This first science fact item comes from Donna Miles of the American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2010 - Considered a battlefield curiosity just a few years ago, biometrics has become recognized as a vital warfighting capability. Now, defense officials see the same technology as a key to helping the Defense Department make its business practices more efficient.
Biometrics, the science of using unique physical and behavioral characteristics to identify a person, has proven to be invaluable to the warfighter's toolbox, Myra S. Gray, director of the Army's Biometrics Identity Management Agency, told American Forces Press Service.
"Five years ago, it was something very new, and the capability wasn't fully understood. It was kind of an add-on to the mission," she said. "Now it's an integral part of the mission because people have seen the value that it brings."
Gray's office, known as the Biometrics Task Force until it was redesignated in March, is responsible for capitalizing on biometrics technology and promoting new advances to benefit the entire Defense Department.
Fingerprints and other personally identifying features such as a person's distinct iris, facial, palm and voice features have become particularly helpful in the intelligence and law enforcement arenas, she said.
They help combat troops tell friends from foes and identify potential terrorists before it's too late. They also provide a foolproof way to put names and faces to insurgent activities and to identify released detainees who have returned to terrorist activity.
"You can identify an individual and associate him with certain actions," Gray said. "You can figure out who someone associated with and what they have been involved in. You can link events such as an [improvised explosive device] at one place and a protest at another. You build a picture of what has gone on."
Meanwhile, biometrics has become a vital tool in vetting people in the combat zone before they're granted access "inside the wire," or into secure or sensitive facilities. "We want to make sure that the people we permit onto our facilities are not the same people putting IEDs down," Gray explained.
Biometrics also is widely employed beyond the combat zone to control access to military facilities worldwide. For example, every military member, family member and Defense Department civilian employee has a common access identification card that's embedded with their fingerprints.
But other biometric technologies are in wide use throughout the military. At Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., for example, the Air Force uses a device that "reads" hand prints to clear veterans receiving treatment at the Veterans Affairs clinic for access to the base hospital. At Fort Belvoir, Va., the Army uses iris scanning technology to provide keyless entry to sensitive areas. And the Navy regularly uses biometrics equipment to confirm identifies as they board foreign vessels.
Gray anticipates broader use of this capability military-wide, particularly as the technology becomes increasingly faster, higher-quality and less obtrusive.
Among the more promising technologies the Defense Department is exploring are biometric systems able to scan people "on the move" without requiring them to touch anything or even stop. Commercial airports see this as a great way to eliminate long back-up lines at security checkpoints.
But Gray also recognizes warfighting applications, particularly at border crossings and other ports of entry where there's a mass movement of people and insurgents might try to blend in undetected.
"Those same ports of entry that legitimate business people or family members are crossing are the same places that the insurgents come across," she said. "By having this technology, you will have the ability to ferret out those who are hiding amongst the populace without negatively impacting the population."
Meanwhile, Gray anticipates broader use of biometrics off the battlefield, particularly as the department acts on Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' mandate to improve efficiency.
"The next big step forward in biometrics is definitely going to be in the business process arena," she said. "It is truly a cross-cutting capability" she said can be applied in "a whole spectrum of functions, from the medical field to personnel to financial fields."
Biometrics can go a long way in streamlining recordkeeping, improving information-sharing and cutting out fraud ? not only for the Defense Department, but for the U.S. government as a whole, she said.
"We have a lot of benefits and a lot of services in which we rely on identifying someone so we can properly provide them what they need," Gray explained.
She cited just a few ways biometrics would improve the inter-department sharing that supports those benefits and services. Biometrics could help the Defense Department share military medical records with the VA, civilian employee records with the Office of Personnel Management and employee benefit records with the Social Security Administration.
"The big question is, 'How do we pull that thread of identity to make sure we are more efficient as the U.S. government in providing services?'" Gray said. "By integrating that across the U.S. government, we can find great efficiency."
Underlying this effort, she emphasized, is "a complete and total focus on privacy" that ensures all personally identifying information is protected in accordance with the Privacy Act.
"This is one of the foundations as we build this system," Gray said. "We are building these systems with a strong focus on making sure we are within the guidelines of the law and policy in protecting that information. That is paramount. We can't compromise on that."
The Science Fiction news this week is news of new Star Trek games from "Whizkids" with a planned 2011 release schedule, previewed at Gen Con. I was surprised to find that neither are computer games.
Star Trek: Fleet Captains is a competitive tactical game of space combat. Each player selects a fleet of ships, then uses a deck of mission cards based on ship type. Pick a science vessel and you'll take on "scan the planet for life signs" type missions. Pick a Bird of Prey and…you know.
While the details of gameplay were not revealed, they did show off fantastically detailed scale models of several Star Trek vessels.
The ships will use the familiar Wizkids click bases, but this game isn't just HeroClix with starships. Each ship's click dial has three sections based on Star Trek alert levels - yellow, orange and red. You can move your ship's dial to any position within your current alert level to take advantage of different capabilities, much like diverting power to the shields or the sensors, as the situation demands. Damage eventually moves you to the next alert level, and the higher alert levels have fewer dial slots to choose from. So as you take damage, your options become fewer. This particular mechanic is a nice simulation of captaining your own starship, and it also shows how the new Wizkids is using their primary gaming innovation (click bases) in even more innovative ways.
Star Trek: Expeditions is a cooperative game. It follows a classic Trek episode plot: a planet has requested entrance into the Federation, so the Enterprise is sent there to guide the process. When they arrive, they find that a Klingon warship is parked in orbit, threatening to obliterate the planet. Meanwhile, civil war is breaking out on the planet itself, and their leaders are trying to withdraw their application to join the Federation. It's a tangled mess, and you get to take on the role of a crew member trying to sort things out. See the four colored tokens near the top of the photo? Those will be fully painted heads representing four Enterprise crew members (J.J. Abrams movie version).You'll have to negotiate multiple plot threads and competing priorities with the help of your fellow captains. Gameplay borrows from "choose your own adventure" books - there are decks of cards, and choices the players make (or whether they succeed or fail at an action) will lead them to different cards and different choices. Expeditions is designed to be a narrative game that leaves the players feeling like they just created their own Star Trek episode. The game was designed by gaming legend Reiner Knizia. Both games are non-collectible - you'll get the whole shebang in one box. However, they are expandable, so expect future add-ons if they sell well. Expeditions should be out early in 2011 with a $49.99 retail price. Fleet Captains is planned to come out three months later, but the price point hasn't been settled yet.
The majority of this article originally appeared on Robot Viking. The author of this post can be contacted at tips@io9.com
For myself, I'm more interested in games that can be played single-player. For my own personal solution, look at http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com Anyone reading this is encouraged to comment or submit news or articles.
Sources this week were http://www.io9.com/ and American Forces Press Service
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