Creepy fingerprint surveillance

[auroraglacialis]

Just in case someone still doubts that affordable cameras are able to identify people at a distance:
IDair's new fingerprint reader captures prints from 6 meters away | al.com
Their system is available for now $2000, expected to get much cheaper with time. It is a high resolution camera and a computer with advanced software. It can identify the fingerprint of a person who is standing 6 meters (18') away from the camera. Currently the system only recognizes the fingerprint of a single digit, not enough for unique identification, but they are working on getting all fingers scanned plus biometrics, plus Iris scans.
The system is now used in military installations and - fitness centers (WTF!) and is expected to have a variety of applications up to shpooing with your biometrics-linked bank account.

This is so incredibly creepy that I had to post it, despite some people who probably will find it a great idea to pay in the future at any shop by just waving your hand. Me at least, it reminds me of a combination of gattaca and 1984 in some ways. Just thinking that such a relatively cheap system (that is predominantly software based as Hi-Res digital surveillance cameras are already common) could be deployed by numerous companies, like transit companies or surveillance of public places sends a shiver down my spine. If one would be able to collect and merge data from these... or if there will be a market for fingerprint data like there is now one for valid email adresses or credit cards - the implications...

IDair makes a machine that Burcham says can photographically capture a fingerprint from as far away as six meters in enough detail to match against a database. Add facial and iris-recognition technology, Burcham said, and you have the basis for a good biometrics system that can control access to any building or room within a building.[...]
HudsonAlpha, known for human genome and other biological research, gave Burcham a desk for his startup company [..]The basic IDair machine now, which costs under $2,000, processes one finger's print.[...]

It's the security of the fingerprint database that concerns privacy experts such as Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "There are so many steps where a (digital) fingerprint can leak," Tien said.
[...]
"Yes, it can be abused," Burcham agreed. "Anything can be abused. The point is, are there restrictions in place to not abuse it?" The answer with IDair is yes, he said. "But what it's going to come down to is: Do you want to go through that door? Do you want to buy something with Amazon?"