Morpho RapID: ID in the palm of your hand

13.01.2009

Drawing on its 25 years of experience in the field of biometrics, Sagem Sécurité offers a compact mobile ID terminal in the shape of the Morpho RapID 1100. Easy to operate and entirely secure, it offers police forces new communication and networking functionalities.

© Sagem Securité

Unveiled at the Milipol Qatar trade fair last November, the Morpho RapID 1100 mobile ID terminal from Sagem Sécurité (SAFRAN Group company) is about to equip the police force of New South Wales, the most populated state of Australia. Several police forces around the world have shown interest in the terminal, which was released on the market last July and which can identify a person in real time via facial recognition, thanks to a built-in digital camera, and fingerprint recognition via a sensor on its top panel. The captured data is immediately compared against a central database by means of its advanced communication functions.
With its specifications defined in cooperation with various police forces around the world, the Morpho RapID 1100 meets the police’s needs for information in real time. With its 3G technology, it is the only system that is compatible with the five bandwidths used around the world by GSM operators. Providing police officers with the ability to know immediately if a person is on a wanted list allows them to take appropriate action whatever the situation, and optimize their presence on the ground.

© Sagem Securité

The guiding force: safety & security
Designed to offer increased robustness and to operate outdoors for an entire day without being recharged, the Morpho RapID 1100 can be operated using one hand, due to it only weighing 750 g. “It’s a tool that allows you to do your work without taking any risks regarding safety and security. For us, this is of permanent concern," explains Alber Tabet, product manager at Sagem Sécurité. “The terminal has been designed so that the identification process does not put the user at risk and creates a favorable balance of force for the police officer. What is more," he goes on to say, “the person to be identified has no access to the information displayed on the terminal screen.” Frédéric Chevalier, project manager at Sagem Sécurité, adds: "The police officer has nothing to do: the capturing of the photo and fingerprints unfolds automatically."

© Sagem Securité

Developments on the horizon
In 2009, device development will be pursued with the release of the Morpho RapID 1200 that will have, in addition, a smartcard or contactless card reader. If such cards contain biometric data, their data will be compared with the bearer’s data.
2500 models of the Morpho RapID 100 - former generation of Morpho RapID 1100 - have already been sold worldwide (in particular, in the USA, the UK, the Middle East, South Africa and Australia). Ultimately, police demand should enable several thousand 3G devices to be marketed.
The countries that constitute the borders of the European Union also represent a potential market for the device, since it could help underpin border control using biometric passports. The SAFRAN Group, via the "Border Control" activity of Sagem Sécurité, already knows all about border police forces and their needs, and can offer tried and tested experience in this domain.

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