AOptix, Campbell-based provider of intuitive biometric identity verification solutions and wireless communications technology, recently announced the general availability of its SDK for Stratus. AOptix Stratus Client Software Development Kit (SDK) is the hardware and app that transforms the iPhone into a biometrics scanning tool, making identity faster, cheaper and more accurate for teams in defense, finance, health and national, civil ID programs and more.

“Biometrics is an important part of security systems,” says Kyt Dotson, assistant editor at SiliconAngle. “Bringing it to smartphones is an interesting move for AOptix, but it also means the mobile ability to provide proof-of-id for individuals in the field. With the addition of an SDK for making use of this software, security networks could be wrangled together to allow for use of smartphones to authenticate people in locations where large and expensive equipment is difficult to move in.”

Chances are we’ll see these devices mostly with government agencies and subcontractors who need heightened security in the field–as a result, there may be a call for programmers who can work to develop for this product as well and an SDK goes a long way to making that possible.

AOptix launched Stratus MX earlier this year, a hardware and app package that transforms the iPhone 4 or 4S into a full-fledged biometrics scanning tool. Fingerprints, irises, voice and face can all be identified via Stratus MX. Now the company has announced the general availability of AOptix Stratus Client Software Development Kit (SDK) for iOS. Built with an open architecture, Stratus MX, along with the SDK, now provides the basis for an ecosystem of Smart Mobile Identity products and apps. It enables systems integrators and value-added reseller partners to rapidly develop applications meeting the specific requirements of their customers in a broad range of vertical markets, including defense, finance, health and national and civil ID programs.

“The response to the launch of Stratus has been extremely positive and we’re already seeing strong traction in the market. We gave several partners early access to the SDK and they have already developed some truly innovative applications on top of the AOptix Stratus platform. With this comprehensive and robust SDK now broadly available, developers and systems integrators can jumpstart their application development to meet their customers’ specific needs and capitalize on the surging global demand for accurate Smart Mobile Identity,” said Chuck Yort, Vice President and General Manager of Identity Solutions at AOptix.

While AOptix Stratus MX is a sleek, rugged hardware peripheral that houses an iPhone 4 / 4S and enables iris, fingerprint, face, and voice biometric verification capabilities, the SDK has following components:

• The Basic Capture Package, which includes all of the elements to integrate iris, face, fingerprint, voice, and context image capture into custom iOS applications;
• The Communications Package, which streamlines the secure exchange of data with industry standard and custom-built backend biometric systems;
• The People Database Package, which manages the secure storage of collected biometric and biographic data on the iOS device;
• Sample Applications, which give developers compile-able source code samples of the views and methods included in the package.

The good thing is that AOptix Stratus Client Software Development Kit is already getting a positive response, and The Department of Defense is already working with AOptix to develop a Smart Mobile Identity tool off this. CACI International Inc, a leading information solutions and services provider, is using the AOptix SDK to develop custom solutions, based on AOptix Stratus, for the U.S. Department of Defense.