FaceKey files patent extension for combination biometrics
Breakthrough attempts to leverage the speed of facial recognition with the accuracy of fingerprint scanning; company is mum on applications beyond access control; investors and integrators should give this modest and quietly ambitious company a look
The patent lawyers at San Antonio-based FaceKey have been busy of late. Earlier this week we reported that the company had filed a patent for a biometric security system for vending machines. Now we hear the company is seeking to extend an existing patent for a combination facial recognition and fingerprint biometric security system — what it calls a “Fingerprint Verification System Utilizing a Facial Image-Based Heuristic Search Method.” The method, which has been deployed to government offices in Malaysia, attempts to leverage the speed of facial biometrics with the accuracy of fingerprints. As the face of a user attempting access to a building is scanned, a fingerprint reader confirms the result, thereby bypassing the time consuming data processing involved in scanning large numbers of fingerprints.
Although company officials would not tell us for what new processes they hoped their patent would be extended, they did say that it would be marketed under a new name. Until now, it had been sold under the rather drab “FaceKey Standard Access Control.” The existing patent number is No. 6,963,659 B2.
Investors take note: The company is eager to inform the public that “FaceKey is currently identifying applications in the most lucrative markets, such as Homeland Security and potential partners. And the company welcomes inquiries.”
-read more in this comapny news release; see also company Web site
