THE HUMBLE OFFICE ID BADGE IS ABOUT TO BE UNRECOGNIZABLE
THE HUMBLE OFFICE ID BADGE IS ABOUT TO
BE UNRECOGNIZABLE
Plastic
cards may soon give way to biometric systems, microchip implants, gait
recognition and other technologies that aim to improve security, generate
health data and monitor workers.
CATHERINE STUPP PUBLISHED JAN. 6, 2020 1:00 PM ET
For many employees, the workday starts by swiping a plastic ID
card to enter the office. But employers can’t always be sure who’s holding the
card.
That humble ID badge is starting to be replaced by biometric identification
systems, microchip implants and tools that monitor workers’ gaits or
typing habits—technologies that might not only make workplaces more secure and
easier to navigate but also generate personalized health and productivity data.
It’s easy to see why some employers are already using
technologies like face and iris scans, which are more difficult to spoof than
standard plastic ID cards. Cameras scan and record the faces of employees and
temporary contractors, allowing the workers to bypass turnstiles. Companies can
easily reconfigure existing office cameras with facial-recognition technology. When
a person leaves a job, the employer can tag the person’s face so cameras block
re-entrance.
The technology is catching on at
companies with large workforces. Construction firms, for example, regularly
send new workers to building sites and need a method to easily track who’s
there, says Shaun Moore, chief executive of Trueface, a facial-recognition
provider. He declined to name companies using Trueface.
However, research shows facial recognition isn’t always
accurate, particularly when identifying people of color.
Governments are starting to draft legislation to
restrict how it can be used. Several U.S. cities including San Francisco have banned government
agencies from using the technology. Europe’s privacy laws require special
safeguards to protect biometric data.
Smartphones could be an easy replacement for traditional IDs
because most workers already have them, says Lars Ericson of the Intelligence
Advanced Research Projects Activity, a U.S. government research arm. In the
near future, workers could download apps that signal to office sensors when
they arrive at work. Motion sensors built into phones can record how people
move around throughout the day to verify the right person is holding the
device.
Researchers are developing a
technology called gait recognition, which uses cameras to identify people based
on their body shape and how they move, and say it could one day be implemented
in U.S. offices. In places with especially tight security, such as workplaces
that handle hazardous materials or heavy machinery, several different ID
technologies could be linked to repeatedly identify workers as they move
around, says Vir Phoha, professor of electrical engineering and computer
science at Syracuse University. Video cameras might recognize people’s faces as
they enter a building, and later analyze how they walk to identify them again.
Software could assess an employee’s typing to verify whether it’s the same
person identified earlier in the day.
THE FUTURE OF
EVERYTHING | WORK
What’s next for work life.
Some early adopters already offer
employees the option of using microchips in their hands to open doors, log in
to office computers, reserve conference rooms and even pay for vending-machine
snacks. Roughly the size of a grain of rice, the microchips are implanted under
the skin, usually between the thumb and forefinger, where they cannot be felt,
and can then be scanned over chip readers. The microchips can’t be lost, stolen
or copied, says Jowan Österlund, chief executive of Biohax International, a
Swedish maker of implantable ID chips.
It’s unclear whether the technology will catch on. Workers may
bristle at implanting hardware under their skin, especially without knowing if
future employers will use the same method, says Edgar Whitley, an associate
professor of information systems at the London School of Economics. There is
little research on health and safety concerns. Scientists have not found
significant evidence that microchips cause cancer or interfere with MRI scans
or pharmaceutical drugs, according to a 2017 report
from the European Parliament.
Within the next three years, Mr. Österlund says he wants to
develop microchips that can track wearers’ health data. Workers could opt to
share details such as their stress levels and pulse rate with employers,
helping companies determine whether an office environment is healthy, he says.
Others also see IDs as a means to better employee health. In the
future, offices likely will be outfitted with many sensors to connect with
employees’ devices and analyze data to improve their well-being and the
workplace environment. Nokia Corp. ’s
Bell Labs is building a pocket-size device that takes 3-D images of users’
thumbprints, using a laser to scan deep below a person’s skin. Ophthalmologists
and optometrists use the same technology, called optical coherence tomography,
for detailed retina scans. The device could send workers results about their
blood chemistry and eventually record glucose and cortisol levels, says Chris
White, a lab leader at Bell Labs.
Gait recognition could reveal how employees’ behavior and
well-being change over time. If people appear distressed or more tired than
usual around the time of a big corporate decision or change in working hours,
that could help managers decide whether to change strategy, Mr. White says.
“That ability for an enterprise to actually understand their
workforce is something that could be critically important,” Mr. White says. The
same data might push employees to see a doctor. Of course, there are no
guarantees that software will accurately read how employees feel.
As cameras, sensors and software
programmed to recognize workers proliferate around offices, employers will have more detailed records of
their workers’ habits and behavioral quirks, including when they come and go and
how long they sit at their desks. Employers will be able to more easily
identify people who aren’t performing well, especially if they’re doing
physical tasks on camera, says Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology’s Initiative on the Digital Economy.
Whether the ID card will go extinct is unclear. Many workers may
continue to wear badges because they help them recognize co-workers, says Mr.
Ericson. “There’s a certain psychological benefit, kind of like donning a
uniform,” he says.
Others say ID cards eventually will disappear when sensors and
cameras analyze well-being and performance. “You will naturally evolve to
something where you no longer need the badge,” Mr. White says.
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