Idemia gets prize for face recognition device
French security and identity solutions firm, Idemia, formerly known as OT-Morpho, has won an award for a newly launched facial recognition device.
The firm said in a statement its newly launched facial recognition device dubbed VisionPass won the Security Industry Association (SIA) award for the Best New Biometric Product.
Remembered in Kenya for the 2017 General Election for the supply of election kits, Idemia which was then known as OT-Morpho had received a Sh4 billion tender from the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to supply 45,000 Kenya Integrated Election Management System kits for use in the polls.
A further Sh2.5 billion was given to supply kits used in the repeat elections that ensued.
“SIA congratulates Idemia on being selected as the winner of the Biometrics category award in SIA’s 2020 New Product Showcase.
It is this kind of continuous innovation and drive to succeed that brings the security industry forward and contributes to the safety and security of our world,” said SIA chief executive officer Don Erickson.
The device, which was launched in May, can scan up to 30 people per minute and has recorded strong market interest, according to the French firm.
The company received a similar Award in 2018 for MorphoWave Compact, a biometric device that can scan and verify fingerprints using contactless hand gestures.
SIA New Product Showcase Awards have been running since 1979 and recognises innovative security products, services and solutions.
“We did not develop the most advanced terminal just for the sake of the innovation challenge, but because it was necessary to meet all needs expressed by our customers,” said Yves Portalier, an Executive vice-president at Idemia.
Earlier this year, the company got a reprieve after the High Court in Kenya quashed a recommendation by the National Assembly to ban the business from operating in Kenya for 10 years.
The High Court also set aside the recommendation to cancel all the company’s contracts with IEBC opening the door for the firm to continue supplying the electoral body with technology solutions.
Besides supplying IEBC with voting and registration technology, IDEMIO also supplied the national government with biometric equipment to capture citizens identities during the Huduma Number Registration in 2019.
