UPEK and Cogent Systems Cooperate to Provide Fingerprint Biometric Authentication Solutions for Government and Commercial Access Control and Portable Identity Management Applications

UPEK's TCS1 silicon fingerprint sensors combine with Cogent's fingerprint algorithms for leading edge biometric system performance

BERKELEY, CA – May 3, 2006 – UPEK®, Inc., the leading brand of biometric fingerprint security solutions, today announced that Cogent Systems (Nasdaq:COGT) is deploying UPEK’s TCS1 TouchChip® Fingerprint Sensors with Cogent’s fingerprint algorithms to provide secure fingerprint authentication solutions for a variety of government, physical access and commercial applications.  UPEK’s TCS1 fingerprint sensor, the only silicon fingerprint sensor optimized for Federal Identification Processing Standard (FIPS) 201 compliance, delivers high quality fingerprint images. 

Cogent Systems has integrated UPEK’s TCS1 TouchChip Fingerprint Sensor across a broad set of products including the Smart-Gate®, Search-Gate®, Mag-Gate® and SC-Gate® physical access control devices requiring on-device, network-based or card-based access control applications.  The recently announced Mobile Ident IITM handheld device provides a compact and versatile wireless fingerprint identification/authentication platform for on-board or remote server identification and supports image transfers using an American National Standards Institute - National Institute of Standards and Technology (ANSI-NIST) compliant file format.  The SA-4 embedded controller with Cogent SecurASIC processor and Cogent proven fingerprint algorithm can be used in a variety of embedded devices and supports the UPEK TCS1 and TCS2 area sensors. 

 “We are pleased to continue our cooperation with Cogent,” said Alan Kramer, CEO of UPEK, Inc.  “UPEK is proud to combine our proven silicon fingerprint sensors and Cogent’s world-class fingerprint algorithms for applications ranging from helping to improve national security, to ensuring the holder of an identity credential is the rightful owner of that credential.”

“Combined with our best-in-class fingerprint algorithm, UPEK’s area sensors allow us to deliver cost efficient access control and mobile identification solutions,” said Ming Hsieh, CEO of Cogent Systems.  “Both physical access products and the innovative Mobile Ident II offer examples of how Cogent can easily leverage its leading technology into new markets, with nominal costs.  This will allow us to continue to grow our addressable market opportunity while focusing on our Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) market.”

UPEK’s proven silicon fingerprint sensors provide world-class image quality and an unparalleled ability to capture and match fingerprints across diverse populations in a compact, low cost, low power and rugged fingerprint sensor.  UPEK’s TouchChip Fingerprint Sensors have been deployed in a wide range of applications including handheld terminals for ID card verification, physical and logical access control devices, safes, ID tokens, PCs, flash drives, portable hard drives and other devices.

About UPEK, Inc.
UPEK, Inc., the global leader in biometric fingerprint security solutions, offers integrated end-to-end solutions including comprehensive design & integration services to the world’s leading consumer and industrial products companies. UPEK solutions enable the strongest fingerprint authentication security available, packaged for high user convenience and rapid integration into existing products and network architectures.  The company has been pioneering biometric fingerprint technology since 1996 and shipping product in volume since 1999.  UPEK is headquartered near Berkeley, California, with offices in Prague, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo. For more information, please visit www.upek.com

About Cogent Systems
Cogent is a leading provider of AFIS and other fingerprint biometric solutions to governments, law enforcement agencies and other organizations worldwide. Cogent's AFIS solutions enable customers to capture fingerprint images electronically, encode fingerprints into searchable files and accurately compare a set of fingerprints to a database containing potentially millions of fingerprints in seconds.  For more information, please visit www.cogentsystems.com. 

UPEK Contact:
Steve Hahm
+1.510.420.2630
steve.hahm@upek.com

Nicole Colwell
Citigate Cunningham for UPEK, Inc.
+1.415.618.8732
ncolwell@citigatecunningham.com

UPEK, the UPEK logo and TouchChip are the registered trademarks or trademarks of UPEK, Inc. in the United States and other countries.  All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.