March 26, 2003—HID Corp. and Image Metrics have married the convenience and low-cost of the HID iCLASS contactless smart card with the assurance a high-resolution facial image stored right on the card. The Image Metrics FACE400 software reduces the image to 400 bytes and reconstructs the data to produce a photo-grade image on off-the-shelf computer monitors.
The FACE400 technology was unveiled at the International Security Conference in Las Vegas in March. According to Jim St Pierre, HID vice president of product management, “The iCLASS products and FACE400 software produce a high-resolution face without slowing the holder’s pace through the station. And the on-screen image is so true-to-life, guards can confirm quickly the holder’s identity.”
Putting the image right on the card eliminates the need for and cost of biometric template database management. The image input can be industry-standard JPEG or bitmap files.
