MultiHub, a Singapore-based dormitory management company, has selected XID Technology’s facial recognition system to provide access control to the Soon Lee Dormitory.

In Singapore, dormitories are often used to house foreign workers working on construction sites. XID’s solution was selected because it contains biometric facial recognition that can serves as a deterrent to people who may attempt to illegally gain access to the facility.

XID, a Redwood City, Calif. and Singapore-based facial recognition company, has face recognition technology that functions in outdoor environments where lighting condition variations result in high error rates for traditional face recognition systems.  

Plans to issue passports with fingerprint information have been delayed in Czechoslovakia, according to published reports.

The new travel documents were expected to be issued in April, but government officials are still working on a way to secure the biometric data that will be stored in the passport book.

The Czech government has a bill working its way through the legislature that enables citizens to travel to European Union countries with an ID that does not include machine-readable data. The bill also stipulates that passports with machine-readable data and biometric elements will also be issued for children under five.

Read the full story here.  

Jericho, NY-based bioMETRX Inc. has received funding to expand the reach of its technology across different vertical markets. bioMETRX provides consumer biometric system for such as garage door openers, thermostats, luggage as well as door hardware. bioMETRX has established relationships with various retail and OEM partners including The Home Depot and Master Lock.

Biometric Investors LLC, a subsidiary of Crestview Capital, will invest between $11 and $15 million in the company along with an additional $5 million in assets. Biometric Investors also has an $8.5 million secured investment in Sequiam Biometrics.

“This transaction will allow bioMETRX to dramatically scale up engineering and manufacturing capabilities, as well as substantially accelerate revenue growth while maintaining its’ relatively low overhead,” said Robert Hoyt, managing partner at Crestview Capital. “The transaction will provide broader opportunities to bioMETRX in the consumer OEM markets to compliment its current consumer biometric product portfolio.”  

ImageWare Systems Inc. Announced that the Navy’s Tactical Biometric Collection and Matching System team recently received the Technology-to-Sea Excellence Award for excellence and superior performance. The team utilized ImageWare’s IWS Biometric Engine for a mobile, multi-biometric identity management prototype solution. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren gave the award.

As the prime contractor, ImageWare developed a mobile, multi-biometric identity management prototype solution based on its IWS Biometric Engine and supporting devices that included multi-modal biometric capabilities, including face, finger and iris, ruggedized for mission-critical objectives.

ActivIdentity Corp., Fremont, Calif., and Novell Inc., Waltham, Mass., have combined products that may make it easier for corporation to use one ID card for both physical and logical access, the companies announced.

Customers can implement the Novell Identity Assurance Solution and the ActivIdentity Smart Employee ID solution, which combines the ActivID Card Management System with Novell Identity Manager. When combined these products enable organizations to use one identity management system across both physical and logical resources.

The Novell Identity Assurance Solution access to different logical I.T. systems and physical facilities using combinations of biometrics, passwords, personal identification numbers, smart cards, digital certificates and other forms of authentication. The ActivIdentity Smart Employee ID smart card functions as a photo ID and a proximity badge for facility access, as well as an I.T. security device for digital identification and authentication.  

India’s Finance Ministry is working on introducing biometric permanent account number cards for greater security of the accounts, according to The Financial Express.

Security concerns and duplication of the PAN cards have prompted the government to look at biometric to secure the cards. The government is concerned that terrorists can get a PAN card and open bank accounts or get a mobile connection to finance activities.

A tender is expected in the next couple of months and the first cards will be rolled out later this year. At first the cards would just be issues too individual’s applying for new accounts but the biometrics would be deployed for all accounts.

Read the full story here.  

The National Institute of Scientific Investigation, the CSI of the Republic of Korea, has purchased Animetrics’ 2D and 3D imaging for facial biometric systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

NISI selected Animetrics’ products because of the technologies ability to create a synthesis of faces from a single photograph. “The potential use for police agencies that find and attempt to identify suspects would be a giant step forward in the investigation process,” said J. Lee, NISI lead forensic scientist.

NISI’s research and development group initiated a project to exploit Animetrics 2D to 3D technology and capabilities for both face recognition biometrics and for face creation and computer visualization applications. Animetrics is located in Conway, N.H.  

The U.S. and Germany have signed an agreement that enables the two countries to share fingerprint information.

“Each of our countries will have access to the criminal fingerprint databases of the other – in the first instance simply to determine on a yes - or- no basis if there is evidence in those databases that could be helpful in criminal investigations and prosecutions, said General Michael B. Mukasey, U.S. attorney general. “If such evidence is located, the agreement also sets forth procedures for obtaining it through lawful processes that also ensure appropriate protection for personal data.”

Mukasey added that the U.S. is going to try and work out similar agreements with other European Union members.  

GE Security announced the state of Florida has deployed GE’s Identity Commander solution to all 12 deep water seaports and its Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Tallahassee headquarters as the basis for an operational transit worker identity card system.

In tandem with biometric identity management from San Diego-based ImageWare Systems, Identity Commander is biometric-based in order to be compliant with anticipated federal credentialing programs. GE’s solution delivers biometric enrollment, credential personalization and issuance capabilities.

The statewide solution employs fixed and mobile card readers that have proven to be a challenge elsewhere. Identity Commander conforms to PIV I & II Federal Information Processing Standard 201 (FIPS 201) and the State of Florida’s Uniform Port Access Credential (FUPAC) law (Florida Statute s311.125).  

GE Security announced the state of Florida has deployed GE’s Identity Commander solution to all 12 deep water seaports and its Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Tallahassee headquarters as the basis for an operational transit worker identity card system.

In tandem with biometric identity management from San Diego-based ImageWare Systems, Identity Commander is biometric-based in order to be compliant with anticipated federal credentialing programs. GE’s solution delivers biometric enrollment, credential personalization and issuance capabilities.

The statewide solution employs fixed and mobile card readers that have proven to be a challenge elsewhere. Identity Commander conforms to PIV I & II Federal Information Processing Standard 201 (FIPS 201) and the State of Florida’s Uniform Port Access Credential (FUPAC) law (Florida Statute s311.125).