Redrock Makes Palm Biometrics Solution Free for Essential Service Providers

Redrock Biometrics has announced that it will be waiving the licensing fee for its PalmID software during the COVID-19 pandemic. The offer will make the authentication platform available for free to any businesses that are designated as essential services.

Those businesses will have access to PalmID for at least one year, though that window could be extended if the world is still battling the novel coronavirus in 12 months. Redrock is hoping that the offer will help slow the spread of the virus, noting that there is a lower risk of transmission with contactless biometrics than there is with contact-based scanners. PalmID can use a standard RGB camera or an infrared camera to identify individuals based on unique palm vein biometrics.

“We would like to play our part in helping our community in this fight,” said Redrock Co-Founder Lenny Kontsevich. “COVID-19 made us acutely aware that touching devices represents a threat to our lives. People become touch-phobic and their faces are covered by masks, which creates a need for a touchless palm solution.”

Redrock is not the first company to highlight the benefits of contactless biometrics in response to the pandemic. Invixium and iiDENTIFii have both argued that facial recognition cameras are safer than shared fingerprint scanners, which need to be cleaned regularly to prevent the spread of the contagion. Those logistical and sanitary obstacles have forced many organizations – including the NYPD – to suspend their use of fingerprint authentication during the pandemic.

Palm vein recognition is comparable to facial recognition in that regard. It enables biometric authentication while eliminating the need to make physical contact with a shared device.

The news makes Redrock the latest company to offer free authentication services to essential personnel. Yoti’s digital identity app and the automated Jumio Go platform are also available to eligible organizations.

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March 31, 2020 – by Eric Weiss