Biometrics Security Solutions Are Here From The Future

This perception has forced both solution providers and vendors to come up with new ways to entice customers. One company that is successfully generating interest in biometrics solutions is A4Vision, Sunnyvale, Calif. That company hopes to shake up the security market with its unique 3-D face-recognition system. Originally designed as a physical access control system, A4Vision has added software capabilities and an SDK that allows partners to create custom solutions. Those solutions can range from building-access technologies to time and attendance systems and offer the advantage of using face-recognition technology via a near-infrared videocamera. Together, the hardware and software create an automatic visual record of who went where and when using state-of-the-art biometrics recognition systems.

The secret behind A4Vision's technology is the combination of specialized algorithms and precise video hardware. The algorithms use advanced mathematics to interpret the normally 2-D camera image and transfer it into a 3-D representation of a registered face. That makes it almost impossible to fool the system with flat replicas (in the form of photographs) or other false representations of a registered face. When combined with an access card or PIN, A4Vision's solution becomes an ideal system to secure critical locations.

The solution is built around a door-access control mechanism, which provides physical security to a location. Simply put, a camera is connected to a system that controls a door lock. The system is used to register and identify people and grant or deny access through the door. The real solution provider opportunity here is the capability to extend the system via the SDK and integrate A4Vision's technology into other systems. For example, an integrator could combine building access security with a time and attendance system and a PC-access solution. In other words, an employee could walk up to an entry point, gain entry, be logged into the payroll system and concurrently have his or her PC booted and then be granted access to his or her applications. While that may sound like something out of a science-fiction novel, the reality is that A4Vision offers the technology to make this possible now—and at an affordable price.

Potentially, the technology has broad appeal and is applicable to a range of businesses and markets from homeland security to financial markets to medical practices. Those opportunities are driven in part by safety concerns and in part by legislative requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA.

Test Center engineers evaluated A4Vision's Vision Access line of products, including the Vision Access Face Reader 2.1, the associated SDKs and bundled hardware capabilities, and found that A4Vision's solution offers significant extensibility. From the sales side of the equation, solution providers can offer physical access control right out of the box and use that implementation as a launching point for additional biometrics-based solutions.

There are numerous advantages to the technology. First off, every user has the critical element needed for access—his or her unique face. Secondly, the technology proves difficult, if not impossible, to fool. What's more, the low-light capabilities and image-capturing features make the solution suitable for surveillance use.

Solution providers will find system enrollment straightforward. After the system is set up, prospective users simply face the camera to begin an enrollment session. An enrollment station consists of either a desktop or notebook PC, a camera and a video-capture adapter. Of course, those components will have to be integrated and the appropriate software installed. That process creates additional revenue for VARs, whose expertise will be needed to effectively set up A4Vision's products.

A4Vision offers solution providers a unique way of handling a common problem—access to systems and locations. The technology could prove to be a valuable ally in the ever-increasing need for biometrics-based protection and offers partners an opportunity to get involved with this technology on the ground floor.

A4Vision's channel program requires partners to sign a partner agreement, complete certification requirements and make sales and marketing commitments. The program is open to tier-one and tier-two system integrators. Pre- and post-sales and marketing support is available to all partners, as well as standard service. An enhanced service plan is available at additional cost. Sales and marketing collateral, demonstration equipment, regional and local trade show support and regional and local factory sales training are also offered. Average reseller margin is 35 percent to 45 percent. Solution pricing starts at $4,900 per door monitored, although the product is discounted to $3,400 for tier-one resellers.