In 2005 when we performed an update to our biometrics and identification technology roadmap for the UK police, body odour was a ‘technology’ that was looking interesting, but not mature enough. The idea was that if dogs can do it, why might it not be automated. And identical twins have a unique smell, apparently.
We identified policing applications of biometrics and identification technologies, one of which was automated identification of police officers. At that time, each Force had it’s own warrant cards (so there was no confidence in what they should look like) and there was no way of using them with machines to authenticate the cardholder as an ‘officer of the lieu’ and grant them access to building and machines.
We foresaw the benefits of a national police warrant smart card and were retained to specify the standard which is used today across the Forces.
More recently, the technology roadmapping I have been involved in has been for transport applications. As well as the usual technologies in this space (mobile apps with 2-D bar-code; contactless payment cards; NFC mobile devices emulating contactless cards) we have also been thinking about more interesting stuff. Such as USB contactless readers used at home for fulfilment of tickets or value direct to smart cards. Or mobile devices with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) interacting with beacons waking the app up to present the appropriate form of ticket for the time and place. And, or course, NFC devices with the Host Card Emulation (HCE) API allowing them to escape the tyranny of the Secure Element (SE) and Trusted Service Managers (TSMs).
You’ll not be surprised to hear that we are still tracking the technology of person identification via body odour. I look forward to being sniffed by a transit gate before being allowed onto the train platform in the near future.