A pilot program in three Chinese cities enables citizens to put digital versions of the country’s national ID card on a popular smartphone payment app operated by e-commerce giant Alibaba. The move follows a similar program that involves a Chinese social media platform.

A new lab in Virginia seeks to improve the ability of the Army to use biometrics for authentication and security, including in combat zones. A main goal of the program is to reduce the relatively bulky nature of current military biometric systems.

Biometric technology is taking another step forward in the auto industry with the introduction of a system meant to reduce accidents that stem from distracted driving. The Subaru launch comes as other carmakers seek to use biometrics not only for safety, but ID and driver convenience.

Govpass, supervised by the federal Digital Transformation Agency, would enable users to access government and even private services without having to show up and wait in physical offices. Testing of the program scheduled to widen in the coming months.

Taipei’s smart city initiative, which also includes citizens’ digital IDs, will rely on Tangle, a distributed ledger technology that is distinct from blockchain. The push represents the latest melding of digital ID and distributed ledgers, which have already found fans in other markets.

Recent projects and proposals from the global automotive industry seek to use biometrics to enhance the driving experience. The efforts show the wide-ranging use of biometric authentication—and give a glimpse of how digital ID might play its part.

As technological advancements like the smartphone and the IoT change society, they are also changing how we authenticate to physical and logical security systems. In our daily activities, we are constantly pinged by sensors and IoT devices. It is a process that is creating a new type of ID, an IDIoT, that can be recognized by both man and machine.

Secure authentication and selfie technology from Jumio now helps gold and silver investment and storage firm Goldmoney to protect and confirm existing and new clients. Facial recognition is helping to secure onboarding of customers via the remote authentication method.