L-I Identity Solutions [ID] yesterday said it has acquired the assets of Retica Systems, giving it new products and customers related to the use of iris capture and recognition technologies for identity management solutions.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Retica, a small Massachusetts-based firm, provides a dual iris capture device called Mobile Eyes and a software development kit called Eagle Eyes that integrates into video surveillance systems to capture facial and iris images from multiple persons at a distance and while they are moving. In addition, Retica offers an iris matching algorithm called Rapid Match.
L-1, which has the advanced Daugman iris algorithms, said that Rapid Mach may be used to enhance the Daugman algorithms.
L-1 said that the acquisition will accelerate its time-to-market in delivering low cost biometrics solutions for large-scale civilian identity management programs that require rapid enrollment of a lot of people or that need to identify people at a distance and on the move.
“This asset acquisition gives us a greater range of solutions to address a wider set of opportunities more quickly within the growing market of high-volume and large-scale civilian identity management programs,” Robert LaPenta, chairman, president and CEO of L-1, said in a statement. “Our existing solutions continue to dominate high-end identity management applications, such as those used by military and foreign military services in areas of conflict. With the Retica assets, we incorporate a solution that addresses broader market applications requiring lower cost solutions without compromising speed or accuracy. The Retica assets also open up new opportunities for L-1 outside of the government market, particularly in commercial identity management applications used by the gaming, hospitality, healthcare, and other industries.”
L-1 currently offers integrated multi-modal biometric devices that incorporate iris, face and fingerprints for the capture and identification of persons of interest.
Mirus Capital Advisors served as Retica’s financial adviser on the deal.