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South African biometrics device launched in the US

1st April 2016

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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The locally developed and built Biometric Identity Management System (Bims) device, which can support six biometric modalities simultaneously, was unveiled in the US capitol of Washington DC in March.

The device – about the size of a laptop – and its support systems were developed by biometrics firm Ideco, with more than R20-million spent on research and development, and two and a half years’ worth of workhours by a team of skilled software and firmware developers and engineers.

The console device also provides connectivity – including Bluetooth, WiFi and cellular connectivity – and is equipped with a global positioning system and wired connectivity ports, says Ideco CEO Marius Coetzee.

The Bims allows for biometric identification across a range of modalities – from fingerprint to iris scanning – while being mobile and readily configurable to be fit for purpose. It can be rolled out rapidly in any environment requiring agile identification and processing of crowds.

The device has been designed to the most stringent international hardware and soft- ware security standards, and uses intelligent power management to prolong battery life up to 12 hours, he adds.

“The biometric user identification and access control solution enables the agile, rapid roll-out of an advanced biometrics-based solution; and is relevant to the public- and private-sector across several industry verticals.”

“Through application program interfaces, the solution can be integrated into any back-end system. The device also allows for identity enrolment and identity validation,” notes Coetzee.

The Bims was developed in collaboration with Technische Universität Berlin electronic engineers and firmware developers, University of Stellenbosch engineering faculty academics, and experts from local product designers UV Tooling and Steinhobel Design.

“The need for secure and authentic identity management globally is significant, with demand for advanced biometrics growing apace. The biometrics systems market is predicted to be worth between $15-billion and $24-billion a year by 2020,” he explains.

Ideco sees use for Bims in all sectors where identification is critical, including government departments such as home affairs, licensing departments, customs and border control, health services, education and the police. It is also relevant for private-sector financial, banking, medical and mining verticals.

The potential adoption of the Bims solution is significant, and it can also be deployed for temporary operations such as election admini- stration, surges in cross-border traffic and crime prevention operations, owing to its compact form factor and ease of installation, concludes Coetzee.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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