WALL, N.J., Dec. 19, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIO-key International, Inc. (OTCBB:BKYI.OB), a global leader in fingerprint biometric identification solutions and advanced mobile identification technology, today reported that BIO-key's latest patent on "Generation of Directional Information in the Context of Image Processing" has been granted by the US Patent office as Patent # 8,055,027.
"Fingerprint and similar images are comprised of a series of ridges, and those ridges have direction. If a software algorithm can determine direction of those ridges in image segments, then the data within those segments can be better analyzed for quality, as well as relationships to corresponding segments," stated Mira LaCous, BIO-key VP Technology and Development. "Ultimately the better an algorithm can understand the characteristics of the image, the better a computer model can be generated that maps it, or more importantly detects and corrects missing or incorrect information. This patent provides BIO-key with true ownership of this critical algorithm technology."
Fingerprint algorithms work by analyzing the characteristics of the fingerprint image to extract key data points. Much of that data is ridges, ridge endings or ridge bifurcations, and this information is not possible to obtain or interpret without directional data. Patent 8,055,027 provides for effective and complete handling of fingerprint and related image processing, enhancing and image element identification utilizing directional fields.
"BIO-key is on the forefront of algorithm research and system advancement. As a result we seek to protect our advanced intellectual property, such as this new algorithmic technique," stated Mike DePasquale, BIO-key CEO. "BIO-key's continual improvements lead to industry leading real-life results for customers in all verticals. High reliability, accuracy and universal support of desktop, server and mobile platforms provide users with effective and complete solutions today."
About BIO-key
BIO-key International, Inc., headquartered in Wall, New Jersey, develops and delivers advanced identification solutions to commercial and government enterprises, integrators, and custom application developers. BIO-key's award winning, high performance, scalable, cost-effective and easy-to-deploy biometric finger identification technology accurately identifies and authenticates users of wireless and enterprise applications. Our solutions are used in local embedded OEM products as well as some of the world's largest identification deployments to improve security, guarantee identity, and help reduce identity theft. BIO-key's technology is offered directly or by market leading partners around the world. (http://www.bio-key.com)
BIO-key Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this press release may be construed as "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). The words "estimate," "project," "intends," "expects," "anticipates," "believes" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Act. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected on the basis of these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, our history of losses and limited revenue, our ability to develop new products and evolve existing ones, the impact on our business of the recent financial crisis in the global capital markets and negative global economic trends, our ability to attract and retain key personnel and our ability to complete the proposed acquisition of S.I.C. Biometrics Inc. as currently planned. For a more complete description of these and other risk factors that may affect the future performance of BIO-key International, Inc., see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company also undertakes no obligation to disclose any revision to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.