San Antonio, Texas, August 12, 2013 – The National Institutes of Science and Technology (NIST) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program selected Fulcrum Biometrics to research, design, develop and commercialize a new wireless handheld multi-modal biometric acquisition device that would communicate via secure web services. Fulcrum, a leading international provider, distributor, integrator and manufacturer of advanced biometric systems and devices, was selected for both Phase I and Phase II grants.
NIST’s competitive SBIR program seeks to stimulate technological innovation in the private sector, strengthen the role of small business in meeting federal research and development needs, increase private-sector commercialization of federal research and development, and foster technological innovation at minority and disadvantaged firms.
SBIR awards are funded through a three-phase process. In Phase I, small businesses can receive up to $90,000 to establish the technical merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of the proposed research and development. Phase I awardees compete for Phase II funding of up to $300,000 that enables them to continue their efforts. Phase III involves commercial applications of the newly developed technologies, with funding from outside of the SBIR program.
In Phase I, Fulcrum accomplished both research and engineering design of the proposed product. While Phase I did not require the development of a prototype, Fulcrum was able to go above and beyond Phase I requirements to develop and deliver an actual prototype of this new technology.
The Phase II Grant, which was announced on August 6, 2013, will be used to further research additional desired functionality, design and engineer a new prototype and develop software libraries. This effort will lead toward developing a product that is ready for mass production. To ensure project success, Fulcrum anticipates working with one or more system integrators during Phase II to prepare for Phase III – the commercialization phase in which applications that work with the new technology will be developed by integration partners.
More information about the NIST SBIR Program can be found on the NIST website. http://www.nist.gov/tpo/sbir/index.cfm To inquire about becoming an integration partner, please send an email to info@fulcrumbiometrics.com and put NIST SBIR Phase III in the subject line.
About Fulcrum Biometrics
Founded in 2002, Fulcrum Biometrics is a leading provider, distributor and integrator of biometric identification technologies and devices for commercial, civil and military customers in more than 88 countries worldwide. Fulcrum’s offerings include industry-leading biometric software development tools, fingerprint scanners and other biometric sensors as well as custom software development for multiple platforms, custom integration and implementation of identity management applications and access control systems. Fulcrum is the developer of the Fulcrum Biometric Framework (FbF®), a rapid biometric application deployment suite which includes the FbF bioServer, FbF Live Scan, FbF mobileOne, FbF Listener, FbF Silverlight Client Library and FbF iOS Library.
