Making iris easy

CAMPBELL, Calif.--Imaging firm AOptix enters the security industry this month with the shipment of its InSight iris biometric recognition system. The company purports to take “biometric usability to the next level,” by allowing a user to stand anywhere in a .75 cubic meter “capture zone” as the reader authenticates. 

“I've been in entrance control for about 20 years,” said Paul Casson, director of sales for commercial access control at AOptix, “and I've interfaced with the vast majority of access devices, from prox cards and push buttons to biometrics, and one of the most interesting things about AOptix was the major change of the technology, the way it achieves its goals is groundbreaking, and that's the story we want to get out into the marketplace: From six-plus feet standing back from the imaging system, in a virtual capture zone that gets deeper the farther it goes back, the system locates you, focuses, does what it has to do, and produces pristine images for authentication, and that's the simple part.”

Phil Tusa, VP of biometric programs, noted that the large capture zone allows for use by people in wheelchairs, for example, and virtually does away with the fear some people have of putting their eyes close to a biometric device. Further, it's an IP appliance that's already integrated with Lenel's OnGuard, but comes with on-board Wiegand interface and can do on-board encoding and matching so “we can make the authentication decision on the system. If the system goes down, it can operate independently.”

AOptix will be developing an certified integrator program, and will not be using distribution at the outset.