Slashdot Mirror
Nose Scanners — the New Face of Biometrics?
An anonymous reader writes "Forget fingerprints and ID cards, this photo story shows how the latest thing in biometrics is nose scanning! Bath university researchers have claimed that the nose will soon be able to be used as a way of identifying a person. Apparently the 'PhotoFace system captures a 3D image of a person's face by taking several photos lit from different angles to throw shadows on the face and then building a model of facial features. The software determined that there are six main nose shapes: Roman, Greek, Nubian, Hawk, Snub and Turn-up.' Some cool pictures make this worth a click — but what happens if a person breaks their nose?!"
Biometrics are going to use your DNA for verification, which is the only fool-proof system. I mean, come on, how would you fake someone else's DNA? ::cough::GATTACA::cough::
Living With a Nerd
This is really a bad idea. The nose is actually one of the few parts of the body that grows (and changes) your entire life. Never mind swelling from colds, etc.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Add a CowboyNeal option and you've got the next Slashdot poll.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
For the first time ever, scientists at the Slashdot institute have actually managed to produce an article summary that is longer than the article linked, as well as providing new information not available in the article itself! How is this possible?
I'm Tycho Brahe, you insensitive clod!
On the positive side, if anyone beats you up and breaks your nose, they can now be sued for aiding and abetting terrorism by making the 'nose database' useless...
Lemme get this straight. Bath, a town internationally known for its Rugby Football team, is proposing we use noses for biometric ID?
Rugby being the game for which the phrase "full contact sport" is not so much an understatement as a warning of imminent loss of life? Like American Football only without the pads and helmets? The game where a broken nose is probably the most common injury?
The Bath Rugby team probably have only one intact nose between all 15 players.
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
Tried to find a link, but its apparently just too obscure, so I'll go from memory. Carl Reiner was presented some sort of lifetime achievement award by Mel Brooks, who played it as if Reiner had been a total fake all those years, and this was the last straw. The camera cut to shots of protesters with signs reading "Reiner isn't funny", and then Mel accuses Reiner of forcing him to wear a fake Jewish nose. Brooks then proceeds to remove his fake rubber nose, revealing a decidedly less ethnic one underneath, pointing at it and shouting "I have a gentile nose!".
Of course the gentile nose was a fake one on top of his actual nose. But if Mel Brooks can rock not one but two fake noses long enough to present an award, then airport security should be a piece of matzo.
I am not your blowing wind, I am the lightning.
And they stole it from an opposing prop forward.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.