Defense Department seeking better biometric ID devices for use in field

The Department of Defense’s Special Operations Command unit is seeking more effective biometric identification devices for use in the field, during mass enrollments of personnel at forward operating bases or for watchlist matching, according to a report by GCN.

In a request for information posted on May 26, the department stated that the technologies should be able to rapidly collect and store a wide range of biometrics — including facial image, iris, fingerprints and voice capture — and send the data to receive a match or no-match response.

The RFI also lists several other requirements of the device, including that it should be battery-powered, easy to learn and use (even when wearing gloves), and weigh less than three pounds.

The department will select the top bids, who will be invited to demonstrate their production models of hardware and equipment at a March 2018 Tactical Biometric Event.

At the event, the systems will be assessed based on their accuracy and suitability for operators in a realistic environment.

The deadline for submissions is at 11:59 pm EST on June 9.

Previously reported, the Department of Defense (DoD) said it is planning multiple pilots for multi-factor authentication solutions including biometrics and other “patterns of life” technologies, over the next six-to-12 months.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  iris recognition  |  military  |  mobile identity credentialing  |  RFI  |  United States  |  voice authentication