Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd. today announced that it has provided Pantech Co. Ltd., a major mobile phone company in South Korea, with FaceSensingEnginge (FSE), Oki’s face image processing middleware (1) to be used in their mobile phones. FSE is embedded into Pantech’s SKY brand mobile phone, SKY IM-R100, that was launched on August 1, 2006.

“Our SKY brand mobile phones are known for their abundant functions using the camera, and we have been looking for an image processing technology that utilizes the camera as a human interface as well as for entertainment,” said E.J.Lee, General Manager, Product Planning, at Pantech. “Oki’s FSE was a perfect solution as it enables us to offer various solutions using the camera. What is amazing about FSE is that it can be embedded into a phone with limited CPU and memory but still provide high-speed image processing.”

SKY IM-R100 is Pantech’s first mobile phone to be equipped with Oki’s FSE. When taking a picture, the FSE automatically controls the camera direction based on the facial feature tracking function, and always adjusts the face to the middle of the screen. In addition, FSE can synthesize images in real-time synchronized to facial movements, and can save the result as a photo using the image synthesis function.

The FSE achieves one of the fastest processing times in the industry for face detection, facial feature detection and tracking functions. It detects facial features in 115msec, a ARM9 200MHz-level processing performance, and tracks facial feature tracking in 35msec. Thus, it best suits applications that require quick response. The FSE includes a processing algorithm that is not easily affected by brightness, thus enabling users to use it in various situations whether indoors or outdoors. Oki’s FSE provides facial recognition by extracting the amount of personal characteristics of the face image and comparing and verifying them to previously registered data.

“We are excited to provide our FSE to Pantech’s SKY brand mobile phones, a sophisticated and popular mobile phone,” said Teruo Iijima, General Manager of Business Incubation Division at Oki Electric. “By combining libraries, such as Oki’s FaceCommunicator®- E2 (2), with FSE, Oki can provide a variety of solutions. Based on the track record with Pantech, we will continue to provide our FSE-based solutions to mobile phone market as well as the entertainment and other embedded systems markets.”

(1) Middleware:
A software that is operated on OS and provides more detailed solutions than OS for application software.

(2) FaceCommunicator-E²:
A middleware designed for embedded equipment for real-time communication using Oki Electric’s 3D character face animation. For more information please go to: http://www.oki.com/jp/FSC/vc/en/FC_E2/index.html

VoiceIt Technologies LLC, announced the release of “VoiceLib SDK 2.0 for PalmOS.” VoiceIt Technologies, a world-class solutions provider for smartphones, provides a simple to use Voice Recognition SDK for the Palm Operating System, and is ready to support the newly released Palm Treo 700p smartphone. After extensive quality assurance, device testing, and developer feedback, the VoiceIt Technologies “VoiceLib SDK 2.0 for PalmOS” is now available to all Palm software developers. Our value added partners can now take advantage of the newest features and enhancements.

What’s new in “VoiceLib SDK 2.0 for PalmOS”?

M2SYS Technology, a leading biometric technology research and development firm, today announced a new version release of Bio-Plugin(TM), a fully developed, server-based, enterprise fingerprint recognition system that can be rapidly deployed, in many cases with no additional development whatsoever. The patent-pending technology can utilize any vendor-independent fingerprint algorithm and supported hardware devices, offering unparalleled ease of adoption for software developers and end users.

“As a complete fingerprint system, Bio-Plugin(TM) snaps onto any data management application to enable instantaneous fingerprint recognition capabilities,” commented Mizan Rahman, CEO and Chief Scientist for M2SYS. “With this new release, we can immediately add support in Bio-Plugin(TM) for any fingerprint algorithm and hardware device so that software providers and end users seeking fingerprint functionality can avoid development headaches and instead remain focused on their core competencies. With this innovative solution, customers can realize the benefits of rapid integration and have complete flexibility in their fingerprint technology selection process.”

Bio-Plugin(TM) eliminates time consuming and costly development work, and is completely independent of the host application into which it is integrated. Since no run-time compilation is necessary, changes made to Bio-Plugin(TM) do not impact the host application, and vice versa, enabling developers to concentrate on their core product without having to worry about supporting a sophisticated fingerprint software module.

The unique client-server solution has an open architecture allowing for rapid support of leading fingerprint matching algorithms and fingerprint scanners. This enables companies to test multiple algorithms or make quick replacements without having to worry about the burden of extensive development.

“Bio-Plugin(TM) is a truly disruptive solution that has the potential to significantly affect the rate of biometric technology adoption in our global marketplace,” asserted Michael Trader, President of M2SYS. “With Bio-Plugin(TM), matching algorithm and fingerprint hardware providers partnered with M2SYS can now accelerate time-to-market for their integrators and reduce development headaches, which translate into tangible top and bottom line results.”

Comodo, a global Certification Authority and leading provider of Identity and Trust Assurance Management solutions, announced today that it is partnering with iQBio Inc. to deliver to market a holistic and secured approach to managing portable data. This offering is comprised of the BioCert® ClipBio™ Pro 1GB biometric flash drive in combination with a Comodo desktop security solutions to protect the host PC.

Conservatively, Gartner® Dataquest estimates unit volumes of USB Flash drives at 84 million in 2005. The BioCert® ClipBio™ Pro 1GB biometric flash drive provides consumers with the latest in biometric technology to secure data, while allowing the user to securely control access to their private data with a touch of their fingerprint. Using advanced encryption methods and a secure biometric algorithm to authorize user’s access, this flash drive optimizes functionality, security and price. To secure the host PC, Comodo is delivering a FREE suite of applications with each BioCert® ClipBio™ Pro.

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