BXGrid: ushering in the future of security

Facial recognition systems and iris scanners may seem straight out of a science fiction movie, but such biometric technologies could be the future of security – from ATM identity verification to improved airport safety. Currently, biometric identification technology requires high-quality images obtained under near-perfect conditions. The challenge is to design systems that can accurately identify people from imperfect images.

To improve identification techniques, biometrics researchers must run computation intensive tests involving terabytes of image and video data. The Cooperative Computing Laboratory (CCL) and the Computer Vision Research Laboratory (CVRL) at the University of Notre Dame constructed the Biometrics Research Grid (BXGrid) in order to provide enough computing resources.

Feature - Grids and clouds

GridBriefing just released

So, we’ve all heard about clouds and grids. But what are the pluses and minuses of each approach? For that matter, just what exactly is a “cloud?” A just-published four-page document dissects the benefits and drawbacks of each approach, and draws upon opinions and sources as diverse as Hewlett Packard and the European Software Association.

Feature - Genomics

Hammering out cures at the genome workbench

As biomedical research becomes more collaborative, scientists need a quick and easy way to share information and analysis tools as they work to better understand diseases and search for cures. The National Center for Multiscale Analysis of Genomic and Cellular Networks has developed a framework for application development and dissemination to help them share and collaborate.

Link of the week Gridipedia Gridipedia is a knowledge and toolset repository that consists of grid service components and best practices to support European businesses with the uptake of grid technologies. According to Santi Ristol, Services Area Manager at Atos Origin, Gridipedia is the European grid meeting point of the future. Read more				Video of the week Remarks from a grid school graduate Samer Al-Kiswany, a graduate student at the University of British Colombia, spoke with Open Science Grid about the value of attending the Florida International Grid School last year. Read more