DHS Threat Advisory

BioSecurIT lands contract for FAA facilities security

BY CRAIG M. DOUGLAS
JOURNAL STAFF

CHELMSFORD – A Chelmsford company specializing in face-recognition has landed what it believes is a promising contract with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The deal’s terms were not disclosed, and FAA officials said the agreement’s final details are still being worked out.

Still, BioSecurIT, Inc. said the contract represents an important milestone in its development efforts, having opened the door for other commercial projects down the road. The four-person firm is now testing its technology with other prospective customers, but declined to elaborate.

Founded in late 2003 by a team of technology veterans with ties to the FAA, BioSecurIT was bootstrapped by its executive staff. The company is yet to seek venture capital, although principals are mulling whether to chase down angel funding.

BioSecurIT was built upon their firsthand knowledge of the FAA’s frustration in finding an effective security system based on face recognition of unique human traits, better known as “biometrics.”

The company’s automated security system uses proprietary technologies and off-the-shelf hardware and software to capture and analyze the facial features of people attempting to gain access to the FAA’s most secure facilities – namely, its key air-traffic control towers.

The FAA said the product is compatible with its existing infrastructure and will work hand in hand with other security technologies, most likely an identification-card system.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better name-recognized customer than this,” said John Matera, BioSecurIT’s president.

FAA special agent Alan White said the system overcomes the lighting and camera-angle problems plaguing its current facial-recognition technologies.

He also said it easily differentiates between skin tones and other ethnic traits, offering 95 percent accuracy in identifying authorized FAA employees as well as banned personnel.

White said a national rollout is planned for this year, with a potential international expansion also in the works. The program is part of a $30 million security upgrade planned over the next few years, he said.

CRAIG M. DOUGLAS can be reached at cdouglas@bizjournals.com

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