Pearson VUE Enhances Test Taker Identity Authentication With Fujitsu and Sensometrix Solution

Test Takers Readily Identified and Authenticated With Fujitsu’s PalmSecure Biometric Solution Combined With the Sensometrix SensoBrain Biometrics Accelerator

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc., a leader in innovative technology and front-end solutions, and Sensometrix, an innovative and turnkey biometric authentication solutions provider, today announced an award of services by Pearson VUE, the leading testing administration and services provider that delivers millions of high-stakes tests a year across the globe for clients in the licensure, certification, academic admissions, regulatory, and government testing service markets.

“As Pearson VUE’s palm vein database grows, we will increasingly demonstrate the performance and value of the SensoBrain technology.”

Pearson VUE pioneered using biometric identification for test taker authentication over ten years ago, and in recent years deployed Fujitsu’s PalmSecure biometric identification technology to over 500 Pearson VUE test facilities worldwide. Test takers are able to quickly, conveniently and accurately establish their identity by simply placing a palm over the Fujitsu PalmSecure™ reader before proceeding with any scheduled tests. Under the new multi-year agreement, Pearson VUE introduced one-to-many (1:N) matching to provide an enhanced layer of fraud prevention, utilizing the SensoBrain distributed biometric acceleration technology. The Sensometrix technology rapidly compares each test taker’s biometrics to those of everyone else in a client’s testing program, ensuring that any potential fraudulent testing based on impersonation can be proactively eliminated before it occurs.

“We have been very pleased with the success of Fujitsu’s PalmSecure solution in accurately identifying test takers, and are equally delighted to be adopting the Sensometrix SensoBrain technology to enhance and accelerate our identity authentication capabilities,” said Robert Whelan, President of Pearson VUE. “The combination of the PalmSecure biometric identity solution with the SensoBrain accelerator surpasses other biometric solutions in speed, value, accuracy and protection of individual privacy. It also has exceeded our criteria for being quickly and efficiently introduced into our testing administration workflow. We look forward to working with Fujitsu and Sensometrix to further enhance the integrity of our testing services.”

“Palm Vein scanning is an integral part of our continuing efforts to provide the highest level of security, fairness — and privacy protection — in the administration of the GMAT exam,” said David A. Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Graduate Management Admission Council. “In both Fujitsu and Pearson VUE we have found more than just companies committed to advancing technology or uncovering new solutions, we’ve found partners as committed as we are to making sure both students and schools can have full confidence in the integrity of the GMAT testing process.”

“By deploying Fujitsu’s PalmSecure solution in conjunction with the Sensometrix SensoBrain acceleration technology, Pearson VUE reinforces its position as the industry leader and fulfills its overarching commitment to preserving the integrity of their testing methodology,” stated Christer Bergman, Vice President of Fujitsu Frontech North America’s Biometric Solutions Group. “It adds another level of quality and sophistication to their superior offerings, and vastly reduces the chances of any fraudulent test takers entering the system.”

“Working with Fujitsu to support Pearson VUE in the expansion of their biometric identity identification solution strengthens our technology position and illustrates the power of the SensoBrain technology that drives the speed of the PalmSecure solution,” stated Nicolas Rebetez, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Sensometrix. “As Pearson VUE’s palm vein database grows, we will increasingly demonstrate the performance and value of the SensoBrain technology.”

PalmSecure is a non-contact biometric solution; unlike other biometric systems, the PalmSecure device does not come into contact with the skin, making it extremely hygienic, non-intrusive and unaffected by external factors. PalmSecure works by emitting a near-infrared light aimed at a person’s palm to map the person’s vein pattern and generate a baseline, encrypted, unique biometric “template” linked to the person’s confirmed identity. The process of subsequently establishing identity is fast and accurate, as an enrolled person simply places their palm over the PalmSecure sensor to generate a template of the current palm vein pattern and compare it against the baseline templates stored in the database.

The Sensometrix SensoBrain technology is a distributed solution for accelerating one-to-many (1:N) biometric identification that is layered upon the PalmSecure palm vein solution. The system is fault tolerant and able to process operations among a heterogeneous large server cluster. It handles the distribution of identifications within the cluster to allow for maximum throughput based on available total system resources. The system is vertically and horizontally scalable to consistently meet customer needs and activity growth over time. Additionally, servers can be added or removed from the cluster with no need for downtime as they system supports automatic discovery, reconfiguration and synchronization amongst active servers in a defined cluster. Sensometrix’ technology offers a valuable solution to the biometric industry and allows customers to extend their existing investment in biometric security by providing the performance and processing gains required to keep pace with the growth of the business and broader global marketplace.

Press Contacts
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About Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc.

Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc. brings innovative technology from Japan and, with its partners, develops powerful front-end solutions that shape how society interacts with big data. Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc. is headquartered with operations and solution development at 27121 Towne Centre Drive #100, Foothill Ranch, CA 92610, USA. For more information about Fujitsu products and services, call us at 800-626-4686 or visit us at: www.fujitsufrontechna.com

About Sensometrix

Sensometrix develops innovative, secure, convenient and turn-key biometric solutions. The company operates internationally with existing pilots and customers e.g., in Switzerland, USA, Australia and India. For more details please visit our website at www.sensometrix.ch/

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Sensometrix SA
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About Pearson VUE

Pearson VUE (http://www.pearsonvue.com) is the global leader in computer-based testing for information technology, academic, government and professional testing programs around the world. Pearson VUE provides a full suite of services from test development to data management, and delivers exams through the world’s most comprehensive and secure network of test centers in 165 countries. Pearson VUE is a business of Pearson (NYSE: PSO) (LSE: PSON), the international education and information company, whose businesses include the Financial Times Group, Pearson Education and the Penguin Group.

Press Contact:
Adam Gaber
212-641-6118
[e-mail]

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