This is week three in Physical Access Control Month at findBIOMETRICS. Already we’ve taken a broad overview of the topic, and delved deeper into the rich subject of adoption barriers in this area of biometric application, now it’s time to look at some of the real life deployments in this field.
Here are four recent physical access control deployments – each showcasing a different mode – that show the versatility that can be demanded when it comes to serving customers looking for next generation security:
1. Palm-vein biometrics protect UC Irvine’s state of the art Kay Family Foundation Innovation Lab
The Kay Family Foundation Innovation Lab is home to an array of expensive communication and design technologies, which alone demand an extra bit of protection, but because UC Irvine is an educational institution, the precious solutions are only really of value if students can access them.
Passcodes were taken off the table for consideration immediately, since they are too easy for students to share, and the administration went with Fujitsu’s PalmEntry instead. Students can’t share their palm vein images, making the management of authorized lab users much easier. Thanks to the accountability and trust that Fujitsu’s biometrics provide, the lab is able to host collaborative educational events like it’s famous AppJam: a competition where students have access to the lab’s resources as they race against the clock to build a fully functional mobile application.
2. Facial recognition grants access to The Marque
When it comes to social clubs, nothing really provides the kind of James Bond-esque atmosphere of importance like biometric access control. In Houston, Texas, The Marque achieves this Hollywood style exclusivity by adding facial recognition to its already impenetrable recruitment process (high cost membership fees and a mandatory member sponsorship process).
MorphoTrak is providing its 3D Face Readers for this exact purpose. Now, nothing short of Mission: Impossible style trickery will get non-members past the lobby, and into one of The Marques many themed rooms. Meanwhile, VIPs get to feel just a little bit cooler when they are granted access to exclusive areas based on the unique geometry of their face.
3. Iris recognition tracks students at Winthrop University
Sometimes biometric security has to deal with massive populations. This is the sort of situation where the “management” in identity management takes center stage and attendance tracking is placed at the front of the queue of importance.
At Winthrop University, iris recognition has replaced the old and outmoded magstripe student cards. Dubbed “EagleEye” after the school’s avian mascot, this biometric solution makes sure that students are where they are supposed to be, and more importantly, impostors are detected immediately.
4. Fingerprint biometrics physically protect the cloud
A lot of people don’t necessarily think of physical security when the topic of cloud technology is broached in conversation, but keeping data centers protected is growing in importance. The SuperNAPs high-density data centers in Las Vegas, Nevada, for instance, deal with mission critical data storage and transfer on a daily basis.
EnterTech Systems has deployed Suprema BioEntry Plus fingerprint readers to do the job. The deployment is company-wide on the customer’s end meaning that buildings, data floor entrances and even areas open to visitors are being locked down by fingerprint biometrics.
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Have another example of a biometric physical access deployment you think deserves noticing? Keep this discussion going by following findBIOMETRICS on Twitter.
Stay posted to findBIOMETRICS throughout the remainder of April, as Physical Access Control Month continues and next week we explore a particularly fun instance of biometric security in pop-culture on the new blog Pop Cultural Identity Management.
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April 16, 2014 – by Peter B. Counter
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