Cogent signs tech-sharing deal with Symwave

South Pasadena-based Cogent Systems (Nasdaq: COGT), most recently on our radar for winning the software technology contract for the U.K. Visa Biometrics program (Steria won the hardware deal), is back in the news again. The company last week announced it had signed a technology-sharing agreement with San Diego, California-based Symwave to incorporate its image reconstruction technology into the latter company’s finger-biometric hardware systems.

Symwave’s raison d’etre is “sweeper sensor” biometric technologies for PCs and mass-storage security of USB flashdrives. “We’re using a subset of Cogent’s technology,” said Symwave’s Doug McArthur. “When you sweep your finger over our devices, a series of fingerprint frames are generated, and we used their technology to reconstruct the fingerprint image.” The idea, of course, is to eliminate the pesky and insecure reliance on passwords in office environments already crowded with them — a mission with which Cogent finds itself well-suited to assist. “Our image reconstruction algorithm is specifically tailored to enhance image quality of the fingerprint capture from the Symwave’s BioPrint swipe sensor,” said Cogent.

Other Cogent successes: We reported earlier this year that the company’s fingerprint algorithm technology was the first to receive U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) approval for use in intimate combination with the PIV smart card issuance and operation infrastructures. Cogent was also recently named the prime contractor for a new AFIS system for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Real Time Identification (RTID) initiative; was selected to support the US-VISIT program; provided the core matching platform for EURODAC, the European Union system used to verify political asylum applications; and is embedded in Hong Kong’s National Smart Identity Card System (SMARTICS).

-read more in Kevin Smith’s Whittier Daily News report