EyeLock docks with ViaTouch for iris-powered payments
EyeLock’s iris authentication will be deployed as part of the interface for Vicki (ViaTouch Intellishelf Cognitive Kinetic Interactions)
Iris-based biometric authentication specialist EyeLock has signed an agreement with ViaTouch Media that will integrate EyeLock’s technology within ViaTouch’s smart-shelf vending solution, Vicki.
David Penn at Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company) reports that EyeLock CEO Jim Demitrieus says the agreement was the culmination of years of working with firms from a variety of industries to bring embedded security solutions to market. “This win is indicative of the many potential commercialised applications for iris authentication,” Demitrieus says.
EyeLock’s iris authentication will be deployed as part of the interface for Vicki (ViaTouch Intellishelf Cognitive Kinetic Interactions), a smart shelf vending machine with an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled shopping assistant.
Formerly known as Lisa, Vicki engages consumers by authenticating them, learning their preferences, providing loyalty, rewards, and discounts, and using smart shelf technology to note what products shoppers are viewing as well as which they are selecting and deselecting. The virtual clerk-powered machine communicates using directional speakers so that only the person standing in front of it can hear the conversation.
The company says EyeLock-enabled machines will be available early in the second quarter of 2018. They will be operated on the First Data online payment networks.
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York, Eyelock is a majority-owned subsidiary of Voxx International Corporation. The company announced a trio of new patents last month, for iris and facial imaging, biometric matching, and visual guidance in gaze alignment.
EyeLock has spent much of 2017 forging partnerships. In October, it teamed up with Australian security solutions vendor, CSD (Central Security Distribution), and in August, the company signed a licensing agreement that will enable the company to build iris authentication solutions for Qualcomm’s mobile security platform. There was also a May partnership with Stanley Security, an integrated security solutions provider and division of Stanley Black & Decker.
