Press Release
Warwick Warp wins R&D Development Grant from Advantage West Midlands
21st October 2008
Warwick Warp Ltd, a spin-out company from the University of Warwick has been awarded a £139k R&D Development Grant from Advantage West Midlands in order to further develop its state-of-the-art fingerprint recognition technology. The award of the Development Grant follows the award of a R&D Research Project which the Company succesfully completed in May 2007. The initial R&D Research Project enabled a proof of concept study to be completed for a fingerprint matching algorithm that substantially improved matching accuracy.
Grants for Research and Development are awarded for companies to support them in carrying out vital research and development work on technically innovative products and processes that they might otherwise not be able to undertake. The latest award will enable the Warwick Warp to focus on developing a software prototype that can be used for both large scale civil identification applications and portable commercial applications.
Warwick Warp has developed a novel fingerprint recognition technology that significantly improves the level of accuracy of identifying individuals over current competitor systems. At the moment, fingerprint recognition technologies are based on scanning the finger and creating a 2D template based on various minutiae derived from ridges in the fingerprint pattern. However, these approaches do not take into account the fact that different pressures give rise to different fingerprint images and the finger is not a rigid object.
Warwick Warp has developed a range of novel algorithms that improve both the matching accuracy and speed of the fingerprint recognition process. The design of the company’s software algorithms is based on the shortcomings of current systems such as their inability to deal with poor quality fingerprints.
Warwick Warp’s algorithms overcome these shortcomings by allowing for both linear and non-linear deformation in the measurement as well as allowing for variations in background contrast. Furthermore, the technology can robustly detect and incorprate what are known as third level features into the measurement such as sweat pores which have the potential to further increase accuracy in the match.
Dr Li Wang, Founding Director for Warwick Warp stated, "As a result of being awarded a Development Grant, the Company will be able to expand significantly. We will intially focus on active integration of the underlying algorithm developed from the previous research project into a full biometric identification system. We will also, in parallel develop an embedded fingerprint identification system that works on portable commercial devices "
Richard Hanson of Advantage West Midlands added "The award of the
Grant will provide several major benefits for the West Midlands Region.
Primarily, it will automatically result in the recruitment of more technical
and commercial staff which will in turn, generating an increase in local
employment. Furthermore, research and development activity in the West Midlands
will be strengthened as well as innovation and knowledge transfer activity
."
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For further information on Synergis Technologies Ltd, please contact:
Dinali de Silva, Associate
Tel: +44 (0) 207 932 0727
Email: dinali.desilva@synergistechnologies.com
Web: www.synergistechnologies.com
For further information on Warwick Warp Ltd. and all other media enquiries,
please contact:
Dr Li Wang, CTO
Tel: + 44 (0) 2476 696869
Email: li.wang@warwickwarp.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
Synergis Technologies Ltd. is as an investment vehicle
providing seed and early stage funds to help turn innovative research
from universities and leading Public Sector Research Establishments
(PSRE's) into significant commercial value. Many aspects of the commercialisation
process are difficult and new, from setting strategy to obtaining secure
funding. Synergis provides funds to bridge this gap, and through proactive
portfolio management helps build strategic value in the businesses
it invests in. In addition Synergis is almost unique in its ability
to provide access to follow on funding through its parent company,
Porton Capital. The financing capability of Synergis and Porton Capital
means that the companies in which they invest can grow without funding
constraints.
With its head offices in London, Synergis offers early stage and follow on funding for start-ups. With a dedicated team made up of former scientists, investment professionals, commercialisation directors and entrepreneurs, Synergis is able to understand the challenges faced by start-ups. Acting initially as an advisor to Porton Capital’s Synergis Seed Fund (SSF), Synergis is in the process of making investments on its own balance sheet.