Parvus Corp. now shipping its Biothenticator PC/104 biometric fingerprint sensor module.

Parvus Corp. has announced that its Biothenticator PC/104 biometric fingerprint sensor board is now available for integration into embedded systems applications requiring user authentication. The module is priced at $400/each in orders of 100+ units.

Based around a solid-state MBF110 fingerprint sensor from Fujitsu Microelectronics, the Biothenticator module produces clear 500-dpi resolution images of scanned fingerprints using a 300 x 300 pixel array. Its rugged 1.5cm x 1.5cm sensor is found on a removable mezzanine PCB, which for application flexibility, has two possible connector mounting locations on the PC/104 board and can also be connected via an extension cable.

The Biothenticator features a parallel port interface, alphanumeric LCD port, and Form-C relays, which components are used for collecting and viewing sensor data and then controlling user access to application devices. Parallel and external power cables, software driver and Windows-based test utility are also provided with the board. A highly accurate minutia-based fingerprint matching engine is offered separately in a Fujitsu software development kit, which is designed for reliable authentication and low false rejection/acceptance error rates.

Because of the Biothenticator's modular PC/104 format (3.550" x 3.775"), the board is especially useful for fingerprint matching and authentication applications for an independent local device, eliminating the need for a costly network communications infrastructure to match stored fingerprint data. Complete development and systems integration services are offered by parvus Corp. for those customers seeking a solution with fingerprint sensor, CPU, power supply and hard drive in one self-contained unit.

An integrated heartbeat sensor is planned for a future rev of the Biothenticator to prevent potential unauthorized use by a false finger. Other technology improvements will be rolled out as market demand dictates.