Leaving a Print on Safety

About this technology

Overview

Pattern-recognition technologies developed by NASA to identify spacecraft and other objects in space have helped in the development of new, biometrics-based security solutions on Earth that recognize individuals to grant access to protected facilities, equipment, or information. The general principles of the pattern-recognition methods used at Johnson Space Center for spacecraft and object tracking have helped to direct the technology of Bioscrypt, Inc., a leading provider of identity-verification technology. Dr. Colin Soutar, chief technology officer of Bioscrypt, worked at Johnson between 1992 and 1994 as a National Research Council Research Fellow. The pattern-recognition skills that Soutar developed at NASA are applicable to his current position with Bioscrypt, as the company uses pattern-based processing to accomplish the task of fingerprint verification. One of the company's most successful products is a practical two-in-one reader known as V-Smart.T V-Smart combines the high security of Bioscrypt's proven fingerprint-matching technology with a contact-less smart" card that hosts the mathematical template of a user's fingerprint. Personal information remains perfectly secure with V-Smart since fingerprints are embedded within encrypted chips on the smart cards and not on the reader or in a company database."