Dermalog scanner to register German fingerprints

Dermalog Identification Systems has won the contract to provide fingerprint scanners, which will be used to scan applicants applying for the second generation of Germany’s ePassports.

The company’s ZF1 scanner received certification that it complies with the TR-PDÜ standards set by Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and it will be in use at German resident registration offices starting from November this year.

The final release of the ZF1 live fingerprint scanner will be shown for the first time in Europe at Security Document World 2007 in London on 22-23 May.

The ZF1 will be used at a proportion of the more than 5000 registration offices to scan fingerprints of both applicant’s index fingers, which, starting in November 2007 will then be stored on the second generation of German e-passports in addition to a digital photo.

Bundesdruckerei, Germany’s former state printing office placed the order for the hardware. standard for fingerprinting devices.

“We’re happy that, for the first time, German passport offices will also be using our technology,” commented Günther Mull, CEO of Dermalog. “Until now, 95% of our customers were overseas. That’s why it’s important for us to have a meaningful reference project in the German market.”

Dermalog has installed more than 30 large fingerprinting systems for resident registration offices and border control authorities around the world. The company says that its return to developing hardware is paying off.

The ZF1 live scanner is one of the smallest optical fingerprint scanners available for flat scanning of individual fingers. It is designed for use in civil applications for fingerprint identification and verification. The scanner also claims to be come equipped with liveness detection, which automatically prevents fingerprint forgery.

The company said that: “Thanks to the fingerprint image’s small file size of only 10 kilobytes in the WSQ format, the ZF1 is perfectly suited for applications using RFID technology of the kind found in German e-passports."