Biometrics is one of those technology categories that upon first glance – pun intended – might seem ultra sophisticated and fancy.
After checking out the solutions and setup process from Israeli company FST Biometrics during ISC West 2014 in Las Vegas, they made it seem like about as easy an access control solution you can get.
The company, which recently switched its name from FST21, had several entry points in its booth through which through which properly verified individuals could access at the blink of an eye.
FST Biometrics’ In Motion Identification (IMID) solutions employ facial recognition and learned behavioral biometrics to do so, and they “focus on recognizing the known people, this way we keep the unknown out,” according to project manager Javier Arias. “We need your cooperation, we need you to look at the camera.”
The simple Digital Doorman “single access point in a box” solution allows customers to enroll up to 200 such known folks for gaining entry. The kit includes everything you need to set up an entry point with the IP-based products – a mini PC server, controller, 5-megapixel camera, intercom, PoE switch, enrollment digital camera and light meter. For other solutions, the company also works with plenty of vendor partners to support its software-based IMID access controls.
Related: 2 Best Video Demos at ISC
One particular doorway in the booth featured a dome camera surrounded by a ring of lights that flickered red, yellow and green as known and unknown people walked past. To the side of the door was the mini PC server feeding the system, and it merely looked like a wireless network router box. Arias demoed the access control, walking toward the entry, flashing his eyes up at the camera and – click– the lights turned green, the lock opened and he strolled on through. When he told me to try, I got red lights of denial.
So then we went through the enrollment process, which took all of about two minutes to add me as a known subject. Using a camera and PC, I had my picture taken and name attached to it and I was in the system with the rapid auto enrollment. “It’s like a mug shot – no hats, no glasses allowed,” notes Arias. The camera generates a series of snapshots to form its recognition. “The main concern is with the lighting at the recognition point and the lighting at the enrollment point.” So the next time I tried the door, the lights around the camera swiftly turned green and I walked in.
Installers can program parameters for unknown guests to gain entry as well, like visitation times, and use FST’s app to send QR codes that guests can be texted or emailed and then hold up to the intercom. A tailgate feature ensures that if someone tries to follow quickly behind a recognized person to gain entry, that unknown follower will be detected and an alarm go off.
