Aware acquires AFIX biometric software and team, extends ABIS product line

Aware has acquired a suite of biometric products known as AFIX from Maxar Technologies to extend the Aware ABIS product family with turnkey face and fingerprint matching and forensic analysis for small and medium-sized law enforcement and government agencies, according to a company announcement. AFIX can also match palm print biometrics.

Integrating the AFIX biometric product line and company expertise positions Aware for growth in a broad segment of the ABIS market, which includes enterprises across multiple verticals in addition to government agencies, the company says. The combination of AFIX, AwareABIS and Aware Astra enable turnkey deployments or customized solutions for communities of any size.

“Customers that have relied on Aware to provide the most full-featured, flexible, reliable and durable biometric security and forensic technologies on the market are asking for more choices in how the solutions are aligned to fit their individual needs,” said Robert Eckel, CEO of Aware. “Our purchase of the AFIX line of biometric solutions gives us the ability to grow and serve a much broader customer base seeking everything from small, customized solutions to enterprise implementations that can scale to millions of identities.”

Eckel was appointed to the International Biometrics + Identity Association’s (IBIA’s) Board of Directors last week.

The extended Aware family of ABIS offerings includes a complete package of solutions and resources including AFIX systems software which has been installed in more than 500 U.S. locations and 25 other countries, with the AFIX Tracker automated solution for fingerprint, palmprint and latent print identification used most often in crime scene investigations. Sheriff’s offices in Florida and Mississippi and police departments in Texas and Alabama use AFIX forensics.

AwareABIS provides large-scale biometric identification and deduplication for fingerprint, face and iris biometrics, while Aware Astra is a matching subsystem the company says is scalable, fault tolerant, and configurable, which provides speed and accuracy for the AwareABIS platform, but is also available as a stand-alone software for commercial partners with their own business processes and workflows.

“The AFIX team is thrilled to join Aware,” said Scott Howard, director, AFIX. “Aware’s technologies have been an integral part of AFIX biometric identification products from the beginning. Our combined experience of more than fifty years of development and delivery of industry-leading biometric identification and verification technologies provides the catalyst for both the enhancement of existing products and the creation of new solutions. United through a common dedication to providing unsurpassed biometric solutions and mission-critical support to our clients, the AFIX team looks forward to new opportunities for growth, innovation, and strength as part of Aware, Inc.”

AFIX was purchased by Maxar’s Radiant Solutions, which then launched a multimodal biometrics solution in partnership with Secure Planet and Rank One Computing in 2018.

Aware noted its strong position in the government biometrics market when announcing its financial results for Q3 2020.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Article Topics

ABIS - Automated Biometric Identification System  |  Aware  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  forensics  |  law enforcement  |  palm prints