Feature Company

Interview with Barry Fisher, Vice-President, NEC Corporation America, Identification Solutions Division
March 2007

FB

Since the last time we spoke the success of NEC's Palm Print matching technology in matching latent prints from crime scenes has grown. To what would you attribute this growth, Barry?

BF

NEC can attribute the success of our palmprint technology to a few things. First is the performance of our advanced matching algorithms in terms of accuracy and speed. Our solution dramatically enhances our client's ability to quickly and accurately classify and match crime-scene prints. Second, the deployment of palmprint capability that has been integrated into live scans. Third and most important of all is the success of our clients. We've provided palmprint technology at the Indianapolis P.D., Huntsville P.D., the California Department of Justice and Metropolitan Nashville P.D., and their success in solving cold cases has been great.

FB

Barry do then these cases usually get solved based on that information?

BF

Yes!

FB

That must be very rewarding for you and your team.

BF

It really is -- but more importantly, truly rewarding for the latent examiners at our customer's sites.

FB

Overall how would you rate your company's performance in 2006 and what other factors influenced that performance?

BF

2006 was an excellent year for NEC. We successfully performed system upgrades for many of our existing clients such as, the California Department of Justice, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Illinois State Police where these agencies expanded their applications or work primarily because of increased productivity. We also gained new clients such as Bexar County, Texas, the Napa County Sheriff's in California and Huntsville P.D. in Alabama. This demonstrates NEC's continued dedication to provide the best-value solutions in terms of quality and accuracy.

In addition, we are expanding our solutions to non-law enforcement segments, specifically civil identification. We have fingerprint matching technology that is not of the forensic grade, but is perfect for civil applications like the DMV and Border Patrol applications. We now look forward to an equally successful year!

FB

You started to mention some of the trends. What new trends are you seeing in the Biometric industry and how are they affecting your business?

BF

A major trend is the multi-modal biometric initiative. Customers are seeking a total biometric identification solution, one that not only includes fingerprints, but face and iris as well. Then, there is a move towards service-oriented architecture. The FBI is announcing the Next Generation Identification initiative, and service-oriented architecture is a major part of that.

FB

Could I just follow up on that because that came up as an issue in our Year in Review recently? Several companies commented on the vision and breadth of the Next Generation Identification from the FBI. Could you tell us a little bit more about the importance of that?

BF

It is very exciting for us in the sense that there are six major initiatives for NGI -- three of which NEC can play a very active role. First, is the improvement in accuracy and quality control. As proven by independent government and NIST testing, NEC's matching algorithm rate is very, very high. Therefore, the fact that the FBI is focusing on increased accuracy is very important to us. Second, is the National Palm Print database - as we mentioned earlier. The result of palmprint matching has been phenomenal. The FBI having an integrated database will be an excellent addition to its service-oriented architecture. These capabilities will provide the FBI with advanced technology and flexibility in quickly providing information back to the States. The forethought that has gone into this project is truly impressive!

FB

Also in our last interview we discussed the anticipated growth rate of worldwide sales of fingerprint, palm identification systems. Could you update us on the current thinking there?

BF

We are currently seeing a tremendous increase in the concept of identification applications for quick identification. This is where a mobile handheld device is used to identify someone on the street within a few minutes. We have also seen an increase in the use fingerprints for dispositions, e-citations and courts. Finally, we will continue to pursue palmprint opportunities and provide our best-value solutions in terms of accuracy and quality.

FB

What would you say are the challenges still facing our industry?

BF

There is data being distributed by various consulting agencies about the steep slope of growth in the biometric industry and one of our challenges is the need to establish and improve the economic justification for the commercial agencies to adopt biometrics.

The next challenge is with fingerprint matching and the need to develop a scanning device that provides acceptable image captures under a variety of conditions - wet, dry, light, dark -- whatever. Another technology feature that everybody wants is increased matching speed -- quicker, better, faster! This is particularly important where an identification response is required within seconds! Then there is the challenge of dealing with the concept of standardization and interoperability. After 9/11 there was a lot of discussion about interoperability -- sharing information among agencies -- and it is difficult because in the law enforcement community most of the databases and systems are legacy, or very old. So the challenge is how you bring these legacy systems up to a point where you can easily exchange data.

FB

That is a very significant challenge! In terms of new product development what can we expect to see from NEC in the future?

BF

We will continue with our forte and expertise in large-scale solutions to law enforcement, as well as the development of solutions that address the demands of performance and accuracy that extend the functionality of AFIS. We will also improve our back-end matching speed and accuracy as well as make our front-end more customer-oriented and allow the client more autonomy which will allow them to easily make workflow changes. Finally, we will aggressively pursue the civil market with a new product. This is an inside scoop, Peter! We are integrating NEC's high accurate identification technology specifically for civil and commercial solutions--but more coming soon, so stay tuned!

FB

Thank you for that and for taking the time to speak with us Barry!

BF

It has been my pleasure Peter.

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