Datastrip's award-winning card reader wins GAO approval

The HSPD-12 rush is over, but there are still a few companies trickling in to the market. Consider, for instance, the case of Exton, Pennsylvania-based Datastrip, which among other successes won the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation of the Year Award for its DSVII handheld identity verification terminals. Frost & Sullivan must have known its business, because we can now report that the same suite of card readers has been approved for purchase under the General Services Administration’s FIPS-201 evaluation program. According to Datastrip, the DSVII is the first single fingerprint capture device on the GSA’s approved list as well as the first contact smart card reader with card holder unique identifier (also known as CHUID) capabilities for authenticating digital identification information.

Some technical details: Each DSVII model integrates a smart card reader for decoding ID badges and other identity documents, a 500 dpi fingerprint sensor for real-time matching of a live fingerprint to a stored biometric template, and a color transflective 240 x 320 pixel touch screen display for viewing decoded personal data including photographs. The units run on the Windows CE.NET operating system, allowing for relatively easy development of custom applications, while a SH4 RISC processor does the heavy lifting. Most interestingly — at least for those concerned about weight — the base unit weighs only two pounds for easy portability. “Security personnel can use the reader anywhere in a building or on the grounds, on the street, on boats in port, in disaster scenarios and so on. This significantly increases security by extending the perimeter beyond hardwired locations,” said Datastrip’s Roger Morrison.

-read more in this company news release