Lockheed Martin Hosts Biometric Technology Leaders at Corporation’s White Hall Facility

Rockville, MD.- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] welcomed five industry leaders in advanced fingerprint and palm print technology at its Biometric Experimentation and Advanced Concepts (BEACON™) center in White Hall, WV, today. The BEACON is a collaborative space that brings industry, government and academia partners together to explore directions and advances in biometric technology.

Cogent, L-1, Motorola, NEC and Sagem participated in Lockheed Martin’s “More than Minutiae: An Advanced Fingerprint and Palm Print Technology Forum.” The forum’s name is a play on a well-known term in biometrics; “minutiae” are unique points on the ridges of fingerprints and palm prints that assist in determining a print’s uniqueness. Forum attendees had the chance to see hands-on demonstrations of sophisticated biometric technology.

“This technology forum is a great example of what the BEACON was designed to be: an innovation incubator,” commented Barb Humpton, vice president, Secure Enterprise Solutions, Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Services. “It’s really a testament to the state of West Virginia that we could bring together so many biometric experts and interested individuals to actively explore how this exciting technology can make a difference for Americans, whether it’s homeland security, defense or in the civil sector.”

In addition to technology forums, the BEACON also hosts biometric experts for public lectures on relevant topics in the field. Located in White Hall, WV, the facility is also utilized by the company as a space for research and development as well as for work on current programs in biometrics.

Lockheed Martin is the lead industry partner for several major government biometrics initiatives. Most recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) awarded the company the Next Generation Identification (NGI) program, which will expand the fingerprint capacity of the Bureau’s current identification system and add in new capability: palm prints, iris and facial recognition. Lockheed Martin also is the prime contractor for the Transportation Security Administration’s Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program, which equips vetted maritime workers who require unescorted access to secure areas of ports and vessels with biometric credentials.