London-based startup Zamna raises €4.5 million to enhance and automate airport security

Zamna raises €4.5 million to enhance and automate airport security

London-based travel tech and cybersecurity startup Zamna provides a blockchain-powered data verification platform and connects passenger data sets between airlines, governments and security agencies to streamline the airport check-in process.

Founded in 2016, the startup (formerly VChain Technology) has now raised €4.5 million in a seed funding round led by LocalGlobe and Oxford Capital, with participation from Seedcamp, the London Co-Investment Fund (LCIF), Telefonica, and a number of influential angel investors. Existing investor IAG (International Airlines Group) also participated in the round, and was Zamna’s first commercial client.

Zamna helps airlines and governments to enhance security by securely validating the accuracy of passenger data, then signalling where passenger data does not match the information on their passports, and signalling that when passenger data does match it can be trusted as accurate.

The startup uses proprietary privacy-by-design algorithms that are designed to check the accuracy of Advanced Passenger Information (or biometric) data – without having to share any of that data with third parties.

The new funding will be used to support the roll-out of Zamna’s proprietary Advance Passenger Information (API) validation platform for biographic and biometric data, which is already being deployed by major airlines as well as immigration authorities.

“We know that currently airlines are not able to meet the legal requirement of providing accurate data to governments around the world,” said Irra Ariella Khi, co-founder and CEO of Zamna. “Both parties have to spend a huge amount of time and resource at the end of a journey to confirm if a passenger should be allowed into a country, or sent back if access is denied. In 2019, these decisions should be securely automated and informed by high integrity data – long before the journey even begins.”

Zamna also recently started working with Emirates Airline and the UAE’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners (GDRFA) to deliver a seamless check-in and transit experience for passengers travelling through Emirates Airline airports. This is the first time a government authority has collaborated with an airline as part of a joint vision for improving airport security.

Zamna’s blockchain-powered data verification platform verifies and connects passenger data sets, which are currently siloed between airlines, governments and security agencies, reducing the need for checks by up to 90%.

“The team at Zamna has built a platform that will play a major part in the future of travel and aviation security,” said Remus Brett, partner at LocalGlobe. “With passenger numbers expected to double in the next 20 years, new technology-driven solutions are the only way airlines, airports and governments will be able to cope. We’re delighted to be working with the Zamna team and believe they can play a key role in addressing these challenges.”

“Zamna’s technology enables IATA members to fulfill their obligation to provide governments with consistently accurate passenger data for immigration and security threat assessment purposes,” said Matthew Vaughan, IATA Director of Security. “This is mission critical for governments who continue to work towards meeting their ICAO Annex 9 obligations.”

Source: Mary Loritz-EU Startups

Artificial skin creates first ticklish devices

Researchers created a phone case, computer touch pad and smart watch to demonstrate how touch gestures can convey expressive messages for computer mediated communication

Skin-on interface allows devices to 'feel' the user's grasp – its pressure and location, and can detect interactions such as tickling, caressing, even twisting and pinching

A new interface developed by researchers in Bristol and Paris takes touch technology to the next level by providing an artificial skin-like membrane for augmenting interactive devices such as phones, wearables or computers.

The Skin-On interface, developed by researchers in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bristol in partnership with Telecomm ParisTech and Sorbonne University, mimics human skin in appearance but also in sensing resolution.

The researchers adopted a bio-driven approach to developing a multi-layer, silicone membrane that mimics the layers present in human skin. This is made up of a surface textured layer, an electrode layer of conductive threads and a hypodermis layer. Not only is the interface more natural than a rigid casing, it can also detect a plethora of gestures made by the end-users. As a result, the artificial skin allows devices to ‘feel’ the user’s grasp – its pressure and location, and can detect interactions such as tickling, caressing, even twisting and pinching.

“This is the first time we have the opportunity to add skin to our interactive devices. The idea is perhaps a bit surprising, but skin is an interface we are highly familiar with so why not use it and its richness with the devices we use every day?” said Dr Anne Roudaut, Associate Professor in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Bristol, who supervised the research.

“Artificial skin has been widely studied in the field of Robotics but with a focus on safety, sensing or cosmetic aims. This is the first research we are aware of that looks at exploiting realistic artificial skin as a new input method for augmenting devices,” said Marc Teyssier, lead author.

In the study, researchers created a phone case, computer touch pad and smart watch to demonstrate how touch gestures on the Skin-On interface can convey expressive messages for computer mediated communication with humans or virtual characters.

“One of the main use of smartphones is mediated communication, using text, voice, video, or a combination. We implemented a messaging application where users can express rich tactile emotions on the artificial skin. The intensity of the touch controls the size of the emojis. A strong grip conveys anger while tickling the skin displays a laughing emoji and tapping creates a surprised emoji,” said Marc Teyssier.

“This work explores the intersection between man and machine. We have seen many works trying to augment human with parts of machines, here we look at the other way around and try to make the devices we use every day more like us, i.e. human-like,” said Dr Roudaut.

t may not be long before these tactile devices become the norm. The paper offers all the steps needed to replicate this research, and the authors are inviting developers with an interest in Skin-On interfaces to get in touch.

Researchers say the next step will be making the skin even more realistic. They have already started looking at embedding hair and temperature features which could be enough to give devices – and those around them - goose-bumps.

Paper

'Skin-on interfaces: a bio-driven approach for artificial skin design to cover interactive devices' by Marc Teyssier, Gilles Bailly, Catherine Pelachaud, Eric Lecolinet, Andrew Conn and Anne Roudaut presented at UIST 2019

Further information

About the Faculty of Engineering's SCEEM at the University of Bristol The School of Computer Science, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Engineering Maths (SCEEM) provides opportunities to make an impact through creating technology that changes our world. Our strengths in connectivity, computation, AI, cybersecurity, interaction, vision, robotics, energy management, and simulation equip our graduates to create solutions to challenges in health, sustainability, and urban life. The inclusive community is a space for co-creation of education and research.

Source: University of Bristol

Cloud-Star simplifies the process of terminating 4G and 5G antennas with TNC connectors

Cloud-Star technology have developed an adaptor that converts a 5G antenna terminated with an SMA connector into a TNC connector in seconds

Cloud-Star technology have developed an RF adaptor that quickly converts a 4G or 5G LTE antenna that is terminated with an SMA male into a TNC male connector.

Field engineers can now quickly re-terminate the antenna in seconds without having to use costly tooling and additional connectors to re-crimp.

TNC connectors are commonly used on all types of mobile communications equipment including the Panasonic Tough Book.

The adaptor has an SMA female on one end that simply screws into the SMA male connector which is the most common factory fitted connector on 4G and 5G antennas and has a TNC male connector on the other end that connects on to the RF port of the communications device.

Please click here for more information>