Five Finalists announced in Global Security Challenge

The organizers of a competition to find some of the world’s most promising security technologies have confirmed five finalists. The Global Security Challenge (GSC) is organised by MBA students at the London Business School and supported by Smiths Detection, the US Department of Homeland Security, ONR Global, BAE Systems, Accenture and SAIC among others.

The five businesses are competing to win a $500,000 grant, which is sponsored by the US Government’s Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), and mentorship from leading venture capitalists, including Paladin Capital Group. The winner will be announced in London on 8 November 2007.

The five finalists have developed technologies that can identify people through biometric analysis of how they type, scan the eye to assess a person’s health, protect against multiple explosions, detect and identify people at night without illumination and recognise faces despite changing light, facial expressions and the presence or absence of beards, moustaches or spectacles.

The finalists are:

Psylock (Germany) – identifies users through biometric analysis of typing behavior 
Auxetix (UK) – fortifies protection against multiple explosions through helical-auxetic nets 
NoblePeak Vision (USA) – enabling the rapid detection and identification of people and objects at night without active illumination 
EyeMarker (USA) – scans the eye to rapidly and non-invasively assess a person’s health 
XID Technology (Singapore) - face synthesis technology for real-time 3D rediction/replacement in a 2D video

This is the second Global Security Challenge. Last year’s winner was the London-based Ingenia Technology, which has developed technology that mimics the biometric principle in humans but applies it to inanimate objects such as documents, goods and packaging allowing them to be authenticated and verified.

The organizers said they are pleased by the substantial number and high quality of entrants from around the world this year. Simon Schneider, co-director of the GSC, said, “We are especially happy about the increase of European submissions in this year’s Challenge. Over 40% of the entrants came from European universities, research labs and entrepreneurs’ garages. This is a strong indication of the intellectual strength and creativity that European innovators can bring to the area of high-tech security solutions.”

Stephen Phipson, Group Managing Director of Smiths Detection, added, “Technology has driven the growth of Smiths Detection. Contributions from academia and start-up businesses give us a competitive edge and help us to develop a world-leading business serving the homeland security sector. We are delighted to be associated with this exciting global initiative.”

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