BIOMETRICS Unlocking our digital worlds
THE PROMISE Forget about passwords, PINs and pass- ports. Wearable biometric identity devices — which mea- sure and analyze physical human characteristics such as facial patterns or retinas for personal authentication — will allow you to wirelessly confirm who you are to your tablet or phone to facilitate mobile payments, to check in for flights or at hotels, and even to cross international borders.
THE PURVEYOR Toronto firm Nymi Inc. has created a brace- let that literally opens digital worlds for users. Sensors within its Nymi Band identify the complex electrical waveform distinct to each wearer’s heart by performing an electrocardiogram. Once the electrical pattern is registered it is encrypted and stored as a unique identifier. When a bracelet is removed, it is reactivated aſter remeasuring the user’s heart.
SPECTROSCOPY Shining a light on our food
THE PROMISE An inspector in a food-processing plant points her hand-held scanner at samples while a light beam checks for contamination. An aid worker uses the device to test for traces of a food-borne pathogen at a market in a refugee camp. A mother scans a tray of cookies at a party to ensure her daughter with nut allergies can safely share the treat. These scenarios may be
realized in the near future using a Star Trek-style “tricorder” that detects calories, nutrients, ingredients, allergens and chemicals in food and beverages.
THE PURVEYOR Toronto-based TellSpec Inc., founded in 2013 following a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $385,000, is currently testing what would be the world’s first con- sumer food scanner, with a product launch expected later this year. Within the scanner is a spectrometer that measures chang- es in light when beams reflect back from an object. Those digital electronic signals, or spectra, identify chemical compounds spe- cific to certain food components. The device transmits spectra wirelessly to a smartphone, where the information is processed, interpreted and displayed to the user.
THE PROSPECTS The TellSpec Food Sensor is available for preorder at US$349. The company warns, however, that the scan- ner’s detection ability is currently limited to calories, macronu- trients, ingredients, “some chemicals and some allergens, and only in simple [non-packaged] foods.” Its ability to identify every ingredient or compound in a food will grow over time.
THE PROSPECTS This past November, the three-year-old firm announced a partnership with Royal Bank and MasterCard to pilot biometrically authenticated payments. The following month it shipped its bracelets to developers to encourage them to create new applications for the technology. Consumers can preorder a band, but no word on when the firm will publicly launch the product.
1939 Wonderbra
1940 Paint roller
36 | CPA MAGAZINE | JUNE/JULY 2015
1941 Anti-gravity G-suit
1942 Walkie-talkie
1948 Electronic music
synthesizer 1948
Jolly Jumper
1949 Pager 1949 External heart
pacemaker
1950 Green garbage bag
Previous spread: Courtesy of Clearpath Robotics This spread: Courtesy of Nymi Courtesy of TellSpec
Dennis Hallinan/Getty Images Sharifphoto/iStock
Courtesy of Thalmic Labs
De Agostini/A. Dagli Orti/Getty Images WIN-Initiative/Getty Images Yagi Studio/Getty Image
Lambert/Getty Images CSA-Printstock/iStock
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