Lockheed Martin and IriTech Collaborate on Biometrics Solutions

Nov. 9, 2007
Integrator partners with iris recognition technologies firm

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin and IriTech, a leading provider of iris recognition technologies, have signed a cooperation agreement to provide integrated biometrics solutions for a variety of customers. The agreement will enable cooperation in the rapidly growing marketplace for biometrics solutions.

"As a systems integrator, we're committed to finding and furthering promising new technologies," said Bob Eastman, Lockheed Martin Vice President, Information Systems. "This agreement with IriTech will help both organizations offer more capable solutions to our customers. It's one of the many ways we are working to support and foster an open, innovative technology landscape in biometrics."

Lockheed Martin is a leader in biometrics solutions and provides a full range of technologies to law enforcement, homeland security, military and intelligence customers. In May, the corporation opened its Biometric Experimentation and Advanced Concepts (BEACON) facility in White Hall, WV, to serve as a collaborative center to develop integrated biometrics solutions. BEACON provides a laboratory environment where technologies such as IriTech's can be integrated into an end-to-end service-oriented architecture.

"We're excited to be working with Lockheed Martin on this important technology," said Dr. Daehoon Kim, CEO and President of IriTech. "The agreement gives us the opportunity to integrate our patented iris recognition algorithms with a variety of biometric systems and technologies. This will help us develop more powerful, open solutions to support a number of missions, customers and architectures."

Based in Herndon, VA, IriTech specializes in highly advanced algorithms and software systems that enable accurate iris recognition, a key component of biometric identification. IriTech is currently licensing its iris recognition software and offers its ultra-small iris camera modules to various customers. IriTech is active in developing iris recognition standards in partnership with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The company's technology was successfully tested by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Lockheed Martin's systems integration labs.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The corporation reported 2006 sales of $39.6 billion.