Atom-powered rugged handheld biometric solution
(by Conrad H. Blickenstorfer)

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 computers was introduced in 1995 and has been updated, enhanced, and fine-tuned every since, and now AMREL is working on something entirely new:

The AMREL HBS—Handheld Biometric Solution—is the prototype of a novel device that will likely be geared towards Homeland Security and other military, industrial and perhaps even corporate security applications. As of now, it looks like the final production unit, planned for release in Q3 of 2009, will be an Intel Atom-powered handheld measuring less than 8 x 4 x 2 inches and weighing just a couple of pounds. It's running Windows XP and has instant-on capabilities, though we're not sure via which method. There is a 5-inch wide-format WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) sunlight-readable touchscreen, and a 14.5 watt-hour battery that AMREL claims is good for eight hours of operation.

The fully rugged device's claim to fame will be its various biometric scanning facilities. There is a 3-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 facial recognition software and various other capabilities that meet NIST/ISO Facial Recognition Resolution Standards (EBT Compliant v1.2) as well as FBI/PIV resolution standards for fingerprint scans, and you have a machine that should be able to quickly capture all sorts of biometric data and weed out the bad guys.

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