NIST co-sponsore BioAPI Users' and Developers' Seminar

In April 2000, NIST, the National Security Agency, and the BioAPI Consortium co-sponsored the BioAPI Users and Developers Seminar in Pentagon City, VA.

The seminar focused on the recent release of the BioAPI Specification Version 1.0. A common specification will accelerate adoption of biometric technologies and biometric-based identification and verification solutions in multiple markets. At the meeting, NIST announced the BioAPI Interoperability Test Bed being developed at NIST's Biometrics and Smart Cards laboratory in support of the BioAPI Consortium, the biometric industry at large, and users of these technologies. NIST and the Financial Management Service of the Department of the Treasury will collaborate in this effort.

The release of the BioAPI Specification Version 1.0 is an important step for the biometrics industry, system developers, and end-users. It is significant that a number of organizations are working together to develop and support biometrics common standards. The BioAPI Consortium (www.bioapi.org) was founded to develop a multi-leveled biometric Application Programming Interface (API) that brings platform and device independence to application programmers and biometrics service providers. Seminar presentations are at the web site www.nist.gov/bioapi-seminar.