iProov awarded nearly $750K by DHS S&T in fifth phase funding

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP), part of the Department of Homeland Security, has committed nearly $750,000 in phase 5 funding to further integrate “Genuine Presence Assurance” technology first conceived and patented by UK-based firm iProov Limited in 2012.

The fifth phase award expands upon a 2018 three-phase iProov contract by the CBP and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) of an initial $190,000, with potential to total $800,000 to tackle 300 land border crossings which were unstaffed.

In the project’s first three SVIP phases, iProov successfully developed an integrated solution to enable travelers to quickly transit remote border ports using their personal devices to report their entry and exit to CBP ― without requiring the direct engagement of a CBP Officer in person or online ― with a secure, privacy focused mobile application.

In 2020, another $199,000 of funding was awarded iProov to test and pilot its Genuine Presence Detection and Anti-Spoofing solution, developed over the first three Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) project phases, in a full-scale CBP operational environment.  iProov’s Flashmark technology captures user imagery and detects spoofs ― in the form of replica copies, doctored imagery, and replayed recordings ― with a high degree of accuracy without relying on special or trusted hardware.

Flashmark uses the screen of a mobile device to flash a unique, one-time sequence of colors, under server control, onto the user’s face. The server uses machine learning technology to analyze and determine if the image is a live person.

This recent award will be used to optimize the U.S. entry process and support CBP in providing a superior experience for international travelers according to the SVIP managing director.

Article Topics

biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  CBP  |  DHS  |  DHS S&T  |  face biometrics  |  iProov  |  spoof detection