Cross Match Technologies receives NIST award for fingerprint technology

AUGUST 15--Cross Match Technologies Inc. (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)--a provider of forensic-quality fingerprint and palm-print identification solutions--has been selected by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; Gaithersburg, MD) to receive an Advanced Technology Program award of $2 million in cost-shared funding to develop a new type of biometric sensor. The sensor will be capable of reading fingerprints, blood-flow patterns, and biological anxiety levels and will be incorporated into the new hand-held "Authorizer" technology. The NIST award will be used to develop and test the advanced sensor.

Authorizer technology is a wireless hand-held biometric sensor that will provide an electronic signature to certify an individual's identity in daily transactions, eventually even replacing keys. The Authorizer will be a low-cost, durable solution, which will be able to transmit authorization for a range of diverse functions, such as financial transactions, door locks, alarms, and ignition control in cars. It will help reduce credit-card fraud as well as unauthorized cell-phone use and car thefts and will enhance Internet security.

The biometric-authentication-device market is forecast to reach $2.6 billion by 2006. Details of the Cross Match project can be found on the Web at www.atp.nist.gov/awards/00004392.htm.