February 13, 2014 – by Peter B. Counter
Enough can’t be said about the need for biometric security solutions providers to break down the barriers in adoption that customers face when looking to upgrade an access control system. This is especially true when considering physical access control. Integrating a new, still futuristic-seeming technology into a building requiring limitations on access has the obvious obstacles of customer education and deployment cost. It also comes with the baggage of physical security security infrastructure: out with the old in with the new. This final part can be a daunting clincher for a business watching its budget.
Innovations in biometrics are taking a turn for the accessible, however, and Zwipe is an excellent example. Its proprietary technology is a next-generation biometric card that authenticates fingerprints on-device and can integrate into existing security infrastructure. The device is billed as ready-to-use, and in corroboration to that statement Zwipe announced yesterday that Farpointe Data will be providing its access control system manufacturer partners with the next gen contactless cards.
Scott Lindley, CEO of Farpointe explains the decision, saying, “It’s not often that the security industry is introduced to an additive product such as the Zwipe biometric card. This new product doesn’t take the place of other existing products. To use it, ISO 14443-compliant smart card reader users do not need to pull out present equipment and replace it with new products. The readers they now use will be able to provide the benefits of biometric authorization by simply incorporating the card into their systems in the same way they incorporate smart cards through current offerings.”
Farpointe will provide OEMs with the option to have their Zwipe biometric cards pre-programmed with facility codes, ID numbers and other access control data. On April 2, the first day of this year’s ISC West Exhibition in Las Vegas, the orders will commence.
“Farpointe is well-known for producing innovative and high quality access control products,” says Zwipe CEO Kim Humborstad. “They wanted to provide their customers with biometric authorization but not if it meant integrating biometric devices that will not hold up to Farpointe value standards. Not needing any additional equipment, the Zwipe biometric card lets them meet this goal.”
Zwipe’s next generation smart card solution embodies a post-password philosophy. A higher level of security with a lower level of user and administrative friction is the mantra of the most innovative presences in strong authentication. The on-card fingerprint scanner reads biometrics in less than a second, using 3D capacitive technology, and only activates a lock once positively identifying its user. The templates are encrypted and never leave the card, so a compromised card is rendered useless without the assigned user.
Both companies will be present at ISC West this coming April, Zwipe in booth #5055 and Farpointe in #8056.
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