DHS Awards Contract to Develop Portable DNA Biometric Device
Parabon NanoLabs, a leading designer and manufacturer of breakthrough, nano-enabled products, recently announced its award of DHS Small Business Innovative Research grant. The funds will be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the company's new single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) "SNP chip" (pronounced "snip chip") to rapidly verify identity and kinship using DNA. The goal is to design a briefcase-size biometrics device that will process a DNA sample and determine identity or kinship with an accuracy of 99.99%, in under 45 minutes, at a cost of less than $50.
Biometrics continues to be a major focus in homeland security policymaking, particularly its usefulness in immigration and border management. Earlier this year, Arc Aspicio released a white paper by Kristin Melia on the future of biometrics at DHS.