To: Joe Copia who wrote (20377 ) 10/29/1999 11:30:00 AM From: Lazarus Respond to of 25711
Joe - VSIG news... I mentioned this one awhile back -- biometrics is a hot industry. AFIS also worth a looksee. Company Press Release SOURCE: Viisage Technology, Inc. Viisage Awarded Biometric Contract by U.S. Government LITTLETON, Mass., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Viisage Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: VISG - news), a leader in the emerging field of biometrics technology and in providing identification systems and solutions, today announced an award by the U.S. Government for the development of facial recognition security applications. The contract is to provide Viisage's patented facial recognition technology and develop applications for the automatic acquisition of facial images of non-cooperative subjects. Work on this one-year contract has begun and will contribute to second half revenues. Tom Colatosti, Viisage President and CEO, said, ''There is a compelling need to apply technology to capture real-time images to provide law enforcement and anti-terrorist officials with the capability to isolate, acquire, digitize, and identify individuals in a crowd using only their facial appearance.'' The award recognizes Viisage's leadership in the area of large database technology and was based, in part, on the success of Viisage's facial recognition project for the Illinois Driver Services Department and Illinois State Police. When that system is fully operational, it will support real-time and batch processing of a facial database of approximately 25 million images. Colatosti went on to say, ''The Illinois application is the largest and most successful deployment of facial recognition in the industry. We are pleased that the U.S. Government recognizes our leadership in the area of crime and fraud prevention and is leveraging this technology to the area of unobtrusive and non-invasive surveillance.'' Colatosti added, ''We continue to make substantial investments in our technology and target ''early adopter'' industry leaders to gain the visibility to reach the huge end-user commercial markets.'' Viisage is a leader in the emerging field of biometrics and in providing digital identification systems and solutions. The Company focuses on identification solutions that improve personal convenience and security, deter fraud and reduce identification program costs. Viisage combines its systems integration and software design capabilities with its proprietary software and hardware products and other best-in-class products to create complete customized solutions. Applications can include drivers licenses, voter registration, national ID's, law enforcement and social services. Viisage products annually produce more than 20 million identification documents at more than 1,000 locations in 11 states. Viisage is also commercializing patented facial recognition technology for access control, PC network and Internet access security and the real-time large database identification and verification of individuals. Viisage Technology is on the World Wide Web at viisage.com . This news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this document and those made from time to time by the Company through its senior management are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements concerning future plans or results are necessarily only estimates and actual results could differ materially from expectations. Certain factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, among other things, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, the size and timing of award and performance on contracts, dependence on large contracts and a limited number of customers, lengthy sales and implementation cycles, changes in management estimates incident to accounting for contracts, availability and cost of key components, market acceptance of new or enhanced products and services, proprietary technology and changing technology, competitive conditions, system performance, management of growth, dependence on key personnel, risks of year 2000 issues and general economic and political conditions and other factors affecting spending by customers. For more information on Viisage, via fax at no charge, dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter ticker symbol VISG. SOURCE: Viisage Technology, Inc. Lazarus