Hertz, Clear partner to speed rentals with biometric scans
The AP reports: "Biometric screening is expanding to the rental car industry.
Hertz said Tuesday it is teaming up with Clear, the maker of biometric
screening kiosks found at many airports, in an effort to slash the time
it takes to pick up a rental car. Clear hopes it will lead more
travelers to its platform, which has 3 million members in the U.S.
It’s the latest place consumers will find biometric technology, which
has migrated over the last 50 years from secure government facilities
and banks to airports, stadiums and even smartphones that unlock with
the touch a fingerprint. Hertz is the first rental car company to use
the technology."
Comment: I wonder if saving a
small bit of time is worth giving up biometric data to a car rental
company? Perhaps frequent flyers would say yet, but I'm betting the vast
majority of travelers will balk at that.
2018/12/12
2018/10/02
Biohacker Who Implanted Transit Chip in Hand Evades Fine – Futurism
Futurism.com reports: "In April 2017, Meow-Meow implanted a chip in his hand. The chip is from his Opal card, needed to ride public transportation in Sydney, and it essentially functions as a debit card — users add money to it, then whenever they use a bus, train, or other transportation service, they swipe their card to pay the fee. Thanks to his new implant, Meow-Meow no longer had to worry about losing his card. The biohacker could just place his hand near the Opal card reader and be on his way. All this was presumably working out OK for Meow-Meow until August 2017. That’s when the New South Wales transport authority, which issues the Opal cards, charged him with traveling without a ticket and failing to produce a ticket for transportation officials."
Comment: It doesn't surprise me that bureaucrats would be petty and not really grasp the concept. I think the real story here is the use of an implanted chip as a payment device and access device. As a proof of concept, that is very compelling. I think that early adopters like this guy have clearly demonstrated that an implanted chip is a practical means of combining identity verification, access control and mobile payments. It's possible. Whether the MOTB turns out to be a chip is still up for debate but for now, it's clear that this tech is here now.
Futurism.com reports: "In April 2017, Meow-Meow implanted a chip in his hand. The chip is from his Opal card, needed to ride public transportation in Sydney, and it essentially functions as a debit card — users add money to it, then whenever they use a bus, train, or other transportation service, they swipe their card to pay the fee. Thanks to his new implant, Meow-Meow no longer had to worry about losing his card. The biohacker could just place his hand near the Opal card reader and be on his way. All this was presumably working out OK for Meow-Meow until August 2017. That’s when the New South Wales transport authority, which issues the Opal cards, charged him with traveling without a ticket and failing to produce a ticket for transportation officials."
Comment: It doesn't surprise me that bureaucrats would be petty and not really grasp the concept. I think the real story here is the use of an implanted chip as a payment device and access device. As a proof of concept, that is very compelling. I think that early adopters like this guy have clearly demonstrated that an implanted chip is a practical means of combining identity verification, access control and mobile payments. It's possible. Whether the MOTB turns out to be a chip is still up for debate but for now, it's clear that this tech is here now.
2018/09/19
Amazon considering opening up to 3,000 cashierless stores by 2021: Bbg
Reuters reports: "Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is considering a plan to open as many as 3,000 new Amazon Go cashierless stores in the next few years, Bloomberg reported here on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. [...] The Amazon Go store, which has no cashiers and allows shoppers to buy things with the help of a smartphone app, is widely seen as a concept that can alter brick-and-mortar retail."
Comment: Ok, let's get this out of the way first: I'm not saying this is the MOTB and I don't claim to know what the MOTB will be. That said, I think it is worthwhile to note trends and technologies that may become the MOTB.
I think this is a noteworthy development because it suggests a level of technology that allows people to shop without cash or traditional payment methods. They do, however, need to scan an app before entering the store. In other words, if you don't have the app, you can't buy anything. Commentators have been anticipating the rise of a cashless society for many years now and although we are not there yet, this development is bringing that day closer. Let's keep an eye on this.
Reuters reports: "Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is considering a plan to open as many as 3,000 new Amazon Go cashierless stores in the next few years, Bloomberg reported here on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. [...] The Amazon Go store, which has no cashiers and allows shoppers to buy things with the help of a smartphone app, is widely seen as a concept that can alter brick-and-mortar retail."
Comment: Ok, let's get this out of the way first: I'm not saying this is the MOTB and I don't claim to know what the MOTB will be. That said, I think it is worthwhile to note trends and technologies that may become the MOTB.
I think this is a noteworthy development because it suggests a level of technology that allows people to shop without cash or traditional payment methods. They do, however, need to scan an app before entering the store. In other words, if you don't have the app, you can't buy anything. Commentators have been anticipating the rise of a cashless society for many years now and although we are not there yet, this development is bringing that day closer. Let's keep an eye on this.
2018/05/11
AP - Tech leaders push for more White House focus on AI
AP reports: "Kratsios was hosting the Trump White House’s first summit on artificial intelligence, convening tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft as well as major retailers, banks, drugmakers, carmakers, food companies and engineering schools. Some in the crowd had been pushing the administration to focus more on AI and related issues in science and technology. Academic leaders have pitched for more investment in basic research. [...] Kratsios said a new committee is being formed that will coordinate AI investments across federal agencies, including research related to autonomous systems, biometric identification, computer vision and robotics. He called for a 'free-market approach' that would harness the combined strength of government, industry and academia while limiting regulation that could “hamstring” companies, according to his prepared remarks."
Comment: Biometrics and computer vision will increasingly become important in our daily lives as transaction data (social and economic) increases in value.
AP reports: "Kratsios was hosting the Trump White House’s first summit on artificial intelligence, convening tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft as well as major retailers, banks, drugmakers, carmakers, food companies and engineering schools. Some in the crowd had been pushing the administration to focus more on AI and related issues in science and technology. Academic leaders have pitched for more investment in basic research. [...] Kratsios said a new committee is being formed that will coordinate AI investments across federal agencies, including research related to autonomous systems, biometric identification, computer vision and robotics. He called for a 'free-market approach' that would harness the combined strength of government, industry and academia while limiting regulation that could “hamstring” companies, according to his prepared remarks."
Comment: Biometrics and computer vision will increasingly become important in our daily lives as transaction data (social and economic) increases in value.
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