December 8, 2013 – by Peter B. Counter
The week began with the launch of Zwipe Access biometric card: a portable contactless security device designed to enable high levels of security for access control. This is allowed by the inclusion of a touch sensor courtesy of Fingerprint Cards AB (FPC). Possibly the most notable aspect of the fingerprint protected security credential is what it means in regards to deployment. Thanks to the nature of the contactless card, and because biometric authentication occurs on the unit itself, deployment is made much more easy and cost effective, with Zwipe Access adopters now allowed to add fingerprint factors to their existing security infrastructures.
Staying on the topic of fingerprint biometrics in physical access control, Suprema – who just received Korea’s highest honor for growing companies – is slated to receive increased deployment for its devices through a newly minted partnership between its US operation partner EnterTech Systems and Software House. Here, once again, we see a focus on convenience in deployment. EnterTech has been stressing its initiative in breaking down the barriers of adoption in biometric access control, primarily through its BioConnect platform that streamlines the administrative processes associated in managing terminals and credentials.
Managing records can be made easy with biometrics, and this is something that is becoming very apparent in the healthcare industry. M2SYS this week announced that its iris biometrics solution RightPatient is being deployed by Martin Health System, receiving a deployment in two Florida hospitals to better keep track of patient records. Since iris biometrics require zero contact between scanner and person, they are ideal for health-spaces, offering to reduce duplicate records, instances of fraud and potential billing errors, while also preventing the spread of germs.
Contactless biometrics can be fun too: camera-based full body motion analysis is playing a big role in the recently birthed new generation of videogames. Extreme Reality, the company behind an SDK that can transform a standard camera into a full body 3D body motion analysis tool is getting in on the ground floor of biometric gaming, having already been used in the creation of SEGA’s GO DANCE iPad game. This week the company announced the winner of its Extreme iPad Challenge mobile game competition, and though the winning app from KoKonut Studio effectively transforms an iPad into a motion controlled game, the contest begs the question of whether such a gameplay innovation – one that requires such commitment from the player – is best suited to a platform dominated by casual games.
Aware, Inc. this week announced that it will be helping people move in a less trivial way: receiving a deployment in Saudi Arabia to help the Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issue and manage biometric visas. Similar to the role Aware is playing in the new Canadian biometric visa program, the deployment sees the company’s Biometric Service Platform (BioSP), Universal Registration Client and the related APIs prepared to handle as many as 16,000 enrollments in a single hour.
Finally, in executive news, Friday brought with it the announcement that the board of directors at Cross Match Technologies has named an interim CEO to provide leadership while a permanent chief executive officer is found to replace David Buckley. With Buckley leaving Cross Match to pursue other interests, the board has appointed one of its members, Michael Kohlsdorf, to guide the company while steps are taken to fill the position.
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