Tokyo, March 2, 1998 - This year, on April 1st, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (President: Takashi Kitaoka) will launch its FPR-MKII Series of fingerprint-checking devices. Since every human fingerprint is unique to its owner, and remains unchanged for life, fingerprint checkers are able to uniquely and reliably distinguish individuals by their fingerprints. This means that access to site entrances, safes, computers and the like, traditionally controlled using keys, can now be controlled using fingerprint checkers.

The new fingerprint checkers will also be exhibited at the '98 SECURITY SHOW (to be held at Tokyo Big Sight) from March 3.

Launch outline (typical model)

Product name, model name	Specifications	Price
Mitsubishi Fingerprint Checker, FPR-DT MK II (designed for connection to personal computers)	Checking method: "No-PIN" fingerprint identification (subject simply places finger on device) Maximum number of registered fingerprints: 100 Reading and identification time: 1 second on average Error rate: False positive: 0.1% or less False negative: 0.3% or less Size: 41mm (width) 53mm (height) 90mm (depth)	98,000 yen

* Excluding tax

In addition to the personal-computer model described above, Mitsubishi Electric will be releasing other models for entrance/exit control and time and attendance systems. The FPR-MK II Series will comprise six models in all, and Mitsubishi Electric plans to ship some 10,000 units (for the series as a whole) in the first fiscal year.

Outline of products

Drawing on experience gained through impressive sales of its earlier fingerprint checker, launched in January 1996, the company has produced a single module combining all the functions required for fingerprint identification, including the processing involved in sensing and checking fingerprints, and storage of fingerprint data. By improving the fingerprint sensor and fitting the processing circuitry onto a single chip, Mitsubishi Electric has arrived at a product only one-fifth the size of its predecessor at only one-third the price. Thanks to a highly-reliable pattern-matching algorithm improving on the basic features of the earlier model, the new products can perform no-PIN fingerprint identification, requiring the subject merely to place his or her finger on the device. This has made them even easier to use than before.

Special features of products

(1) Much easier to use: the subject is not required to enter a personal ID number, but simply places his or her finger on the device, and identification is then carried out in a mere second.

(2) The new models cost only one-third the price of their predecessor, and are only one-fifth the size.

(3) The comprehensive product line-up covers a wide range of applications, including models designed for connection to a personal computer, entrance/exit control and time and attendance systems.

1. Fingerprint identification in just one second

Mitsubishi Electric's latest range of fingerprint readers comes with a new standard feature: all the subject has to do is place his or her finger on the reader, without typing in an ID number at all. Using a highly-reliable pattern-matching algorithm, one individual's fingerprint can be identified from a large number of registered prints (up to 100) in merely a second, with an error rate (for false positives) of less than 0.1%, or in other words, less than one error for every thousand readings.

2. Compact size and low price

By improving its proprietary super-compact fingerprint sensor, and fitting the processing circuit -- containing the new algorithm -- on to a single chip, Mitsubishi Electric has managed to bring the price down to one-third that of its predecessor (the FPR-DT).

The new super-compact fingerprint-matching module contains the fingerprint sensor and all the functions needed for fingerprint identification, such as match-processing and fingerprint data memory. This has made it possible to reduce the size of the whole unit to one-fifth that of the previous model (the FPR-DT).

3. Comprehensive product line-up

Mitsubishi Electric has expanded its product line-up by offering a group of products covering a wide range of applications: there are models designed to be connected to a personal computer, models for use in controlling the entrance/exit of personnel, tracking staff time and attendance, and so on.

1) The FPR-DT MKII is designed to be connected to a personal computer, and can identify individuals by fingerprint, for the purpose of controlling access to computers, networks and so on.

2) The FPR-200AD MKII, the FPR-1000AD MKII and the FPR-1000CS MKII are designed for entrance/exit control, using fingerprint identification to ensure that only authorized personnel pass in or out of the doorway in question.

3) The FPR-200 HG MKII and FPR-1000 FG MKII are designed for time logging and attendance systems, using fingerprint identification to check employees' working hours.

Typical applications and prospects

Thanks to the reduced price of the new products, Mitsubishi Electric envisages that the FPR-MK II Series will come increasingly into demand as operation/input devices for established applications such as entrance/exit control and time and attendance systems.

The increasing popularity of the Internet, electronic commerce and on-line information services is creating a need for security technologies to protect users against high-tech fraud. These handy, user-friendly fingerprint-checking devices capable of restricting access to authorized personnel, are likely to be used as an optimal, reliable means of identifying individuals.

Thanks to the new, compact, low-cost fingerprint-matching module, the products in this series can be combined with appliances and devices traditionally controlled using keys: for example, they can be used for rooms/apartments, safes, lockers, cars and so on.

The new products are slated for active marketing overseas as well as in Japan.