NEC's Fingerprint Identification Technology Ranks First In NIST Testing

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, March 9 (Bernama) -- NEC Corporation announced Monday that its fingerprint identification (ID) technologies ranked first in the Fingerprint Vendor Technology Evaluation (FpVTE) conducted by the United States’ (US) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In a statement, it said FpVTE 2012 was organised to mimic potential operational requirements, such as application with National ID systems and criminal investigations. It said tests were carried out with large-scale fingerprint images collected across a wide range of organisations, such as police departments and government institutions, to conduct accuracy assessments on search, identity confirmation and other tasks. The fingerprint database used in the testing included around five million sets of fingerprint data, the largest database in the NIST’s benchmark testing history. FpVTE testing was conducted primarily to assess the current capabilities of fingerprint matching algorithms using operational datasets containing several million subjects. There were three classes of participation that examined one-to-many identification using various finger combinations from single finger up to ten fingers. NEC achieved top ranking in the 10 finger identification tests, producing the best fingerprint matching results among the 18 companies and organisations that took part in the testing, thereby demonstrating the advanced level of its technological capabilities. As one of the key technologies for creating a safe and secure society, NEC has engaged in the development of fingerprint biometric technologies for more than four decades. Systems using these technologies have been introduced in more than 40 countries around the world, such as a national ID system in South Africa and a wide range of AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) systems for government and city police departments in the US, including the Western Identification Network (WIN, No. 2). Commenting on the ranking, NEC Corporation General Manager, 2nd Government and Public Solutions Division, Hiroshi Suzuki said: “NEC is extremely proud of its top ranking in the FpVTE 2012. "This is the second consecutive time that NEC technology is ranked as the best in large scale ten finger identification tests conducted by NIST." He said the NIST evaluated vendors’ authentication technologies through blind testing in an objective and accurate way, and with the cooperation and support of the US Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of Defence and other government branches. "We are delighted that the results of the latest benchmark tests have once again demonstrated the superiority of NEC’s fingerprint authentication technologies,” he added. Following these results, he said NEC would continue to develop and sell products and services, including its Integra-ID Multimodal Biometric Indentification System, which capitalises on its leading biometric authentication technologies and further strengthen its business. -- BERNAMA