Iris Recognition System is Basis for National Missing Person Identification Program
20 June, 2005
category: Biometrics, Contactless, Government
Iridian Technologies’ ProofPositive technology is the basis of The Children’s Identification and Location Database (CHILD) Project that is now being introduced in communities across the country. The CHILD Project is a secure nationwide network and registry that enables law enforcement and social service agencies to locate and positively identify missing children and adults with iris biometric recognition. Through this network, the CHILD Project will compare the unique features contained in the iris of an abductee or runaway against a national database of children and adults enrolled under the program, patterned after voluntary community-based fingerprint and photo ID card programs.
“We are delighted that The CHILD Project has selected Iridian’s market-leading iris recognition solution to be the enabler for this nationally-coordinated effort to positively identify missing persons, especially children and runaways,” said Frank Fitzsimmons, Chief Executive Officer of Iridian. “In particular, we are confident that our technology will be able to expedite the reunion of missing persons and their loved ones.”
The announcement was timed to today’s launch of the CHILD Project by Kenneth R. Ramsey, Sheriff of Kane County in suburban Chicago.
“Iris recognition has proven to be the most accurate and fastest biometric technology for identity management,” said Sean Mullin, President of the CHILD Project. “We are pleased to have selected Iridian, along with their camera partner Panasonic Security Systems, as our strategic partners to help reunite missing children with their families.”
The CHILD Project database is hosted by The Nation’s Missing Children Organization (NMCO) and National Center for Missing Adults, a nonprofit agency providing nationwide assistance to law enforcement and families of missing persons. The agency, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, was founded in 1994 and provides a variety of services including advocacy, search assistance, national distribution of information related to missing persons and various programs addressing child safety.
Fitzsimmons noted that Iridian’s non-intrusive iris recognition technology has been successfully deployed by the United Nations Refugee Agency to identify more than one million returning Afghan refugees in the three-year-old Afghan repatriation program.
The CHILD Project relies on Panasonic Security Systems’ ProofPositive-certified BM-ET330 Iris Readers, which feature advanced user guidance technology along with the latest developments in iris recognition technology to deliver fast and accurate system enrollment and authentication.