Securing both infrastructure and personnel resources is a vital part of Homeland Security. Applied Physics Institute developed a biometric fingerprint access system for critical infrastructure protection. This system allows security experts to monitor access to facilities remotely through a flexible database. The system registers authorized personnel, provides the ability to specify which entrances can be accessed, and provides auditing reports about the use of each entrance. This system can serve numerous types of infrastructures including shopping malls, schools, factories and other public facilities.

The system components include Intel Pentium class processor, electric strike lock, digital fingerprint scanner, and custom designed weatherproof housing for fingerprint unit, and the Personnel and Material Tracking System (PERMATS), the software suite designed by Electronic Warfare Associates, Government Systems (EWA).

Special Capabilities:

• Versatility
• Remote access to entrances
• Regulate entrances during certain periods of time
• Can provided temporary access
• Audit reports available for every use

Once a finger is scanned outside a door, a signal is sent to the computer where it compares the fingerprint to the biometric pictures in the database. Each fingerprint is processed using VeriFinger, a fingerprint recognition algorithm that reads the ridges and identifies the fingerprint. When it is matched, the computer alerts the lock and allows access.

• Figure 1. Pictured above is the Biometric Fingerprint System at the Central Region Innovation and Commercialization Center in Bowling Green, KY. Both the Innovation Center and API are located at WKU’s Center for Research and Development.