Global Biometrics Gateway System

DHS field agents do not have a device that provides them the ability to rapidly screen and manage the identities of individuals they encounter during routine operations or following terrorist incidents and natural disaster, when no local communications infrastructure is available. A device to fill this need must be portable, operable in all weather conditions, provide the ability to capture biometric data in the field, and have the ability to send data over a secure link to a biometric database such as the DHS biometric database (IDENT) to query for biometric matches. The Phase I effort identified a viable technical architecture for a Biometrics Gateway System that links COTS handheld scanners with a remote biometric database without relying on local infrastructure. The Biometric Gateway supports a broad range of DHS and US Government agencies in an architecture that can be tailored to meet specific agency CONOPS and provides renewed life to legacy biometrics scanners presently in the field. The Phase II effort will culminate in operational field testing of two prototype biometrics communications managers with 802.11, Bluetooth, cellular, and satellite-based communications capability, and a prototype remote gateway portal to facility queries to CONUS-based databases, such as IDENT.