A scruffy district in London uses them to remotely patrol the streets. Mexico and Uganda use them to register voters. Wired News delivered to your inbox or hand-held device. Gadgets and Gizmos Sponsored by NEC . Keep an eye on Privacy Matters Read more Technology news The facial scans work by converting images into numerical codes that can be easily stored and searched in large databases.
Proponents say they are less intrusive than other biometric scans and highly effective.
But some experts say the technology is inaccurate, which can lead to misidentifications. Fla. And based on the growing and unregulated use of the software, there'll be a lot more of it in the future. It separated the successful systems from the less-successful systems. When the program concluded in 1997, commercial interests gobbled up the technology. The free market has improved the technology and pushed prices down, said Richard Norton, the executive director of the International Biometric Industry Association .