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Oki Electric has released middleware that can add iris recognition to cell phones and PDAs.
The “Iris Recognition Technology for Mobile Terminals” software reportedly uses existing cameras and currently targets handheld devices running Windows Mobile, Windows XP or Symbian OS.
For several years, Oki has been providing iris-recognition equipment, but these devices required dedicated infrared cameras.
The company says its new middleware can now use any camera offering more than 1 megapixel.
This permits developers to add biometric security to easily stolen mobile devices, without a fingerprint reader or other additional hardware.
Devices will reportedly be able to scan a users eye for authentication, then unlock themselves in less than half a second, as long as they have RISC processors clocked at 220MHz or above.
If the host camera offers 2 megapixels or more, Oki says, false positives will occur in no more than one out of 100,000 scans.
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