propermarkets and promoting competition, andto formulate related project plans andconduct verification tests

• To prepare a five-year roadmap, coordinatework with other agencies, establishbusiness models and quantitative goals for

market expansion, and contribute to globalstandards

Mr Amako emphasised that currently thecompanies involved are large and the marketssmall. A major objective is therefore toencourage cooperation between participatingcompanies to grow the home market.

Following the presentations there wasextensive discussion, with a number ofrecurring themes:

• The UK and Europe are considered to beahead of Japan in technology pilots andtrials. It was concluded that the differencewas not due to money, but more likely dueto the legal framework regarding biometricdata being more advanced in Europe/UKand the lack of such a framework in Japanacting as an inhibitor. This is furthercompounded in Japan by a change inemphasis, after 9/11, from enhanced userconvenience towards securityenhancement. The responsibility for securityis shared by three Japanese governmentbodies, which may add to delays.

• It was agreed that AfB and JBSC shouldwork together by creating acommunication channel between thebiometrics communities in the UK andJapan. It was also suggested that AfBcould help JBSC to tap into British publicresources to maximise informationexchange. It was agreed that the possibilityof an extended airport security/e-passporttrial be investigated. The suggested trialsites were Narita (Tokyo), Heathrow(London), and perhaps Schiphol(Amsterdam) or JFK (New York).

• There were discussions regarding thestructure of AfB, its relationship withgovernmental bodies, and the structure ofJBSC. JBSC is a Japanese tradeorganisation working for the benefit of itsmember companies; governmental and

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university members are observers only.JBSC representatives were very open aboutany potential relationships and were clearthat the objective was to create a stronghome market and then to look to the globalmarket. It was not immediately clear wherethere might be collaborative opportunitiesbetween UK and Japanese companies, butthe Japanese would appreciate introductionsto potentially large UK user bases, such asthe large mobile telephone operators, and toinstitutions such as the National PhysicalLaboratory (NPL) and the Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG).

2.11 Yokohama National University

• Professor Tsutomu Matsumoto,Graduate School of Environment andInformation Sciences

Professor Matsumoto gave a brief introductionto the University and his work in the field ofbiometrics. He is a Professor of Cryptography– the study of mathematical techniquesrelated to aspects of information security suchas confidentiality, data integrity, entityauthentication, and data origin authentication.

Professor Matsumoto has become worldfamous for his ability to spoof biometricsystems using low-tech methods, the mostwell known being the artificial fingerprintcalled the gummy finger (akin to the ‘jellybaby’ in the UK).

He explained that until three years ago he wasvery much an amateur in the field ofbiometrics. His initial motivation for thespoofing investigation was simply thehypothesis that if biometrics were beinginstalled in mobile devices they must be cheap,and being cheap, was it possible – by means ofrough and ready techniques – to fool them?

He published his paper on the use of thegummy finger in 2002 (www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/workshop/security/present/s5p4.pdf).

He is currently extending his biometricspoofing work to iris scanning technology andwill publish internationally in January 2004.Preliminary results have been published inJapan, in Japanese.

Professor Matsumoto then took us to hislaboratory and demonstrated the use of directmould and residual fingerprint gummyfingers. Both worked 100% of the time in ourshort demonstration. The fingerprint deviceused was the NEC SecureFinger®. He hadalso tested products from Identix, Mitsubishiand others, with similar results. The falseacceptance rate for the gummy finger wasaround 90% for all devices tested.

The most serious security breach is the useof the residual fingerprint, where a fingerprint– left inadvertently on a suitable surface – isphotographed using a digital camera (even apicture phone is suitable), the image is usedto create a photo-mask, and the mask is thenused to create a fingerprint on a printedcircuit board (PCB). The gummy finger is thenproduced using the ridge pattern on the PCB.The process is described in the documentmentioned earlier (www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-t/workshop/security/present/s5p4.pdf).

Professor Matsumoto’s team thendemonstrated the spoofing of an iris scanner.The artificial iris was produced simply byphotographing the iris using an infraredcamera. The image was then printed out life-size using a laser printer (because the toner iscarbon based and absorbs infrared light). Ahole was cut where the pupil should be, andthe printed image was then held in front ofthe impostor’s eye when using the irisscanner. In the demonstrations given, theartificial iris was able to spoof the iris scansystem in all cases.

The professor is currently testing the artificialiris on some of the major iris scanners andwill report his results in Q1 2004.

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3 JAPANESE INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

3.1 General economic background

The economy of Japan is slowly emergingfrom a long period of recession. There stillremains a major economic issue of extensivebank loans based on overvalued land; thesenon-performing loans will still be subject toserious restructuring. As an example of theextreme nature of the problem, at one stagethe land value of the Tokyo area equalled theland value of the entire United States ofAmerica, and the property/land values wereexpressed as profit in commercial accountingprocedures.

Given the size of the Japanese economy –GDP £2,844 billion in 2002 compared withthe UK at £935 billion – even a smallpercentage growth represents a massiveincrease in wealth. It is notable thatinvestment in R&D, although reduced, hasremained massive in comparison with othercountries around the world throughout therecent period of recession. The Japaneseeconomy is the second largest in the world at15% of total world GDP, with investment inR&D amounting to 25% of the world’s total.

3.2 Biometrics market trends

Against this general economic backdrop, thedeclared intention of over half of the top tencompanies in Japan that invest mostresources in R&D, to develop biometricsolutions, must provide an expectation ofrapid advance in the sector.

A recent survey by Yano Research Instituteindicates that the overall Japan domesticmarket for biometrics hardware in 2002 was¥4.08 billion (£26 million). Fingerprint systemsaccount for some 83.3% of the total market,

followed by face recognition systems at6.8%, iris scanning systems at 4.3% andvoiceprint systems at 1.4%. The surveypredicted that the market would grow to¥22.4 billion (£121 million) by 2007 and ¥45.1billion (£243 million) by 2010. Anotherresearch survey carried out by Fuji ChimeraResearch Institute stated that the domesticmarket in biometrics is expected to grow to¥15.3 billion (£83 million) by 2007.

With the exception of fingerprint systems, allother technologies are still very much in theirinfancy. There are distinct preferences, as onewould expect, with regards to thedevelopment of other applications withindifferent companies (eg: Panasonic and irisrecognition). However, a recent main drivingforce is the ‘biometric’ passport requirementsbeing imposed by the USA. It is perceivedthat there is a need to use the application ofbiometrics to assist in developing the ‘socialinfrastructure’ of Japan. The changes requiredand expected are described as needing to besafe and reassuring for the general public,applying to the use of such items aspassports, bank cards, and driving licences.

There are moves towards combiningtechnologies to improve the level of security(eg: face recognition and iris recognition atNarita Airport; multifunctional bank card atBank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi). It is anticipatedthat there will be a rapid increase in thedemand for security and safety; whereasobservation was at one time considered to beadequate, there is now a need foridentification. Biometric technology isexpected to provide automatic systemapplications avoiding the issues of forgottenpasswords, PIN numbers and lost or stolencards.

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The establishment of Japan BiometricsSecurity Consortium (JBSC) is likely to be amajor driving force in the rapid development ofsolutions and markets for the internal Japanesemarket. At this stage there is no majorexpectation to push current technology intointernational markets. JBSC – which alreadyincludes most of the major corporations in itsmembership – has clearly defined goals andtargets, one being the ‘setting of quantitativegoals for market expansion: device ¥30 billion,system ¥100 billion, authentication services¥330 billion by 2007’.

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4 ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN JAPAN

AND THE UK

Professor Mike FairhurstHead, Electronic Engineering LabUniversity of Kent

4.1 Mission perspective

The mission was an intensive, illuminatingand ultimately very rewarding experience. Theground had been well prepared by theorganisers and the mission leader and, withinvaluable support from the DTIrepresentative (the International TechnologyPromoter for Japan) and the Science andTechnology team of the British Embassy inTokyo, an extensive and well-balancedprogramme had been put together.

The opportunity to visit and meetrepresentatives from a range of the principallarge Japanese industrial companies (prettywell all household names), together withsome more specialised and smaller scaleorganisations, formed the backbone of theprogramme and allowed a perspective acrosssome rather diverse sectors of Japaneseindustry and commerce. An in-depth meetingwith Japan Biometrics Security Consortium(JBSC), a visit to Yokohama NationalUniversity to meet one of Japan’s highestprofile academic researchers in thebiometrics area, and a first-hand review of alarge-scale trial of biometric identitymonitoring at Narita Airport complementedthese visits. Collectively, these elements ofthe programme provided an integrated andaccurately representative picture of currentbiometrics activity in Japan.

A concluding seminar organised by the BritishEmbassy allowed the mission participants theopportunity to pull together some of thethreads of the week’s experiences (and tomake individual presentations) and to renewacquaintance with some of the companyrepresentatives we had met more formallyearlier in the week.

Three issues can be identified as the centralthemes around which to establish a betterunderstanding of Japanese activity inbiometrics, with the academic perspectiveparticularly in mind. These can be identified ingeneral terms as (1) the nature and structureof front-line research in biometrics, (2)patterns of industry-academia interaction, and(3) the development and provision of skills tosupport the industrial base. To address theseissues, my comments are structured underthree principal headings, as follows:

• Research perspectives• Universities and academic research• University teaching and skills development

Of course, all aspects of the mission were ofinterest, but what follows represents whatshould be seen as a specifically academicperspective (and, it should also perhaps beadded, a somewhat personal view) basedaround these three principal themes.

As a member of the previous PITO/DTImission team to the USA (2-9 December2001), it may be helpful at certain points –despite the obvious difficulties attributable tothe time gap between the two visits – tomake comparisons across the geographicaland cultural divisions which demarcate thetwo missions.

4.2 Research perspectives

The visits organised within the overallprogramme provided an excellent opportunityto understand the Japanese research agenda,which appears to be largely determined bythe industrial framework, the market ethosand, not surprisingly, the inherent structurescurrently prevailing in Japan, though there are

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clear signs that government steer is also anincreasing factor.

The principal research drivers appear to be themajor Japanese companies themselves(though again we understand that,increasingly, government-led initiatives areaiming to stimulate more SME activity). Thesecommercially oriented initiatives generateactivity in biometric device technology andalgorithm development but also, and to a largeextent, in system integration. Perhaps rathersurprisingly, the companies themselves byand large take a relaxed and pragmatic viewabout component technologies and are oftenperfectly willing to use non-proprietary devicesas the building blocks of their systems.

Very influential too is the social ethos, whichhas been a significant early driver to biometricsystem development by the major companieswho service a large market in consumergoods. Thus, company mission statementsbased around phrases such as ‘…[We] aim todeliver safety, security, convenience andcomfort…’ (Hitachi) have to an extent shapedthe prioritisation of R&D programmes, thoughthis in itself can be seen as a move towardscreating a market for biometrics productsfrom which everyone can benefit in thelonger term.

One striking result of this type of essentiallyproduct-oriented research environment is thatmuch of what we saw is perhaps more at the‘development’ end of the spectrum than the‘research’ end or, at least, is more application-driven than generic in its nature. Despite this,we did see some interesting and challengingwork, particularly in the areas of fingerprintprocessing technology and face recognitiontechniques, and these are described in detailelsewhere in this report.

Though it is dangerous to generalise on thebasis of limited exposure, university-basedresearch certainly seemed to be rather lowerprofile than might have been expected.

Though the specific work we saw (that ofProfessor Matsumoto’s group at YokohamaNational University) has certainly received agreat deal of attention, not just in Japan butworldwide, Professor Matsumoto himselfrecognises that it is not especially advancedin a technological sense (and, indeed, itswhole point was not to be so).

This work – specifically aiming to investigatethe possibility of spoofing current fingerprint-based biometric devices (particularly usingthe ‘gummy fingerprint’ principle) andextended now to work on iris scantechnology – is certainly interesting, andserves a valuable practical purpose inidentifying potential weaknesses andvulnerabilities in biometric devicedeployment, but could in a sense be seen tobe a line of investigation over and against theindustrial research agenda, rather than directlypromoting advances in the technology.

We found evidence of some industry-academia collaborations – generally morehinted at than explicitly described ordiscussed – but more will be said about thislater. The research which we did see, tended(with a few exceptions) to revolve around thesame principal biometric modalities whichseem to be emerging generally as marketleaders in the west. Although we saw someinteresting demonstrations, particularly in thecontext of some of the less near-marketwork, the working system demonstrations,which we explored directly, generallyillustrated many of the common difficultieswith which we are all familiar.

If seeking to identify some particularvulnerability in the R&D programme we saw,it would perhaps relate to the degree ofinterest in and capability for well constructedand executed, effective, reliable and objectivetrialling of systems and products. In fairness,however, this was pretty generally recognisedby several of our hosts, and it is worth notingthat this is an area in which the UK has

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established an encouragingly high profile.

The most striking element in understandingthe Japanese research agenda, however, isthe readiness of the principal companies toinvest heavily in R&D in general, and inbiometrics in particular. The fact that R&Dspending – perhaps representative of a moregeneral Japanese commitment to scienceand technology (S&T) – remains so high in theface of a generally difficult economic climateis indicative of how Japan sees its path tofuture prosperity, and it is interesting to notethat private sector R&D accounts for some78% of the national spend.

4.3 Universities and academic

research

It appears that Japan is in a period ofsignificant change with respect to its S&Tbase and the ways in which it is organisedand funded. It is currently embarked on thesecond stage (2001-2006) of a national planprioritising, among several other areas,information and communications, and hascreated a National Council for Science andTechnology Policy to develop and deliver itsS&T strategic policies.

The plan specifically encompasses theupgrading of Japan’s national researchcentres and regional technology centres, andthese are currently employing more than10,000 post-doctoral researchers, againstapproximately half that number in 1996. Theuniversity system is also under review, withincreasing moves towards giving academicinstitutions a form of quasi-independentstatus, which much more closely parallels thesystem found in the UK. This is similarly beingcoupled with the development of a morecompetitive grant system and a greateremphasis on technology transfer andresearch quality assessment, which are othervery familiar elements to be found in theacademic environment in the UK.

The fact remains, however, that – as notedearlier – in Japan there is a much moresignificant research focus within the industrialsector itself and, indeed, there is a substantialnational spend (through the Ministry ofEconomy, Trade and Industry – METI) oncollaborative industrial projects.

During the period of the mission we madeone academic visit – to Yokohama NationalUniversity – which allowed us to see at firsthand the implications of the policies set outabove in practice. Here, the view was that,though the ongoing process of conferringgreater independence on universities willreduce national (government) costs, there islikely to be a significantly greater stratificationof institutions within the university sector as aresult. Though benefits are likely to accrue interms of greater freedom from government-imposed constraints, some universities arelikely to find survival in research difficult in thedeveloping climate. The reliance on public andprivate foundations and industrial sponsorshipis likely to increase, and resourcing researchwill continue to present real challenges tomembers of the academic community. Itappears, therefore, that academia-industrycollaborative partnerships will develop a muchhigher profile in the future.

In terms of the research we were able to see,this (as already briefly described) centredaround attempts to attack biometric devices.Explicitly, there was no direct intention tobuild on this work to ‘close the loop’ andseek to develop techniques for improvingbiometric technologies or systems to becomeless vulnerable to attack. Interesting andvaluable though this work undoubtedly is, theidea of anything less than a rigorouslyplanned and cohesive research plan, togetherwith appropriate methods for evaluating andexploiting results, would seem unfamiliar in aUK academic context, and would be likely tofall outside the specification required forResearch Council funding. However, theflexibility of approach embodied here clearly

27


carries with it both advantages anddisadvantages.

On various occasions during our visits wewere assured of productive partnershipsbetween industrial and academiccollaborators in the biometrics area. However,it proved difficult to obtain any detailed insightinto how extensive or how successful thesewere, and it is difficult to judge how typical ofthe wider Japanese academic communityYokohama National University could beconsidered to be. The situation contrastsmarkedly with expectations and experiencesin the UK, and even more so perhaps withthe prevailing US experience.

4.4 University teaching and skills

development

From the point of view of the long termsupport and development of the biometricscommunity it is, of course, vital to sustain asupply of scientists and engineers with theappropriate practical and theoretical skills tocontribute efficiently and effectively to theprogrammes of research, development,management and marketing which will berequired to take the industry forward and tomeet the challenges of biometrics systemsexploitation in a changing technical and socialenvironment. This must inevitably raisequestions about education and training, andhow relevant skills can be provided.

It is, however, possible to consider differentmodels of how this can be achieved. Sincemost of the underpinning skills to supporttechnical competence in the biometrics fieldcan be found generically in conventionalscience and engineering courses, then it maybe argued that no special provision isrequired. On the other hand, it could bedesirable or more effective – as has beenfound in many other situations – to develop aknowledge of the problems specific to thisspecialised task domain, and a moredeveloped understanding of the context in

which the basic technological skills would beexercised. If biometrics is to develop as a‘discipline’ in its own right, according to thissecond model, then such training within amore specialised unified framework suggeststhat new courses and training programmesare likely to be required.

In terms of taught degree programmes,Yokohama National University offered nospecialist courses in the biometrics area,seeing skills development in this areaessentially building on other more fundamentaldisciplines, and it was pretty clear that this isgenerally the case. This contrasts markedlywith the situation in the USA (where, as wediscovered on the previous mission, even twoyears ago, some specialist programmes werealready up and running at postgraduate level,and gradually appearing as a focus of deliveryin some undergraduate courses) and, thoughto a lesser extent, in the UK, where somepostgraduate initiatives are beginning to beestablished and where several undergraduateprogrammes are found to include componentswhich aim to develop basic technical skills butwith a specific awareness of applications inbiometrics.

It is true that some of the university researchwe saw was being carried out bypostgraduate students (ProfessorMatsumoto’s group was a case in point) andthis mode of learning is, of course, a veryeffective contribution to the provision ofeffective skills training but, by its nature, thismust be seen as limited in scale and scope.

This issue of education and training skillsprovision was one to which relatively littleconsideration seems to have been given, andthis was apparent both in our formalmeetings and in other private discussions.Given that the biometrics field is only nowreaching maturity and, especially, because ofthe ability of large research-orientedorganisations readily to deploy their highly-skilled and adaptable engineers, this is

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perhaps not surprising, but this may be anissue to bear in mind in the longer term.

Of course, it is perfectly possible to develophybrids of the two strategies outlined above.This might involve, for example, offeringcourse options within broader and moregeneric programmes. My own Department atthe University of Kent, for example,encourages students to develop a workingknowledge of biometric techniques andapplications on a fairly wide basis, butachieves this primarily by offering targetedproject work and some explicit practicaldemonstrations within engineering courses,using biometrics, for example, as a vehicle forbroader-based practical assignments. Trainingat postgraduate level readily offersopportunities through project work atMaster’s level or, more particularly, at PhDlevel through, for example, the EPSRCDoctoral Training programmes, whichexplicitly encourage the provision of researchtraining set within established active researchgroups in the universities.

This leads to a further point, which raises otherrelated issues. One of the great genericstrengths of the university sector – and thishas certainly traditionally been the case in theUK academic community – is the closerelationship between teaching and research.This close coupling offers great benefits andstimulation to students, especially in relation toproject work and the development of practicalskills. This feature of the traditional UKacademic environment, especially inengineering, where almost all academic staffhave close working links with industrialorganisations and other external agencies,provides exactly the sort of environment withinwhich high quality, effective and appropriateskills development can naturally flourish.

4.5 Research conclusions

The mission, with its excellent programmeand the opportunities for meeting a range of

frontline Japanese contributors in thebiometrics field, provided an enormouslyvaluable opportunity to explore futuredirections for the development andexploitation of biometrics. From an academic perspective thedifferences between the Japaneseexperience and the scene prevailing inwestern technical communities such as theUK (and especially when the situation in theUSA is also taken into account) wereinteresting and enlightening. This is true evenat the level of basic university structures andmodes of operation, but especially whenconsidering the relations between industryand academia, and the way in which researchis structured and executed.

It appears that, though some collaborationsbetween academia and industry areundoubtedly in place, it may be that more canvaluably be achieved in this respect, andperhaps the restructuring of the universitysector will bring about more progress in thisdirection.

The nature and scale of direct industrialinvolvement in biometrics also shows markeddifferences and this in turn has an effect onhow research, training, funding andpartnership in the biometrics field isorganised. Both advantages anddisadvantages seem to accrue from this.

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5 OBSERVATIONS, CONCLUSIONS

AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Observations and conclusions

This was a highly successful mission thatachieved and surpassed all of its original aimsand objectives. However, it was impossible inthe time available to fully gauge all of thenuances of the Japanese biometrics industry,government attitudes and academic efforts.What was gained was a ‘snapshot’ of acountry that is changing rapidly in itsapproach to biometrics.

In particular it was noted that:

• Japan is beginning to open up to theinternational community and starting totake a more active part in theestablishment of global markets, throughits support for international standardsformulation and the formation of JapanBiometrics Security Consortium (JBSC)

• There seems to be an ever increasingpossibility that the climate will soonimprove towards one where collaborationat all levels will become far easier toachieve

• The mission has highlighted somedramatic differences between how R&D isfunded and applied differently in our twocountries – this knowledge has assistedgreatly in the understanding of the UK’srequirements in this area, but also raisedsome interesting questions regarding therelationship between industry andacademia

5.2 Recommendations

It is recommended that:

• DTI take full account of the findings of thisreport and work closely with AfB to assistit in building upon the contacts that weremade during the mission, particularly withthe representative industry bodies

• Consideration be given by UK governmentto funding the creation of closer linksbetween UK and Japanese academicinstitutions working in the biometric andrelated areas

• UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) take fullaccount of the mission findings and workwith AfB to foster an environment in whichthe UK markets can become moreeffective and profitable within theJapanese sector

30


The mission team would like to express theirgratitude for the support that they received inthe preparation and execution of the mission,in particular to:

• the DTI Global Watch service for financialsupport and general guidance;

• the staff of the Science and TechnologySection of the British Embassy in Tokyo.Without the assistance of the localEmbassy team, the successful undertakingof the mission would have been very muchharder to achieve.

Acknowledgment and thanks are also given to:

• the members of the mission team whosupplied the valuable contributions to itscontent;

• the AfB for their active support andleadership; and of course

• those Japanese organisations, companiesand individuals who contributed so willinglyand openly in the exchange of informationand views.

Appendix A: Acknowledgments

31


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Mindsite Ltd

Knap HouseWest Ashling RoadHambrook HillChichester PO18 8UF

John K Davies – International Business Strategy

and Development

T 01243 576 893 M 07803 392 479 E [email protected]

Directorships and memberships• Mindsite Ltd – CEO• Strategy 4 Asia Ltd – Director• Association for Biometrics – Director (Government

Liaison)• European Biometrics Forum – Director• Chartered Institute of Marketing – Member• Next Wave Technologies and Markets – Advisory

Board (DTI Programme)• Hong Kong Advisory Board (UKTI)• Taiwan Advisory Board and Chair of Business

Council ICT Sector Group (UKTI)

John Davies has significant experience in strategicmarketing, general management, international salesand business development in both mature andentrepreneurial businesses.

Qualifying in Electrical/Electronic Engineering andfollowing a period in post design development, Johnmoved into marketing gaining the Chartered Instituteof Marketing’s diploma in 1987. With Wayne Kerr plc(later Farnell plc), John was heavily involved in thecompany’s stock market launch in 1984, and asProduct Marketing Manager was a key member of thesenior management team instrumental in the successof the company’s products, particularly in Europe andthe USA. Resulting from this success John spent sixyears in the US, the last three as President andGeneral Manager of Farnell plc’s US subsidiary.

Returning to the UK in 1992, John joined NeuralTechnologies Ltd (NTL) as Commercial Director andpositioned the company as a leading supplier ofintelligence software technologies. In 1996 John set upa consulting practice to provide high technology

support services to businesses, particularly SMEs.Services include strategic marketing and businessplanning, international sales, partnership and businessdevelopment, particularly associated with theapplication of leading edge technology.

During the period leading up to the new millenniumJohn was responsible for the set up and initialmanagement of the government’s national ‘Action2000’ helpline, coordinating activities with DTI, theDepartment for Education and Employment (DFEE)and other government and commercial agencies, aswell as acting as a speaker for the DTI’s MillenniumBug awareness initiative.

Working with Neusciences, John positioned thecompany as a leading UK developer of core biometricstechnology, bringing to market the patented VeincheckSystem and developing a business plan for externalfunding and commercial growth. Currently John is aBoard Director of the Association for Biometrics (AfB)and regularly talks on the subject at conferences andseminars. John is also a Board Director of the newlyfounded European Biometrics Forum (EBF),representing the AfB.

John has been involved in a number of UK and ECfunded projects associated with biometrics and smartcards, as well as projects involving industrialapplications and artificial intelligence technologies withpan European partners.

As a Business Technology Adviser to DTI and to UKTI,John provides technology and business advice tosupport the development of UK companies, inparticular targeting international collaboration andpartnership opportunities.

32


University of Kent

Department of ElectronicsCanterburyKT2 7NT

Michael Fairhurst – Professor of Computer Vision

T 01227 823 389E [email protected]

Michael Fairhurst has been on the academic staff ofthe Department of Electronics at the University of Kentsince 1972. He is Professor of Computer Vision and iscurrently Head of Department.

He has been actively engaged in various aspects ofresearch in image analysis and computer vision, with aparticular interest in computational architectures forimage analysis and the implementation of highperformance classification algorithms. Applications ofprincipal interest include handwritten text reading anddocument processing, medical image analysis and,especially, security and biometrics.

Professor Fairhurst is a past chairman of the IEEProfessional Group E4 on Image Processing and Visionand, more recently, has been a member of theExecutive Committee of the IEE Visual InformationEngineering Professional Network. He has been thechairman of many of the conferences in the IEEInternational Series on Image Processing andApplications, and of many other conferences andspecialist workshops (including co-chairing the mostrecent International Conference on Document Analysisand Recognition). He has been a member of numerousconference organising and programme committees,including those of the two principal events in the fieldof handwriting analysis and document processing(IWFHR and ICDAR).

He is a member of the British Machine Vision Societyand the Association for Biometrics (previously chairingits Subcommittee on Education and Awareness). He isa member of the editorial board of several international journals in the image analysis field, including IJDARand PAA. Over the years he has been a guest editorfor several journal special issues, most recently for aspecial issue of IJDAR on Multiple Expert Classifiers.

He is a member of the Peer Review College of theEPSRC.

He has published more than 300 papers in thescientific literature and has authored an undergraduatetextbook on computer vision.

33


Securivox Ltd

Balgray Building1 Harrison RoadDundeeDD2 3SN

Andrew Thomas Sapeluk – CTO & founding director

T 01382 668 811M 07957 592 720F 01382 668 822E [email protected]

Education/professional2002 MIEE1978 BSc with First Class Honours in Electrical and

Electronic Engineering, Dundee College of Technology

1977 AMIEE1973 HNC Electrical and Electronic Engineering,

Dundee College of Technology

Employment2000- CTO and founding director of Securivox Ltd1999- Senior Lecturer, University of Abertay Dundee1982-99 Lecturer, University of Abertay Dundee1980-82 Engineering Manager, Ronan Engineering,

Washington, Tyne & Wear1978-80 Electronics Engineer, Ronan Engineering,

Washington, Tyne & Wear1969-73 Apprentice, NCR, Dundee

Additional infoWhile at University of Abertay Dundee, Andrewdeveloped a research interest in digital signalprocessing and speech analysis. He has supervisedfive successful PhD students, and has 27 publications.In 2000 he founded the company Securivox Ltd and iscurrently CTO. Securivox has developed an advancedSpeaker Verification system which is text and languageindependent.

Dectel Security Ltd

Swinbourne RoadBasildonEssexSS13 1EF

Keith Rayment Goody – Joint Managing Director &

co-founder


Responsibilities include the development of securityimage management systems. Current products include‘CrimeNET’ and ‘TreasureLINK’ picture/text basedimage library solutions, and single and multiple cameraautomatic face recognition solutions. Investigation toprototype phase of vein pattern recognition technologyin conjunction with British Technology Group.

During the drafting and introduction of the UK DataProtection Act, independent advice provided to clientsand the general marketplace concerning theimplications of the Act in relation to CCTV, digital andphotographic surveillance systems.

Headed the team that implemented the multiple videocamera face recognition solution at the LondonBorough of Newham, subsequently extending thesystem into the neighbouring area.

Involvement in the installation/implementation of facerecognition systems in a number of UK police forcesand a major UK transit authority.

Involved in the specification and development ofproducts for the retail market including ‘ElectronicStore Detective’, a wireless application for facerecognition technology.

Studying viability of behaviour recognition software.

34


ISL Biometrics Ltd

Grosvenor HouseMarket StreetBromsgroveWorcestershire B61 8DA

Cliff Robinson – Technical Director & CTO


Work experience• 1965-1980: Technical Officer with GPO

(Telecommunications)– Engineering apprenticeship– Transmission maintenance– Electric light & power– Clerk of works– Installation and commissioning of UK’s firsttelecommunications computer at varioustelephone exchanges in the Birmingham area

• 1980-1984: Senior Field Service Engineer, RacalMilgo Ltd

– Installation and maintenance of: local areanetworking (LAN), wide area networking (WAN),network management, telex message switches,microcomputer networking– Management of field service engineers– Customer support– Technical sales support

• 1984-1989: Field Service Engineer, InformerComputer Terminals Ltd

– Set up systems for installation andmaintenance of Informer’s range of 3270 mobiledevices and stand-alone desk-top workstations

• 1989 to present: Technical Director, ISL BiometricsLtd

– Installation of ISL’s full range of products– Maintenance of ISL’s full range of products– Product training for ISL sales personnel– Recruitment of ISL technical staff– Training ISL support staff– Providing training material for ISL’s productrange– Training of customers and resellers– Design and development of ISL product range– Obtaining manufacturers compliancecertification (eg Novell)

– Installation and maintenance of in-house LANand systems (eg mail server, web server,internet connection, firewall, helpdesk systemand sales contact database)– Sales and pre-sales support

35


Unilink Computers plc

Enterprise House59-65 Upper GroundLondonSE1 9PQ

Francis Toye – Managing Director & founder


Qualifications• BSc Physics First Class (Imperial College)• Assoc Royal College Science• MBA (OU)• Trained IBM Systems Engineer (1978-92)• ISO9001 & TickIT Assessor

Francis Toye is the founder of Unilink Computers plc.He started the company in 1994 to focus on supplyingthe public sector and has been a Director of thecompany throughout.

Joined ICI 1977-78 as a Research Scientist specialisingin the applications of IT to process. Worked for IBM(UK) Ltd 1978-93 as Systems Engineer, ProjectManagement Consultant and latterly AccountExecutive.

Elected to local metropolitan council 1983-7.

IT industry experience – 26 years.

36


37


Appendix C: Japanese contacts

Organisation Contact

Hitachi Ltd Tomoichi Kitzume

www.hitachi.com Manager, Social Systems Department

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Mr Hiroshi Shimada

www.btm.co.jp/english/index.htm Manager, Strategic Comprehensive Card & Credit Division

Panasonic Mr Tomoaki Kawai

http://panasonic.co.jp/pss/en/index.html Senior Coordinator

Iris Access Control Engineering Group

T +81 90 1653 7069

NEC Multimedia Research Laboratories Mr Shizuo Sakamoto

www.nec.com T +81 44 856 8426

Fujitsu Ltd Mr Yoshitaka Hiratsuka

www.fujitsu.com Director, Planning Division

External Affairs Group

T +81 3 6252 2180

Animo Ltd Mr Shinta Kimura

www.animo.co.jp General Manager

Technical Division

Narita Airport Authority (NAA) Mr K Murayama

www.narita-airport.or.jp/naa_e/index.html IT Director

T +81 476 34 5127

Toshiba Corp Mr Takeshi Ando

www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm T +81 3 3457 2748

Digital Development Systems Inc (DDS) Mr Futamura

www.dds.co.jp Head of R&D

T +81 52 323 3011

Japan Biometrics Security Consortium (JBSC) Mr Yasushi Akanuma

Mitsubishi Corp

Yokohama National University Professor Tsutomu Matsumoto

www-mlab.jks.ynu.ac.jp Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences

T +81 45 339 4134

38


Name Title Position Section Organisation

1 Machida Takehiro Mr Security Solution Centre Hitachi Engineering Co Ltd

2 Tanaka Kazuhiro Mr Assistant Manager FPR Business Development Group, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, Building System Department Inazawa Works

3 Watanabe Etsuo Mr Commercial Officer British Embassy

4 Shirai Tadashi Mr Science Officer British Embassy

5 Mitsumori Yaeko Ms Science Officer British Embassy

6 Sugimoto Masakazu Mr Senior Researcher Steel Research Laboratory Nippon Steel

7 Baba Akira Mr Assistant Manager Information Security Department KDDI Corp

8 Naoki Goro Mr Senior Manager Information Security Department KDDI Corp

9 Akashi Masanori Mr Assistant Manager Information Communication Laboratory Japan Telecom Co Ltd

10 Kawade Masato Mr Senior Manager Sensing Technology Laboratory OMRON Corp

11 Miyata Hirofumi Mr Marketing Manager Social Systems Solutions Business Co OMRON Corp

12 Ikeno Shuichi Mr Manager Cyber Security Division, Intelligent SECOM Co Ltd Systems Laboratory

13 Takayama Nobuo Mr Manager Marketing and Sales Department, Oki Electric Industry Co Terminal System Division Ltd

14 Nakamura Toshio Mr Manager FSC System Device HQ, Iris Solution Oki Electric Industry Co SE Department Ltd

15 Kimura Shinta Mr Director Animo Ltd

16 Funahashi Takeshi Mr Deputy General Design & Engineering Department, SonyManager NWM Division, RMC

17 Ando Tatsunobu Mr Development & SonyDesign Manager

18 Hiratsuka Yoshitaka Mr Director Planning Division, External Affairs Fujitsu LtdGroup

19 Mori Masahiro Mr Senior Research Peripheral Systems Laboratories Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd Fellow

20 Sonoda Takeshi Mr Deputy Manager Air Transportation Planning NTT Data Corp

21 Kogure Motofumi Mr General Manager Smart Card & e-Commerce Planning DC Card Co Ltd

22 Fujimatsu Kunihiro Mr Manager Smart Card Planning DC Card Co Ltd

23 Shimizu Sen Mr Manager Security Systems & Technology Itochu Aerotech CorpDepartment

24 Okada Ko Mr Security Systems Department Mitsubishi Electric Corp

25 Takamura Shigeki Mr Manager Engineering & Business Department Summit AEA Co

26 Tani Tomoyuki Mr General Manager Technical Support Startek Technology Japan Inc

27 Toyokawa Nao Ms CEO Eureka-Japan

28 Sato Noboru Mr Sales Manager Eureka-Japan

29 Murayama Kenji Mr Narita Airport Authority

30 Miyamoto Hideharu Mr Narita Airport Authority

Appendix D: Seminar attendeesAttendees at the Biometrics Mission Seminar held in Tokyo on 21 November 2003

39


Name Title Position Section Organisation

31 Akiba Tsutomu Mr Manager Administration & Planning, Operation Japan Airlines& Customer Service

32 Hosoda Takatsugu Mr Biometrics Division Locksystem

33 Parker Aron Mr Biometrics Division Locksystem

34 Wu Benny Mr Biometrics Division Locksystem

35 Saisho Toshiaki Mr Chief Specialist SI Technology Centre Toshiba Solution

36 Yamamoto Kazunori Mr Project Coordinator Biometrics Development Project Hitachi High-Technologies Corp

37 Ishii Shusaku Mr Assistant Manager System Engineering Section, Building Mitsubishi Electric CorpSystems Department

38 Suzuki Keizo Mr Technician AV & Security BU, Global SE Team Panasonic System Solutions

39 Uchida Takayuki Mr Assistant Manager MTB Planning Office, MD Centre Sanyo Semicon Device Co Ltd

40 Watanabe Toru Mr Deputy General MTB Planning Office, MD Centre Sanyo Semicon Device Co Manager Ltd

41 Machii Naomi Ms Inward Investment British EmbassyOfficer

42 Hoshi Yoshinori Mr SE Manager Infrastructure Solutions Division, Oki Electric Industry Co System Solutions Co Ltd

43 Minoura Naoki Mr Chief Computer System Planning UFJ Bank Ltd Department

44 Kanamaru Yasunori Mr Assistant Manager Security Product Department Toppan Printing Co Ltd

45 Noguchi Yoshiaki Mr Sub Manager Business Development Department Yamatake Corp

46 Hoshino Satoshi Mr Assistant Manager PID Systems Sales Department, NEC Corp1st Solution Sales Operation Unit

47 Kubota Tomoki Mr PID Systems Sales Department, NEC Corp1st Solution Sales Operation Unit

48 Hakii Takeshi Mr Position Chief Section Image Communication Konica Minolta Photo Division, R&D Centre Imaging Inc

40


Synopses of the presentations by the missionteam to an invited Japanese audience at theBiometrics Mission Seminar held in Tokyo on21 November 2003

Introduction to the Association forBiometrics and the European BiometricsForumJohn Davies, Association for Biometrics

An outline of the current scene in the globaldevelopment of biometrics was outlinedfollowed by positioning the UK sector in thiscontext. A profile of the Association forBiometrics (AfB), its members and activitieswas outlined and how the recent growth inthe sector had significantly increased theresponsibility and role of the Association. Thestructure of the AfB’s subcommittees wasdescribed, and the member responsibilitieswith the various other groups in the UK andworldwide, in particular the links tointernational standards bodies. Specificmention was made of UK strengths in bestpractice and academic research.

The development of the European BiometricsForum (EBF) was outlined and the currentstatus and future plans. As a Board member ofthe newly formed EBF, the AfB is keen to seethe organisation develop as a coordinatingEuropean body, providing value added servicesto the European biometrics community –researchers, suppliers and end users alike.

The presentation concluded with the hope ofcontinued dialogue and information exchangewith the Japan Biometrics Security Forum(JBSC) to strategically encourage internationalcollaboration between the organisations’memberships.

Challenges for international research inbiometricsProfessor Michael Fairhurst, University ofKent

The presentation outlined a view of some keychallenges for the future in biometricsresearch. Consideration was given to theneed for blue sky as well as applied research,and the importance of course-based trainingfor graduates to provide the necessary skillsin the marketplace in the future as thebiometrics sector grows.

The presentation also showed how thesechallenges are being addressed in the UK andin Europe, and illustrated this with examplesof current work being undertaken with theElectronic Engineering Department at theUniversity of Kent.

Speaker verification – what are wewaiting for?Andrew Sapeluk, Securivox Ltd

A history of speaker verification wasprovided, detailing the successes and failuresalong with a position on why the speakerbelieves it has failed to achieve significantcommercial success to date.

The second part of the presentation outlinedrecent key advances that it is believed willallow speaker verification to become theubiquitous mainstream technology it hasalways promised to be.

Development and perception of facerecognition in the UKKeith Goody, Dectel Security Ltd

The presentation described the early technical

Appendix E: Seminar synopses

41


development and attempted application offacial recognition technology, along withcommon perceptions and misconceptions,followed by a summary of the current statusof face recognition. This included anexplanation of how the technology hasevolved, incorporating features of facedetection, image selection and subjecttracking.

An explanation of the ideal environment andpreferred conditions for face recognitiontechnology to be operated at its optimumwas given, along with a description of theways in which the technology is being andcan be used. Applications include: airports,ports, bus and train stations, monitoringCCTV, security, retail crime, and helping toprotect vulnerable people.

The presentation included a number of casestudy examples, and in particular anexplanation of the Borough of Newham FaceRecognition Project and its outcomes to date.

Integrating biometrics into directoryservicesCliff Robinson, ISL Biometrics Ltd

The National Health Service (NHS) being ISLBiometric’s main customer, the presentationoutlined issues associated with DirectoryServices from a healthcare perspective,together with all the problems that comeswith it in the way of legacy systems. Thepresentation described what the product was(SentriNET) and how it fitted into the networkinfrastructure. Implementing a biometricsolution need not be a difficult exercise, andproduct does exist that will allow systems andnetwork administrators as well as end users touse an integrated solution.

This solution may be integrated into thenetwork operating system without the needfor separate expensive databases.Administrators can simply enrol users andmanage the system employing the standard

network administration tools without havingto learn and support separate biometricdatabases. Once users have been enrolledinto the network directory, the users'biometric reference templates are thenavailable for directory aware applications,without users having to enrol in eachapplication, eg network logon, web pageauthentication, thin client use, remote access.

The presentation concluded with a number ofcase study examples.

Applications of biometrics for detaineesFrancis Toye, Unilink Computers plc

The presentation described the needs of abiometrics system for the criminal justicesystem and immigration. As a developer ofturnkey solutions, biometrics forms only partof Unilink’s solution, however it remains anintegral part. Using third party technology andfocusing on fingerprint, iris scanning andfacial recognition, the presentation outlinedthe challenges when developing an integratedsystem using third party softwaredevelopment kits.

Case studies were described that includedthe UK Home Office and a high securityprison estate that is to be installed in early2004. Built for the prison environment, visitsare booked against prisoners, logged, anddetails are recorded. Multiple in/out, queuingand biometrics identification are standard.

Further case examples included animmigration detention and removal centrenear Heathrow and also a private prison inManchester where a full prison managementsystem has been deployed.

The presentation emphasised the need forcareful evaluation, requirement planning andproject control as well as training for clientuse and support.

42


Appendix F: Glossary

2D two dimensional3D three dimensional9/11 the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11, 2001AfB Association for Biometrics (UK-based)ANA All Nippon AirwaysATM automated teller machineAV audio-visualCCTV closed-circuit televisionCESG Communications-Electronics Security Group (UK)CPU central processing unitDDS Digital Development Systems Incdpi dots per inchDTI Department of Trade and Industry (UK)EBF European Biometrics ForumEC European Commissioneg for exampleEPSRC Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK)FRVT Facial Recognition Vendor TestsGDP gross domestic productIC integrated circuit (chip)ie that is / in other wordsIEE Institution of Electrical Engineers (UK)INSTAC Information Technology Research and Standardisation CentreI/O input/outputIP intellectual propertyIPA Information-Technology Promotion AgencyISO International Standards OrganisationIT information technologyITP International Technology Promoter (DTI)JAL Japan AirlinesJBSC Japan Biometrics Security ConsortiumJIS Japanese Industrial StandardKB kilobyteLED light-emitting diodeMETI Ministry of Economy, Trade and IndustryMNC multinational companyNAA Narita Airport AuthorityNAFIS National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (UK)NHS National Health Service (UK)NPL National Physical Laboratory (UK)OCR optical character reader/recognitionPC personal computer

43


PCB printed circuit boardPDA personal digital assistantPIN personal identification numberPKI public key infrastructurePP protection profileQ1 first quarterR&D research and developmentRFID radio frequency identificationS&T science and technologySDK software development kitSME small or medium enterpriseSPT simplified passenger transportUK United KingdomUKTI UK Trade & InvestmentUS(A) United States (of America)USB universal serial bus¥ yen

Appendix G: List of illustrations

Figure 1 page 12 Finger vein verification at HitachiFigure 2 page 14 Reading passport biometric information for a live comparisonFigure 3 page 14 Machine readable biometric passport details are compared with the

passport presenterFigure 4 page 15 Fingerprint verification using USB connected device at NEC

Multimedia LabsFigure 5 page 15 NEC’s fingerprint verification system SecureFinger®

Figure 6 page 17 eAirport, fast track through Departures – iris recognition in use at Narita Airport

Figure 7 page 17 A passenger using their eAirport ticket to obtain informationFigure 8 page 17 A frequent flier going through the enrolment procedure for Narita’s

eAirport at the check-in desk

44


The DTI's Global Watch service provides asuite of programmes dedicated to helpingBritish businesses improve theircompetitiveness by identifying and accessinginnovative technologies and practices. Thesuite includes:

www.globalwatchonline.com – a revolutionary internet-enabled Global Watchservice delivering immediate and innovativesupport to UK companies in the form of fast-breaking worldwide business and technologyinformation plus unique coverage of DTI,European and international research andbusiness initiatives, collaborative programmesand funding sources.

Global Watch – the website’s sisterpublication, showcasing innovation in action.Distributed free to 20,000 UK high-techorganisations, the magazine features thelatest technology developments and practicesgleaned from Global Watch service activitiesaround the world and now being put intopractice for profit by British businesses.

Contact:[email protected]

UK Watch – a quarterly magazine, publishedjointly by science and technology groups ofthe UK government. Showcasing Britishinnovation and promoting inward investmentopportunities into the UK, the publication isavailable free of charge to UK and overseassubscribers.


Global Watch Missions – enabling teams ofUK experts to investigate innovation and itsimplementation at first hand. The fact-findingmissions – about 30 each year – allow entireUK sectors and individual organisations togain international insights to guide their ownstrategies for success.

Contact: [email protected]

Global Watch Secondments – providingfinancial and practical assistance to enablesome 60 individuals each year to spend fromthree to 12 months with an overseasorganisation to transfer a technology, gainnew knowledge or bring best practices backto Britain. This service is designed to fast-track progress, improve performance orsecure competitive edge. There is also aninward secondments programme.


Global Watch Technology Partnering –providing free, flexible and direct assistancefrom commercially-aware technologyspecialists to raise awareness of, and provideaccess to, technology and collaborativeopportunities overseas. Delivered to UKSMEs by a team of 16 InternationalTechnology Promoters, with some 6,000current contacts, the programme providessupport ranging from information andreferrals to more in-depth assistance with, forexample, licensing arrangements andtechnology transfer.

Contact: [email protected]

Information exchange – the Global Watchservice promotes and encourages themutually beneficial exchange of informationand facilitates UK technology partneringopportunities through the support of UKbilateral international science and technologyactivities, including high technology forums,seminars and workshops. This includesstaging high-level technology events withRussia, Japan, China, South Korea andGermany.

For further information on the

Global Watch service please visit

www.globalwatchonline.com

Printed in the UK on recycled paper with 75% de-inked post-consumer waste content

First published in March 2004 by Pera Innovation Limited on behalf of the Departmentof Trade and Industry

© Crown copyright 2004

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Documents

Biometrics: identifying the future – a mission to Japan · 2012-11-01 · BIOMETRICS: IDENTIFYING THE FUTURE – A MISSION TO JAPAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This DTI Global Watch mission,