ContactlessNews | Canada readies ePassport launch

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Passport Canada CEO Christine Desloges has announced that Canada will start issuing e-passports by the end of next year, according to Citytv.com.

Speaking at a conference at the Montreal HQ of the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization, Desloges declared, “Canada is on track for the full-scale delivery of its e-passport. Next year we will roll out the full issuance.”

In the works since 2004, the e-passports have been delayed due to an overhaul of the passport application process, according to a spokesperson for Passport Canada.

According to Citytv.com, the new passports will feature a chip containing the owner’s face-recognition data in order to make it easier for border guards to screen threats and detect fraudulent passports.

Canada will now join the rest of the G8 nations in issuing e-passports, along with nearly 100 other countries around the world.

Canadians may be paying for items with the tap of an NFC-enabled phone by the end of 2012.

According to Reuters, Canadian banks, credit card companies and telecoms are reaching an agreement on an NFC payment service that will capitalize on Canada’s robust contactless infrastructure.

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Facial recognition software to identify subjects in art

Three University of California, Riverside scholars have received a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to launch a program that will use facial recognition software to identify unknown subjects in portrait art.

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