As the security of one's data has become a very sensitive subject nowadays, an increasing number of manufacturers have begun to incorporate various biometric authentication systems in their USB flash drives. And one of the most advanced such devices is the Irikon Flash Memory launched by the Rehoboth Tech company in July 2007, a flash drive that, according to the manufacturers, is the world's first such portable storage solution to incorporate an iris authentication system.



The device provides users with a very versatile and safe method of accessing their data, eliminating the need of inputing a password. Thus, the Irikon automatically identifies the user's iris and logs him/her onto the desired account. The drive does require a pre-registration process, but the respective process takes very little time. Moreover, the authentication system supports up to 20 iris templates, which means that it can be safely used by multiple persons.



Although iris authentication is far from being a very mature technology, the people from Rehoboth claim that their Irikon Flash Memory is capable of carrying out this task at a very high speed and with a very good level of precision. Thus, the device has an eye image capturing range of around 6 centimeters, features a False Reject Rate(FRR) of just 0.1% (1/1000), as well as a False Acceptance Rate(FAR) 0.000083% (1/1200000), which is a very good value, as far as biometric authentication systems go.



The Irikon Flash Memory is available in 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB versions, and draws all its power from the USB connection. However, the device also incorporates a rechargeable battery, which is used solely for powering the iris authentication system. Despite of the fact that it incorporates the biometric system, the drive is not significantly larger than any ordinary device of this type, measuring just around 30 mm x 88 mm x 12 mm, at a weight of around 25 grams.



Unfortunately, the company has not provided any pricing or availability information regarding this product, but we'll keep you posted as soon as these details are made available.