Free Republic

Students cite privacy concerns, ‘risk of collecting biometric information’ New biometric palm recognition scanners in a Dartmouth College dining hall have prompted privacy concerns among some students. The “biometric recognition technology” recently was installed in all but one entrance gate to the Ivy League school’s Class of 1953 Commons dining hall ahead of the winter term, The Dartmouth reports. Instead of scanning or swiping an ID, students can use the new technology to scan the unique palm of their hand to record their entry into the dining hall and purchase a meal. One remaining gate allows students “to swipe in...

Over the next month, Dining Services will be testing a pilot program that uses a scan of an individual’s palm in place of his or her MaineCard. The program uses infrared technology to recognize the meal plan user’s palm and links that image to that person’s MaineCard account. “Instead of swiping your MaineCard, the program is going to identify you by the palm of your hand,” said Benny Veenhof, director of technology management at UMaine. “It takes a snapshot of the veins and creates a black pattern that it then converts into an encrypted algorithm.”