Border Security Gets a Helping Hand With Opentec's 'Next Generation' Biometrics System 
January 2010

After starting a development program in  2006, it became clear that many 'portable biometrics scanners' on the market were simply unable to be carried for extended periods because of their size and weight, or not durable enough to go into maritime or battlefield environments. That made them unsuitable for border patrol, coast guard or ground army users who needed greater druability in a smaller package.

Enter TrioMetrics: a rugged UMPC-based system that sets a new benchmark in durability AND multi-modal biometrics data collection and verification for field based users.

After beginning work on a PDA-based 'Rugged' grade fingerprint scanner in 2006, it soon became clear that to add significant additional features - such as auto-iris scanning, and rapid in-the-palm-of-your-hand biometrics collection and verification - and to make it smaller and more durable than anything then available, that we needed to move away from a Mobile 6 or CE.net operating system to a more robust Windows XP operating system.

TrioMetrics is the first military grade, ultra-compact, ultra-durable, multi-modal (finger/latent finger, iris + mugshot) scanner and verification system based on a mil-spec Windows XP based UMPC. It adds the missing elements that users have been asking for: low weight, compact size, PC performance, and levels of durability equivalent to those being delivered in our rugged portable computer range.

With up to 64Gb of solid state (SSD) on-board data storage, a 1.6GHz Intel ATOM CPU, a tactical radio port, and arguably the world's smallest and most accurate auto-iris capture system, TrioMetrics easily and relaibly captures biometrics data then creates NIST/FBI compliant EFT/EBT files that can then be verified locally (against a watchlist) or sent directly to a remote NIST/FBI compliant AFIS/ABIS for verification. We even supply both the biometrics software and the secure WAN capability. One feature that sets TrioMetrics apart is that the queuing system used when sending data to a remote AFIS/ABIS for verification doesn't prevent the operator from continuing to collect additional personal data, updating demographics in individual's files, etc.

At less than 950 grams and 20cm wide, it can also operate as a situational awareness terminal, or a personal navigation device with data collection and communication cababilities. Users can even load 3rd party software if needed (eg voice recognition or identikit builder software) based on applications requirements. Better still, when not needed, the biometrics collection module can be quickly undocked' from the UMPC, leaving the user with a general purpose handheld computer for other operational uses.