SEATTLE, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/—If you attended the Air Expo this past weekend, you were probably wondering why they were scanning your identication card. Mobilisa, a leading global provider of mobile and wireless technology solutions, launched the Navy ID system during the Air Expo '05 at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River on September 3 and 4, 2005. During the two-day event, the Navy ID system identified 81 people resulting in a significant reason to deny them access to the base.
"The Navy ID verification system was used to check IDs of people attending the event," said MAC(SW) David Muehlhauser. "It secured the base quickly and efficiently using a mobile, handheld device with intelligent software that determined the authenticity and status of each individual entering the base."
Mobilisa was hired by the Navy to keep the base secure during the Air Expo as the general public came flooding through the gates. The system used advanced technology so that security guards and law enforcement officers would be able to identify terrorists or any other suspicious characters before they were allowed entry onto the base. Any form of existing ID that people had with them was able to be used.
"The most common, of course, was a driver's license or a military ID card," said Dr. Nelson Ludlow, Mobilisa's CEO. "By scanning the IDs, cars and people moved through the gates quickly and without delay, all the while keeping the Naval Air Station secure. We identified 81 unauthorized individuals."
The system instantly queries federal, state and local "Most Wanted" lists, as well as military law enforcement databases. It's been in place at the bases in Navy Region Northwest since late last year, having caught over 1,300 "bad guys" and scanned more than 650,000 IDs.
Prior to the advent of Mobilisa's Navy ID verification system, a security guard would need to read the ID card and physically compare names against a list containing thousands of names in an extremely limited timeframe. Now, the check can be done instantaneously and is accurate. The database is updated regularly, and the system has the capability of taking photos and recording gate turn-aways as well as other suspicious activity.
"The system not only met my needs, it exceeded my needs," said Thomas Dougherty, Regional Police Chief, Law Enforcement OPS, Navy District Washington. "I would love to see this system at every site."
Naval Air Station Patuxent River serves as the Navy's principal research, development, test, evaluation, engineering and fleet support activity for naval aircraft, engines, avionics, aircraft support systems and ship/shore/air operations. The complex stretches across 25 miles of shoreline and covers 6,500 acres.