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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
XILINX AND PIXEL VELOCITY TEAM TO DELIVER WORLD'S
MOST
ADVANCED 3-D FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY
3-D biometric "fingerprint" of human face to revolutionize
airport security
SAN JOSE, Calif., November 29, 2004 - Xilinx, Inc., (NASDAQ: XLNX),
the world's leading programmable logic supplier, and Pixel Velocity,
a leading image processing solutions company, today announced a
collaboration that resulted in the world's most advanced 3-D facial
recognition technology. Using the advanced features of Xilinx Virtex-II
Pro FPGAs, Pixel developed the revolutionary biometrics technology
to replace today's limited two-dimensional (2-D) technology in applications
such as airport surveillance cameras and automated travel kiosks
in airports throughout the world.
"Each Xilinx Virtex-II Pro chip provides the image processing
power of 300 Pentium processors. By stacking multiple Xilinx FPGAs
together, we achieved an unprecedented 1000x-performance gain to
enable this revolutionary product, " said Eric Sieczka, CEO
of Pixel Velocity. "Image processing requires a large amount
of processing power - the Xilinx Virtex-II Pro FPGAs, with embedded
IBM PowerPC processors and high-performance fabric, were the only
programmable chips available with the power needed to make this
technology possible."
Coming to an airport near you
Biometric facial recognition technology is currently available in
a few select airports. Over 28 countries have mandated facial recognition
technology be in place by 2007. In the United States, the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) is requiring the top 20 U.S. airports
to install biometric technology pilot programs. The FAA is also
working to produce the "trusted traveler" program; designed
to expedite security clearance for frequent flyers identified by
the FAA as "safe travelers."
"Facial biometrics are resistant to changes in skin tone, hair
color, or facial hair. The technology actually measures the underlying
structure of the face, the bones and muscles that identify who we
are," said David Bloom, solution manager at Safe-Travel Airport
Security Company in Detroit. "Because the technology is so
non-invasive, 3-D facial recognition will ultimately compete with
current identification technology throughout our lives. You will
begin to see this technology replace your PIN number at the local
ATM, your photo ID at work and ultimately retail purchases, just
to name a few."
With the ability to identify "facial fingerprints" of
known terrorists, plans are also in place to utilize this same non-intrusive
method for homeland security screening at U.S. border crossings
and international airport customs departments. The U.S. is already
issuing biometric visas and plans to start issuing biometric passports
by the end of next year, while the European Union (EU) recently
announced it will develop new visa, passport, and immigration systems
incorporating biometrics.
"3-D biometrics are ideally suited for security because we
anticipate it will applied to a large population with 99 percent
accuracy. Current 2-D facial recognition methods offer only a fraction
of the accuracy that's possible with 3-D imaging," said Dirk
Colby, a biometrics researcher at Michigan State University.|
Cheaper technology enables more than just security
Like the mobile phone, biometric devices are becoming smaller, safer
and cheaper, thanks in part to the dramatic cost reductions of Xilinx
chips. "Many applications that can be achieved with a $20 chip
today were simply not possible a few years ago when prices for the
same performance ran around $2,000 per chip. Access was limited
to organizations with a lot of money like the Department of Defense,"
continued Sieczka. "Working closely with Xilinx, we've taken
the same advanced technology and applied it to applications that
impact the everyday lives of the average consumer. We look forward
to even more amazing possibilities with the new Xilinx line of Virtex-4
FPGAs."
"Pixel's 3-D imaging promises to enable the introduction of
many revolutionary products that will impact our lives. Xilinx is
proud to be the enabling technology behind it," said Wim Roelandts,
president, CEO and chairman of the board at Xilinx. "Our new
Virtex-4 FPGAs offer a menu of choices and features for our customers,
thereby further reducing cost to enable today's leading-edge applications
such as Pixel's 3-D technology."
Labeled one of the "top ten emerging technologies" by
MIT Technology Review, biometrics is primed for explosive growth.
In addition to security, Pixel is busy tailoring their 3-D biometric
technology for other end applications such as video conferencing
and low-cost medical imaging. According to the International Biometric
Group, global biometrics revenues are expected to reach $4.6 billion
by 2008, with $800 million specifically in facial recognition revenues.
About Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGAs
Introduced earlier this year, Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGAs deliver more
options than any other FPGA family available today. With more than
100 technical innovations, the Virtex-4 family consists of 17 devices
and three domain-optimized platforms. A multi-platform approach
makes it possible for customers to select the optimal mix of resources
for their application to achieve the highest functionality and performance
at the lowest cost.
Xilinx is the only company to offer a programmable logic device
with integrated PowerPC embedded technology. Based on their industry-leading
capacity, performance, and cost-effectiveness, Xilinx Virtex FPGAs
are the number one choice of designers worldwide.
About Pixel Velocity
Formed in 2001, Pixel Velocity designs, manufactures, and markets
the world's most advanced reconfigurable image computing systems.
In addition to providing a family of off-the-shelf cameras and processing
products, the company works closely with technology partners leveraging
this advanced technology to develop novel 2-D and 3-D solutions
in the areas of Biometrics, Industrial Machine Vision, Medical Imaging,
and Defense. For more information, visit www.pixel-velocity.com.
About Xilinx
Xilinx is the worldwide leader in complete programmable logic
solutions. For more information, visit www.xilinx.com.
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# 04127
PowerPC and CoreConnect are trademarks of International
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