Motorola to build Serbian ID network

Motorola Inc. has won a $21 million contract from the Republic of Serbia to deploy a nationwide integrated identification system, the company announced this week.

Under the contract, Motorola of Schaumberg, Ill., will provide Serbia with the company's automated fingerprint identification system, facial and photo imaging and live scan fingerprint and palm print scanning technologies.

The system is part of Motorola's extensive portfolio of integrated communications and information solutions to address mission-critical safety and security requirements, company officials said.

The integrated identification system will include civil and criminal subsystems and use Motorola's Omnitrak automated fingerprint and palm print identification technology as well as facial matching technology from Identix Inc. of Minnetonka, Minn.

As part of the system, Motorola will provide Serbia with 1,200 biometric and data acquisition peripherals that will capture data to be stored in a central database and provide real-time identification and processing capabilities.

Serbia, a nation of 10.5 million people, plans to use the system for criminal and civil identification purposes. Motorola plans to install the integrated identification system by Dec. 31, 2003.

Motorola, a provider of integrated communications and information solutions, has more than 97,000 employees and annual sales of $27.3 billion.