Memphis-based biometrics company Snowflake Technologies announced it was awarded the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation of the Year Award in the North American Biometrics Market for its prototype, which was launched in 2008. This award is given yearly to a company or individual who has spearheaded new research resulting in innovations expected to bring or that have brought significant contributions to the technology industry. Winners are chosen based upon an in-depth selection process, which includes pace of research, technology innovation and the significance or potential relevance of the innovation to the overall industry.
Memphis-based biometrics company Snowflake Technologies announced it was awarded the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation of the Year Award in the North American Biometrics Market for its prototype, which was launched in 2008. This award is given yearly to a company or individual who has spearheaded new research resulting in innovations expected to bring or that have brought significant contributions to the technology industry. Winners are chosen based upon an in-depth selection process, which includes pace of research, technology innovation and the significance or potential relevance of the innovation to the overall industry.
"We are thrilled to receive this honor,” said Chris Schnee, Executive VP at Luminetx, parent company of Snowflake. “Frost & Sullivan is a well-respected firm that is intimately familiar with the global market for technological advances. To receive its Technology Innovation of the Year Award is a solid testament to the outstanding, innovative work of the Luminetx team.”
Snowflake Technologies' prototype offers an identity verification system using an industry approach known as vein pattern recognition (or VPR). The system works because, like a snowflake, no two vein patterns are alike. Frost & Sullivan cites the prototype's touch-free feature, user-friendliness and outstanding accuracy among reasons for choosing Snowflake for the award.
Leveraging Luminetx's vascular contrast enhancement technology, first developed for use in health care with its breakthrough VeinViewer, Snowflake's biometric solution helps to resolve a number of management and accountability challenges. Possible applications will include access control, quality control, time and attendance, transaction recording, and audit trail creation. The company maintains the product has substantial advantages more than other biometric technologies such as fingerprinting and iris scans including the following:
- User-friendly
- Difficult to defraud
- Touchless
- Fast-matching
- Accurate
- Easily integrated into business systems
"Touchless vein pattern recognition is the future of biometrics,” Schnee continued. "We are proud to have developed a stand-out innovation like Snowflake within such a large business potential as biometrics.”
Snowflake Technologies, a subsidiary of Memphis-based Luminetx, was founded in February 2006. In May 2006, the team launched technical development of the biometrics product, with the first demonstrator produced in August of that same year. Its prototype launched in March 2008. For more information, please visit www.snowflaketechnologies.com
About the VeinViewer
The VeinViewer is a vascular imaging system that allows physicians, nurses and other health care professionals to clearly see accessible vasculature (or lack thereof) in real time. The device uses a combination of near-infrared light and patented technologies to image vascular structures and projects their location directly on the surface of the skin. For more information, please visit www.veinviewer.com.