Project Lifesaver adopts FaceTec’s UR Codes to speed returns of at-risk people

A partnership between FaceTec and non-profit Project Lifesaver International illustrates the range of applications that can benefit from the cost-effective face biometrics layer UR Codes can provide. It also kicks off national rollout, following the adoption of UR Codes to add biometric identity verification to IDs for law enforcement officials and retirees in multiple counties.

Project Lifesaver is a search-and-rescue program for at-risk individuals who may wander away from a safe environment.

FaceTec VP of Government Relations Owen Mcshane tells Biometric Update over email that Project Lifesaver works with roughly 2,400 agencies across the U.S. that house or treat people with “dementia, Alzheimer’s, nonverbal autism, or any other type of cognitive condition.” Those at-risk people participating in the program wear a transponder, often worn as a bracelet, which staff at participating facilities can activate. This typically allows them to locate the individual within 30 minutes, according to Mcshane.

The program has successfully located and returned more than 4,650 lost people so far.

A challenge this left for Project Lifesaver is that if the individual travels a long way, as they sometimes do, the agency locating the individual may not be the one familiar with them, and may not know their name or where to return them to. “They have had individuals cross state lines or, in some cases, travel hundreds of miles,” Mcshane says.

Adding UR Codes to the location bracelets provided to program participants also means that good Samaritans or members of the public can also identify and help a lost individual. A quick scan and a photo returns contact information for designated law enforcement officers or first responders. UR Codes will also be printed onto labels that can be affixed to clothing or other personal items so the person can be easily identified even if they lose their bracelet.

“Moving forward, they will add a QR code to the front and bottom of the device that, when scanned, will display the subject’s name, the name of the agency that issued the device, and the agency’s contact info,” Mcshane explains. “Additional UR code labels will be provided that can be placed inside shoes, clothing, or other devices the subject is prone to carry.”

Project Lifesaver Founder and CEO Gene Saunders says the adoption of UR Codes to enable user identification with face biometrics closes a critical gap in the initiative and will allow member agencies “to quickly and safely identify located individuals and return them home.”

UR Codes also have potential applications adding low-cost biometric security with 3D liveness detection to credentials for healthcare, according to a recent white paper from the company.

Mcshane will moderate a panel on the use of UR Codes by U.S. law enforcement at Identity Week America in Washington on September 2.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  face biometrics  |  FaceTec  |  identity verification  |  UR Codes