Advanced handheld biometric solution on a rugged PDA platform
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

With security becoming an ever more important issue in many applications, mobile biometric solutions facilitate quick establishment of an individual's identity via a variety of tools such as fingerprint scans, facial recognition, and even iris scans. Amrel is offering all these technologies in their DA5-B rugged biometric device.

The DA5-B is based on Amrel's DA5 platform of ruggedized PDAs that were designed for military and industrial applications. Depending on the intended application, the DA5 runs Windows CE.Net 5.0 or Windows Mobile 5.0 on a speedy 624MHz version of Marvel's PXA270 application processor. There are 128MB of RAM, 128MB of Flash, a standard USB host port and a client mini-USB port, a DB9 serial port for legacy peripherals, SDIO and PC Card expansion, and a powerful and user-swappable 3.7V/3,900mAH Li-Ion battery.

The DA5's case is made of magnesium, protected with rubber bumpers, and heavily sealed to IP65 specifications. IP65 means the device is dust-proof and immune to water jets from all directions. The computer is also certified to having passed a variety of MIL-STD 810F tests for operation at altitude, high/low temperature, humidity, salt fog, vibration, shock, and under explosive atmospheric conditions. Expansion is available via PC, CF or SDIO cards: WiFi, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth, and GPS. There is also a cradle with 3 USB ports. Most interestingly, perhaps, is that Amrel realized the importance of a screen large enough to actually see something on: the DA5M, despite its very compact size, has a sunlight-viewable transflective 4-inch display with full 480 x 640 resolution. Important in many military and some industrial applications, the DA5M includes MIL-STD 461E standard electromagnetic shielding, making the device impervious to interference by magnetic fields, radio freqencies, and other disruptive emissions.

The DA5-B version of the platform includes various biometric scanning facilities. There is a 2-megapixel digital face camera with integrated flash. There's an optical fingerprint scanner. There's a built-in iris illuminator and auto-capture iris scanner. And there's also an acoustic sensor. Combine that with Amrel's fully integrated Biometric Software Suite and various other capabilities that meet NIST/ISO Facial Recognition Resolution Standards as well as FBI/PIV resolution standards for fingerprint scans, and you have a handheld device that enables mobile biometric recognition and data capture for military, law enforcement, and many other security applications.

For an introduction to face recognition biometrics, click here. To learn more about biometric reader test procedures, click here.

Based in El Monte, California, AMREL (AMerican RELiance) has a long history of offering value-added applications in vertical markets. The Rocky line of ruggedized notebook computers was introduced in 1995 and has been updated, enhanced, and fine-tuned every since. AMREL was among the first to offer the full power, expansion, and convenience of a standard notebook in a ruggedized package. Amrel is also offering rugged tablet computers, rugged handhelds, and specialized products such as rugged biometric solutions.