Government-Supported Projects Get Underway – Identity News Digest

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

Karachi Police to Procure 1,300 Facial Recognition Cameras for ‘Safe City Project’

Police authorities in Karachi, Pakistan, will be looking to procure 1,300 facial recognition cameras for a planned “Safe City Project”. A planning meeting for the first phase of the project was recently held under the supervision of the Additional Inspector General of Police – Karachi, at which participants discussed the camera network requirement as well as plans to establish a “Control Room”, deploy “smart cars”, and set up a data collection program for criminal inmates, reports The Nation.

South Sudan to Implement Biometric Payroll System

The government of South Sudan is preparing to implement a biometric registry for its civil service payroll, thanks in part to support from the World Bank, which views the effort as key to transparency reforms laid out in a 2018 peace deal that was meant to bring about the end to a civil war that started in 2013. The biometric payroll project will be implemented over a period of four years at a projected cost of $34 million, with the World Bank offering financial support. South Sudan’s Minister of Public Service and Human Resource Development, Dak Duop Bickiok, said the primary aim of the system is to eliminate fraud.

Brazil’s Serpro Deploys FRT at G20 Meeting

Brazilian officials took the opportunity of the first G20 meeting under the country’s presidency to showcase domestically made biometric security technology. A facial recognition system developed by Serpro, the federal government’s IT corporation, was used to register national and international G20 delegates and journalists, offering them face-based access to restricted areas during the meeting in Marina da Glória, a venue in Rio de Janeiro. Serpro has been tasked with providing IT solutions for about 130 scheduled meetings in various cities.

Samsung Sensor Supports Metalenz’s Full-Polarization Face Unlock System

Boston-based Metalenz has revealed that it is using Samsung Electronics’ ISOCELL Vizion 931 as the image sensor for its Polar ID solution, which it bills as the first consumer electronics-focused facial recognition system that can scan a human face using the full polarization of light. ISOCELL Vizion 931 is a global shutter image sensor offering VGA+ resolution and quantum efficiency of 60 percent, meaning it is highly sensitive to light. “Our collaboration with Metalenz is not just about combining technologies; it marks a pivotal advancement in biometric imaging capabilities, making face unlock solutions with enhanced security and affordability accessible on a global scale,” said CY Lee, the VP of Samsung Electronics’ Sensor Sales and Marketing Team.

FPC Gets Distribution Deal With Swede-Friendly Turkish Firm

Fingerprint Cards has established a distribution agreement with Ansal Component, a Turkish firm specializing in component supply services. Ansal Component is in the habit of doing business with Swedish partners, having previously established deals with the radar sensor specialist Acconeer and with JonDeTech Sensors, an infrared sensor company. In announcing the partnership, FPC CEO Adam Philpott called Turkey a “significant and strategically important” market. “Ansal Component is a great partner to help us grow the reach of our access control solutions in markets where our biometric solutions are known and extremely successful,” he said.

Precise Biometrics Reports Positive EBITDA for Q4, 2023

Precise Biometrics has issued a corporate update for Q4 of 2023 and for the full year. “We are particularly pleased to report a positive operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) for Q4, and that our visitor management system – YOUNiQ Visit (EastCoast Visit) – had its best quarter so far in terms of sales, which means that we continue to increase our annual recurring revenue (ARR),” asserted CEO Joakim Nydemark. The company reported EBITDA of SEK 0.6 million for the quarter and an EBITDA loss of SEK 1.7 million for the fiscal year. Since the end of 2023, Precise has begun to set up a dedicated sales team in Amsterdam that will focus on winning more YOUNiQ Visit customers, the company said.

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February 26, 2024 – by Alex Perala