BIO-key Gets U.S. Patent for Accelerating Biometric Searches

Bio-Key International (NASDAQ:BKYI) announced that it has been issued U.S. patent that protects Bio-Key’s method of quickly and iteratively searching a database of biometric records.

The company said that the patent that was issued to Bio-Key internation was Patent 10,025,831, “Adaptive Short Lists and Acceleration of Biometrics Database Search”.

As quoted in the press release:

The method utilizes one or more scans of the database with potentially varying index parameters, narrowing the field of biometric record candidates on each pass. This ‘short list’ indexing approach powers BIO-key’s unique advantage in delivering cost-effective one-to-many fingerprint identification solutions that avoid the costly and computer-intensive brute force scans typically required to search biometric databases.

The adaptive biometric indexing technology covered by this patent is utilized today in BIO-key’s core Vector Segment Technology (“VST”) biometric algorithm and is integrated into the Company’s WEB-key and ID Director suite of solutions.

Large-scale Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) like that used by the FBI were once the exclusive province of big-budget agencies and enterprises. However, today BIO-key’s highly accurate, large-scale, one-to-many identification capabilities can be cost effectively deployed to deliver a critical underpinning of trust and fraud-resistance for every biometric system, while also providing a faster, more convenient user experience.

One-to-many biometric authentication enhances trust and fraud-resistance by ensuring that each individual has one and only one enrolled identity, as multiple identities are a common source of errors and fraud. When activated as part of BIO-key’s enterprise user authentication solutions, this quick and accurate indexed identification capability delivers a better user experience, finding and positively identifying a user with a single biometric reading. BIO-key has a well-documented track record performing indexed one-to-many searches in real-time against some of the world’s largest databases, including those with well over 100 million records.

Mira LaCous, BIO-key’s Chief Technology Officer, commented: “Accurate and efficient one-to-many biometric identification is the cornerstone of secure identity and authentication services. Unless an identity platform detects and prevents duplicate enrollments, first-party and synthetic identity fraud remain as significant threats.  Device-only enrollments cannot be cross-checked for uniqueness, leaving systems vulnerable to fraud.”

LaCous added, “Our newly patented indexing method is also highly adaptive, making it suitable for processors found in personal devices, servers – both on-premise or in-cloud, as well as for leveraging massively-parallel GPUs found in today’s graphic and computation accelerator cards.”

Click here for the full press release.