SOCOM Wants a Touchless Fingerprinting App

The US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is searching for a technology partner to develop a touchless fingerprinting app. The app would allow military personnel to register new individuals in remote locations using only their smartphones, eliminating the need to carry a larger, separate device.

“We want an app on a phone so that you basically are taking a picture of the … person’s fingerprints,” said Glen Cullen, the SOCOM Program Manager for Sensitive Site Exploitation. “We feel we’re leading the way with [touchless technology] because everything now that people are using [requires putting] your fingers in physical contact with some type of sensor.”

SOCOM is hoping that the new app will make fingerprint collection faster, cheaper, and more accurate to enable the collection of better reconnaissance information. The organization put out an initial call to vendors in March, and plans to select a partner by next spring. The app is scheduled for fielding in early 2021.

While companies like CardLogix and AMREL have released rugged tablets and even smartphone modules that allow for remote fingerprint collection, Cullen noted that SOCOM’s demands are much more rigorous than those of conventional law enforcement. The organization is now seeking its own custom solution because it doesn’t seem to think the latest commercial options are able to meet its highly specific needs.   

Source: National Defense Magazine   

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July 3, 2019 – by Eric Weiss