L-1 supplies Army with portable recognition devices

L-1 Identity Solutions Inc. will supply the Army with handheld identification detection devices under a contract order worth $8.3 million.

The order calls for the company to provide an undisclosed number of its Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment 4.0 (HIIDE) biometric enrollment and recognition devices.

The order is part of an April 2007 requirements contract with the Army’s Space Program Office. Delivery will begin in the first quarter of 2009 and is expected to be completed in this year's  second quarter, company officials said.

HIIDE is the world’s first rugged, hand-held biometric enrollment and recognition device that provides real-time identification by using iris, finger and face biometrics, they said. The device uses the highly accurate Daugman algorithm for biometric matching.

More than 7,500 HIIDE devices are in use in conflict areas around the world, the officials added.

The HIIDE is an indispensible tool for preventing enemies from hiding behind false identities that enable them to move easily across borders to perpetuate terrorism and crime, said Robert LaPenta, chairman, president and chief executive officer of L-1 Identity Solutions.

L-1 Identity Solutions, of Stamford, Conn., provides advanced multimodal biometric solutions for finger, face, palm and iris recognition.