Keeping an eye on our security

AS the debate on the introduction of compulsory identity cards continues, one Yorkshire company is offering a security measure normally associated with science fiction movies.

Leeds-based xVista's technology is being heralded as an essential tool in beefing up security in offices, airports and other commercial premises.

The company is aiming to capitalise on the multi-billion pound global biometrics market after developing a portable iris scanning system.

The technology is believed to be the first of its type in the UK which can be used in everyday items such as mobile camera phones.

Karlis Obrams, managing director of xVista, said a pilot iris scanning scheme had been introduced into passport control at Heathrow Airport's Terminal One and there were plans to introduce similar biometric security systems into other airports across the country.

The iris scanning system has been developed through a £1.8m six-year collaboration with the University of Sussex.

The company claims it could have potential security applications in sectors including mobile telecoms, consumer electronics, banking, aviation and the military.

Under the system, a person's iris is registered on a central database, creating a template that can be checked against all further scans to verify the user's identity.
According to xVista, the technology offers the highest level of security against fraud because the chances of two separate human irises matching is one in seven billion.

A 256Mb mobile phone memory card will be able to hold more than 250,000 separate iris templates and from a database of one million irises, it will take less than one second for it to verify an individual iris.

Mr Obrams said: "The xVista technology performs a similar task to the traditional signature photograph or pin number in confirming an individual's identity, but is far more reliable.

"The fact that the system can run from portable devices like the mobile phone and SIM card opens up fantastic potential for its use, making it far more effective than other scanning systems that are usually bulky and limited to fixed points.

"Using an airport as an example, the xVista system can be deployed across all members of a security team in a discreet handheld device, enabling staff to know within seconds whether a pilot, crew member or baggage handler is who they say they are, offering peace of mind against threats such as identity theft and terrorism."

Discussions are ongoing between xVista and the Defence Diversification Agency – the Government agency responsible for identifying new civil technology – about using the system in defence and other security applications.

Yorkshire Post Today