Digital India: InFocus Unveils Aadhaar-Enabled Iris Smartphone

InFocus, the U.S-based tech organization, has been awarded certification from the Government of India’s STQC (Standardization Testing & Quality Certification) for its Aadhaar-Enabled Iris smartphone.

STQC certification authenticates the use of Iris integrated devices used for biometric authentication linked under the Aadhaar project which aims to capture 2.4 billion Iris scans for biometric registration, making it the biggest biometrics project in the world.

Based on the testing results done by STQC, InFocus Smartphone has emerged as the most reliable and accurate biometric device with virtually zero error as FRR (false reject rate). The smartphone can capture the iris image under various environments, including under direct sunlight.

InFocus Smartphone features IriTech’s superior iris image quality assessment and on-board K7 generation algorithm to provide good quality images and avoid false positives while maximizing true positive identification rates. The embedded algorithm can complete an image capture and K7 image generation in less than 2 seconds. Moreover, the biometric data from the InFocus device gets encrypted by a UIDAI key at the chip level in device, making it impossible for anyone but the Aadhaar server to see the information. Such encryption prevents information leakage of all kinds.

Speaking at the launch, Sachin Thapar, Country Head, InFocus India, said, “We see great potential in the integration of Iris recognition technology in a ubiquitous device like smartphone. This represents a huge leap in stimulating the Government’s Digital India Initiative facilitating the biometric identification used across various institute and E-governance services, with just the use of a smartphone.

InFocus device will find its use as a secure and reliable biometric solution in various industries such as banking, E-PDS (Electronic Public Distribution System), MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural employment Guarantee Act) payments, E-governance services such as passport, taxation, healthcare and education. The solution will also enable government, enterprises and telecom companies to streamline the process of an individual’s authentication and eKYC regardless of language and literacy barriers.

Moreover, InFocus smartphone is an easy-to-use one stop device as it embeds the advanced iris-recognition technology in a well-built phone, eliminating the use of any separate devices for biometric identification.” He added.

“The InFocus Aadhaar- enabled iris smartphone is a great example of the innovation possible on the Aadhaar platform. The phone is timely as it can be used for applications like opening instant bank accounts with eKYC and as a cashless microATM for merchant payments. This will accelerate JAM implementation” says Shri Nandan Nilekani, Former Chairman of UIDAI.

“IriTech’s strong presence in India as a leading iris vendor for Indian Government National ID project and Foxconn’s manufacturing prowess will help our consortium provide cost-effective yet strong iris based authentication solutions for emerging Indian market, and moreover, for India’s smartphone using general public,” says Daniel Daehoon Kim, the CEO of IriTech.

“UIDAI is gearing up to cater to the demands of Aadhaar based authentication services on an integrated iris mobile solution. We as a company have been well experienced and poised to deliver our consortiums irrefutable and proven iris technology in a world-class brand to this eco-system,” says Prabhu Sridharan, the Managing Director of Biometronic Group (Authorized Sales & Marketing partner for InFocus Iris integrated mobile devices certified by STQC-UIDAI).

InFocus Iris Enabled Smartphone is a 4G-VoLTE enabled smartphone that is powered with 1GB RAM to deliver performance beyond expectation. Ascertaining an exceptional experience, this 4.5” device supports dual sim and is endowed with a 2,300mAh battery. With 1.5 GHz Quad-core processor, users can enjoy a seamless performance while streaming video and playing games. It runs on Android 5.1 and comes powered with an 8GB ROM, expandable up to 64GB.