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MINNETONKA, Minn., Mar 13, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ --
Identix Incorporated (Nasdaq: IDNX), the world's leading multi-biometric security technology company, said today that according to the results of the Facial Recognition Vendor Test 2002 (FRVT 2002) recently made public by the U.S. Department of Defense Counterdrug Technology Development Program Office (CDTDPO), Identix' FaceIt(R) face recognition technology demonstrated strong leadership among the participating vendors. In every test, Identix facial recognition technology was one of the top three performers. Specifically, Identix was distinguished as the top public company technology by a wide margin in these independent, government supervised tests.
FRVT 2002, administered in July and August of 2002, was co-sponsored by the Counterdrug Technology Development Program Office, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NAVSEA). FRVT 2002 was designed to assess and differentiate the capabilities of the various commercially available facial recognition technologies to meet large-scale, real world applications. Digital data sets were used to ensure that all participants were tested with identical data. Test images and video were sequestered prior to the test to guarantee that the participants would not tune their systems to the test data set.
The test methodology involved two main tests, High Computational Intensity Test (HCInt) and Medium Computation Intensity Test (MCInt), which analyzed the facial recognition performance in three large-scale, real-world application areas: verification, identification and watch list recognition performance. The results of the HCInt tests show the performance of the participating vendors clearly differentiated into two tiers ("tier one" consisting of Identix and two other companies; "tier two" consisting of the remaining five companies). The performance gap between the two tiers was significant with the tier one companies typically identifying and correctly matching twice as many faces as the tier two companies in the HCInt tests. In the MCInt tests, performance was not as clearly stratified into the two tiers, however, in line with the HCInt tests, Identix performed among the top three in every variation.
Dr. Joseph J. Atick, President and CEO of Identix stated, "The test results affirm our leadership in facial recognition and specifically demonstrate that for large-scale database tasks Identix provides by a factor two or better the most accurate facial recognition technology among the publicly-traded participating companies. We are committed, through continued investments in R&D, to maintain our technological leadership and position as an industry innovator and leader. In fact, we have already made significant new advances in the technology since the test was conducted. While our performance in this round of testing speaks for itself, perhaps even more significantly, we believe that the FRVT 2002 test results validate facial biometrics for large-scale, real world identification (i.e., national ID) and verification applications and demonstrate the value that facial recognition delivers in watch list applications. Our ability to provide these capabilities in the form of mature off-the-shelf products, supported by a world-class professional services organization, further distinguishes Identix from the pack."
"In our view the test results also suggest that dual biometric -- face and finger -- implementations -- are best suited for large scale roll-outs, directly in line with NIST's recent report to Congress recommending a combination of finger and face recognition for border security. As the largest company in this field and the only biometrics company with core face and fingerprint biometrics, Identix is uniquely positioned to provide governments with large scale identification solutions and verification solutions that fit a broad range of security needs," Dr. Atick added.
According to the Company's interpretation of the results, Identix and two other companies outperformed all others in nearly every test:
High Verification Accuracy. At false accept rates of only 1 in 10,000, Identix and two other companies were the best performers, with 70% or better verification rates. Each of the remaining 5 companies had less than a 30% verification rate at this false accept rate. At false accept rates of 1 in 100 or greater, Identix correctly verified identity at 90 to 100% correct, again dramatically exceeding the performance of the majority of the other participants.
Top Performance for Large Database One-to-Many Search. When accuracy was measured by analyzing the probability that the correct match appears in Rank 1 position, Identix and two other companies outperformed all the other participants, with a Rank 1 identification rate of about 70%, as opposed to 40% or less for the remaining five companies. Importantly, performance decreased only logarithmically with the size of the database, indicating that facial recognition is sufficiently accurate to be used in applications with extremely large databases.
High Correct Alarm Rate for Watch List Applications. At a false alarm rate of 1 in 10, the segregation between technology providers continued, with Identix and the same two other "tier one" companies all performing with 70% to 75% correct alarm rates, as opposed to 10% to 38% for the "second tier" technology companies. Similarly, at a false alarm rate of 1 in 1000, Identix performed in the top three, exceeding the five technologies in the second tier by a factor of 3.
Minimal Sensitivity to Lighting and Temporal Changes. Tests that evaluated the effect of varying lighting conditions and elapsed time between enrollment and verification on performance once again, showed Identix to be among the top two or three performers. Identix and the other two "tier one" companies had the best performance in four out of five categories. Identix was also among the top three performers in the fifth category. Most importantly, Identix' technology was not affected by differences in indoor lighting, demonstrating that Identix technology is not hindered by what is considered a common problem for face recognition.
Identix is the only FRVT 2002 vendor selected to participate in DARPA's multi-year Human ID at a Distance program. The Company has also been a past recipient of competitive contract awards from the National Institute of Justice and other government agencies. Its FaceIt technology is the most widely deployed, covering a broad range of applications including law enforcement, surveillance, and identification (i.e., drivers' license, voter registration) solutions.
Note that results shown from the Facial Recognition Vendor Test 2000 do not constitute endorsement of any particular system by the Government. The full report and appendices including vendors' responses, may be accessed at www.frvt.org/FRVT2002.
About Identix Incorporated
Identix Incorporated (Nasdaq: IDNX), which merged with Visionics Corporation in June 2002, is the world's leading multi-biometric security technology Company. The Company's broad range of fingerprint and facial recognition technology offerings empower the identification of individuals who wish to gain access to information or facilities, conduct transactions and obtain IDs. Additionally, the Company's products and solution offerings can help identify those who perpetrate fraud and otherwise pose a threat to public safety. Identix' products serve a broad range of industries and market segments -- most notably, government and law enforcement, aviation, financial, healthcare and corporate enterprise. In addition, the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Identix Public Sector, Inc. provides project management and facilities engineering services to the government sector.
Identix and FaceIt are trademarks or registered trademarks of Identix Incorporated in the United States and other countries.
More information on Identix can be accessed via the Company web site at http://www.identix.com
The statements in this release and conference call that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectations, assumptions and estimates of future performance and economic conditions. Such statements are made in reliance on the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Identix cautions investors that any forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with or arising out of or related to: availability of funding from government and commercial customers; integration of the two companies following the merger with Visionics Corporation; development of the marketplace for biometrics solutions; demand for Identix' products and services; the ability of Identix' alliances to succeed and in particular, the ability of Identix to complete product development on a timely basis; increasing levels of competition; and other risks as identified in the Identix' SEC filings. Identix disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Media Contacts -- Frances Zelazny, +1 201 332-9213 or
frances.zelazny@identix.com;
Meir Kahtan, +1 212 699-6065 or mkahtan@rcn.com;
Investor Contact -- Damon Wright, +1 952-979-8485 or
damon.wright@identix.com
SOURCE Identix Incorporated
Media - Frances Zelazny, +1-201-332-9213 or frances.zelazny@identix.com; Meir Kahtan, +1-212-699-6065 or mkahtan@rcn.com; Investors - Damon Wright, +1-952-979-8485 or damon.wright@identix.com, all for Identix Incorporated
http://www.identix.com
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