Earprint check

Human ears are remarkably consistent in shape. Unlike faces, they do not change shape with age or different expressions. On the basis of that a new type of ear-shape analysis has been developed by the biometrics experts at the image, speech and intelligent systems lab, University of Southampton, UK. According to them, ear biometric technique can show 99.2 per cent accuracy, as found in a small-scale study, in recognising faces automatically. This is much better than the existing face recognition system. The technique can be used to identify people from closed circuit TV footage, or images taken through cellphones. The shape of the ear as a whole is captured and coded to be compared.

Flexible e-paper

Japanese company Fujitsu has developed world’s first film substrate-based bendable co-lour electronic paper with an image memory function. This flexible and ligh-tweight electronic paper, showcased last week at the Tokyo International Forum, features colour images that are unaffected even when the screen is bent. Its image memory function enables continuous display of the same image without the need for electricity, making it ideal for electronic display or advertisement, handled as easily as a paper.