Mon Nov 26 2007

Reporting by Mark Trevelyan (Source. www.reuters.co.uk)

(Reuters) - Offerings from five technology firms competed earlier this month in the final of the Global Security Challenge, a competition to identify the world's most promising security start-up.

Following is a description of each of the finalists, competing for a $500,000 prize from the U.S. government's Technical Support Working Group and a chance to pitch to leading private equity firms.

* NoblePeak Vision Corporation, based in Wakefield, Massachusetts and founded in 2002 as a spin-off from Bell Laboratories, took first place for a night-vision camera that uses germanium-coated sensors to pick up short-wave infrared (SWIR) light invisible to the human eye.

It produces black-and-white night-time images which are much sharper than those generated by thermal video cameras. Applications include battlefield vision, protecting buildings and helping car drivers avoid collisions at night.

* Germany's Psylock provides biometric technology that recognizes keyboard users by their typing behavior, based on speed, rhythm, agility, mistakes and other factors. Instead of asking for a password, it gets you to type a short line of text and calculates a percentage match against your known typing profile. The company is testing the system at a major bank and insurer and says it has interest from the Chinese government.

It says its system spares users from memorizing dozens of passwords, and can save large sums spent by companies on sending out reminders.

* U.S.-based EyeMarker Systems demonstrated what it called the world's first hand-held device for testing exposure to nerve agents. By scanning the eye, it can also detect carbon monoxide or cyanide poisoning, or identify trauma to the brain. CEO Wes McGee said the product would have a big impact on the way emergency services carry out triage, the process of sorting out casualties according to priority.

* British-based Auxetix has developed high-strength fibers that get fatter when stretched and are highly resistant to blast damage. Applications include special curtains to catch flying window glass in an explosion, for which the company sees a $420 million market in Manhattan's financial district alone, and up to $10 billion worldwide.

* Singapore-based XID Technologies uses a patented 'face synthesis' device to create up to thousands of images from a single photo, predicting how the subject will look in different lighting conditions, from different angles and with varying expressions or facial hair. It successfully deployed the system in security cameras controlling access to a site with thousands of workers, using it to recognize authorized staff and detect intruders.