Boardwalk Inc., a Tokyo-based ticketing solution provider, has announced that it will begin NFC research and development for ticket-related applications.

Boardwalk provides a mobile ticketing solution based on Osaifu-Keitai mobile wallet technology. According to Boardwalk, the Felica-compliant service turns the phone itself into a contactless electronic ticket that can be used in place of a paper ticket. The so-called “Ticket Board” solution also provides QR codes for those without an Osaifu-Keitai-enabled phone.

A Japanese researcher has developed a biometric that could be used to protect a car from theft: butt biometrics, according to verge.com.

Shigeomi Koshimizu, an associate professor at the Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology in Tokyo has developed the technology. A seat pressure map to generates 39 indices that are used to uniquely identify a subject’s posterior. Results so far have been encouraging, with average false reject rates of 2.2% and false accept rates of 1.1%.