Mobile biometricsNew biometric tools for Android

Published 17 January 2012

Neurotechnology releases VeriFinger, VeriLook, and MegaMatcher biometric technologies for the Android platform; the new products contain the same algorithms as the PC-based versions of the three solutions

Neurotechnology, a biometric identification technologies specialist, last week announced their new line of embedded biometric technologies, including VeriFinger Embedded SDK for fingerprint biometrics, VeriLook Embedded SDK for face biometrics, and MegaMatcher Embedded SDK for multi-biometric systems using face and fingerprints in combination.

The embedded versions are designed for use in low-power, compact, or mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, handheld computers, and other embedded devices. The company says the new products contain the same algorithms as the PC-based versions of VeriFinger, VeriLook, and MegaMatcher, which meet AFIS-level recognition standards.

The company says that VeriFinger Embedded and VeriLook Embedded can process fingerprint or face images in less than one second using a device with a 1GHz or better processor. The first available release of the new MegaMatcher Embedded product includes VeriFinger and VeriLook fingerprint and face biometric algorithms, and versions incorporating iris and voice biometrics are planned in the coming months.

Supporting mobile platforms is becoming significantly more important for biometric applications,” said Pavel Cuchriajev, software development manager for Neurotechnology. “At Neurotechnology we are proud that our major product line now supports the Android development environment. We believe this opens up new possibilities for our integrators, not only for developing creative and elegant end-user biometric solutions for mobile devices but also for developing enterprise level mobile-client solutions by combining the existing MegaMatcher SDK and the newly released MegaMatcher Embedded SDK products,” Cuchriajev added.

The new embedded line of products uses the same API and biometric templates as the PC versions of VeriFinger, VeriLook and MegaMatcher, allowing faster and easier migrations from PC to embedded applications or vice-versa.

VeriFinger Embedded supports AuthenTec EikonTouch, Eikon II, and Eikon Solo USB fingerprint readers, plus the full line of TouchChip and swipe sensor modules with embedded TCD5x processor (root access required) and BLUEFiN Bluetooth fingerprint scanners from Toplink Pacific Pte Ltd. VeriLook Embedded supports video cameras integrated into Android devices. MegaMatcher Embedded provides the same level of support for input devices as the single biometric versions.

The company notes that all three embedded products are designed for the Java development environment and support the Android operating system, version 2.2 or above. Support for ARM Linux and WinCE operating systems will be available in future versions.

Future development plans for the Neurotechnology embedded product line include support for client/server application development as well as support for the native C language development environment, which is particularly useful for device manufacturers who require low-level biometric capabilities for drivers, kernel modules, etc.