The Department of Homeland Security's science and technology directorate has started to accept applications for an annual challenge that seeks to encourage industry in building biometric recognition technologies for security checkpoints.
The 2020 Biometric Technology Rally will task the participants to develop capacities that will validate small, free-flowing groups in crowded areas, DHS said Monday.
Participants will demonstrate their proposals in the individual phase in order to proceed to the group-processing stage. Cleared teams will participate in a demonstration event to showcase their technologies to stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
“Now it’s time to take the training wheels off and see how well these systems deal with more realistic conditions—identifying groups of people that opt-in to using the system, while avoiding bystanders in a crowded environment who have not opted-in," said Arun Vemury, director at DHS S&T's Biometric and Identity Technology Center.
DHS will deliver feedback to industry participants and help speed up the development of product capabilities through the results of the challenge.
Interested organizations have until April 30 to submit their applications to the challenge.