Japanese Condo Developers Turn to Biometrics for Resident ID

TOKYO -- Major condominium developers are beginning to install biometric identification systems at building entrances, expecting the step to heighten security, a key factor determining condo sales.

Japan General Estate Co. (8878) has adopted a system that identifies residents according to the iris patterns of their eyes before unlocking the front door for Grand City Euro Palace Oji in Tokyo, units of which are now on sale. The rate of mistaking outsiders as residents is one in 1.2 million, and the system takes a mere 1.5 seconds to identify residents and unlock the door, company officials said. The firm plans to employ the system for about 70% of the condo units it sells in the future.

Daikyo Inc. (8840) and Mitsui Fudosan Co. (8801) are also adopting iris-based identification systems for their condos. The three companies all use equipment made by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (6752).

Orix Real Estate Corp. has installed at its new condo building in Osaka a system to identify residents according to blood vessel patterns in their fingers. The equipment was created by Bionics Co., an Osaka-based developer of biometric ID systems.

Tokyu Land Corp. (8815) has employed a system to discern people through the veins on the back of their hands for its Misato Chuo Center Marks condo with 256 units in Saitama Prefecture, which have been on sale since May. The system is made by TechSphere Co. of South Korea.

The domestic market for biometric identification systems stood at 7.76 billion yen last year, according to private research firm Fuji Keizai Co., which expects sales to nearly double to 14.42 billion yen in 2006.