On Track Innovations Ltd. will supply its end-to-end ePassport and border control system to be implemented in a European country. OTI will be providing eStickers which enable the upgrade of existing passports to ePassports, and an advanced infrastructure for ePassport issuing and border control passenger inspection and verification. The system meets the latest standards for electronic passports set by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Union.

The end-to-end system, based on OTI’s MAGNA platform, includes: enrollment and personalization infrastructure including image and fingerprint enrollment, OTI’s eSticker, electronic secured sticker, based on OTI’s Hercules™ Operating System, border control system based on passenger biometric identification applications. The system, which is operable whether it is online or offline, enables border control officers to receive unequivocal identification using a combination of two biometric means – fingerprints and facial recognition.  

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released the results of the Minutiae Interoperability Exchange Test (MINEX) II Performance of Fingerprint Match-On-Card (MOC) Algorithms. The Sagem MOC performance was reported by NIST to be the “most accurate Match-On-Card implementation” of all participants and the only one to meet the standards for use in federal programs such as the U.S. Government’s PIV and TWIC programs.

In order to relieve the burdens of its IT help desk staff and to increase employee productivity, Nuance Communications, Inc. unveiled its Automatic Password Reset module. With Nuance’s Automatic Password Reset, employees can reset security passwords for any networked device or application by using their voice and the company’s telephone system. Automatic Password Reset utilizes voice biometrics that securely identifies the caller in the system and allows for computer and other passwords to be changed.

Speech recognition provider Telisma and voice biometric company PerSay have announced a partnership in an effort to provide more comprehensive voice solutions for customers. Telisma offers customers speech technologies in multiple languages across various countries via its speech recognition software, teliSpeech.

Australian biometrics developer Argus Solutions has won a half million dollar deal with the Government of Wales (Welsh Assembly). The order takes Argus’ product order in the UK to around $1 million. Argus was formed eight years ago and has been in business with various UK Government departments since 2004/2005.

Mes Enfants nursery in Mumbles, Swansea, UK has installed a biometric fingerprint scanning system to increase safety of the children and to make parents feel more at ease. Only registered, authorized parents and staff are allowed access the building. When registered people swipe their finger, their details also flash up on a computer so staff know who is there. The scanner registers a fingerprint in seconds and then stores an encrypted version for future comparison.

Booz Allen Hamilton has won a contract worth $6.3 million to conduct a biometrics research project at the request of the Air Force. Under the contract, Booz Allen Hamilton will help conduct research for a new 3-D facial recognition biometrics program.

An innovative new technology that strengthens PINs and passcodes with one-time grids and Personal Identification Patterns (PIP) is explored. Executive Editor Chris Corum speaks with the technology’s inventors and corporate leaders from GrIDsure on their new pattern-based unique IDs.

Download MP3.

Please contact podcasts@avisian.com with any comments or suggestions.

Verified Identity Pass is running a contest that aims to bring some innovation to airport security. The company runs the Clear program, which enables travelers to access expedited security lines at 14 U.S. airports.

The New York-based company is running a contest that will hopefully speed up security lines at airports. The winner will receive $500,000 and the technology will be purchased in bulk by Verified Identity Pass after the Transportation Security Administration approves it. More than 100 innovators from 70 companies attended the rule briefing at San Francisco International Airport.

All Qatar residents should have smart card IDs by the end of this year or early 2009. They will then be able to get exit permits for themselves. The QR25m smart ID card project was started in October last year. To date, around 8,000 nationals have been issued the card. Also, the first Qatari biometric passports have been issued. Two fingerprints will have to be given as well as an image of the iris for the new ID.