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Who hasn’t checked their coat at a restaurant or other venue and worried about losing the claim ticket? London-based Idscan aims to put those worries to rest with a biometric cloakroom system that it claims is a world’s first. Cloakscan records a customer’s thumbprint via a small scanner, while a digital camera records the transaction. When customers return and touch the thumb-scanner once more, their pictures show up on a monitor, allowing the cloakroom attendant to verify their identity and quickly see where their valuables have been stored. Idscan explains that Cloakscan eases stress among customers and staff alike. Customers needn’t fear that a dropped claim ticket will be found and redeemed by someone else, while staff can use Cloakscan’s touchscreen monitor to log checked items faster and more accurately. Cloakscan even prints out reports if valuables do become lost, to aid in police or insurance investigations. The system can automatically charge customers for coat checking services and can also scan in promotional codes for special offers and services. Idscan rents its cloak-checking system for GBP 17.50 per week as a complete system or alternately sells the software running it with the scanner and camera for GBP 999. Idscan’s Cloakscan illustrates is how pervasive biometric scans and photo verification systems are becoming. Already widely used in banks, relatively inexpensive thumbprint ID systems particular can speed up operations in everything from a retail store’s merchandise pickup area to the checkout desk at a movie-rental outlet. Bottom line: lots of start-up opportunities exist for system integrators. All it will take is some software writing expertise to fine tune thumbprint and photo applications to new types of businesses. (Related: Drive-in cloakroom.)