Paravision face biometrics contract with US Air Force expands

Computer vision firm Paravision has received an increase in funding for its U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract.

According to a company announcement, the project involves developing and delivering a converged identity solution with biometric capabilities providing physical and logical access control for the Air Force’s Kessel Run development facilities and staff.

The contract builds on an existing SBIR award in May 2020, which saw Paravision deploy its face recognition and computer vision technology with Kessel Run for both physical access control and facility security.

Now, the new phase of the contract will see the deployment of Paravision’s PLASMA (Physical Logical Access, Security and Management Automation) tools to increase Kessel Run’s security in cyberspace and the physical world.

From a technical standpoint, PLASMA offers expanded analytics capabilities, 2D liveness and anti-spoofing features, mobile biometric enrollment, deepfake detection, and migration to a cloud-based environment.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to innovate in safety and security with one of the most forward-thinking organizations in the U.S. Government,” comments Paravision vice president (VP) and general manager of public sector Dave Singer.

“This next phase of the project will continue to increase efficiency and improve security at Kessel Run and other facilities in anticipation of growing threats to national security in our increasingly interconnected, online world.”

The contract extension comes months after Paravision was awarded a Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) to provide artificial intelligence (AI) expertise to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

More recently, the company renewed its commitment to the public sector with the appointment of Bishop Garrison as VP of government affairs and public policy.

US Air Force makes $20 billion contract modification

The U.S. Air Force has also announced that it will award a $20 billion modification to a contract vehicle that supports research and development initiatives across the DoD from 2023 through 2027.

The ceiling increase will reportedly not change the contract scope, which contains 22 technical focus areas, including biometrics, cybersecurity, software data and analysis, autonomous systems, homeland security, weapons systems and advanced materials.

The DoD confirmed it intends to launch a competitive acquisition for the follow-on Information Analysis Center (IAC) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) before the start of fiscal year 2028.

Article Topics

access control  |  biometrics  |  computer vision  |  facial recognition  |  government purchasing  |  military  |  Paravision  |  research and development  |  U.S. Air Force  |  U.S. Government