EDDIE, ICE and apps
A mobile biometrics app used by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement took home the top prize at the ACT-IAC Mobile Application Fair.
An app named EDDIE, designed to help Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers in the field do their jobs more efficiently, won Most Innovative Application at the 2015 ACT-IAC Mobile Application Fair.
The Eagle Direct Identification Environment mobile biometrics app allows agents to fingerprint detainees and connect to their databases faster and is “helping us catch bad guys,” said Marc Wexler, president of WTS Integration, Consulting, and Engineering, which helped develop the app.
Before EDDIE, ICE officers had to carry a large, heavy piece of equipment in the field in order to take fingerprints. It took an hour to transfer the data and the device was cumbersome. With EDDIE “it takes 30 seconds to take fingerprints and transfer photos,” Wexler said. Officers can also use the app to take photos and use those photos in combination with fingerprints to instantly compare with records already in the system. EDDIE went live last week.
EDDIE was one of 40 applications on display at the event.
Among the others was the Virtual Emergency Recall Status Application (VERSA), which went live in the State Department on May 22, according to Joseph Cole, director of product development with DMI.
VERSA allows emergency responders to securely report the status and pinpoint the location of personnel in an emergency and users can send an SOS from anywhere. “This is going to save lives,” Cole said.
The Department of Veterans Affairs showcased an app that officials say will allow for more real-time collaboration among clinicians.
The Imaging Viewing Solution (IVS) app lets doctors search for and view patients’ X-rays from any mobile device.
“I can use this application to access a patient’s X-rays and imaging that is perhaps done in Seattle,” said Dr. Shaman Singh of Clinical Lead Connected Health with the VA. “It gives me advanced visualization so that off phone, tablet, or desktop I can improve health care delivery by having this real-time access to medical images.”
With the IVS app, doctors can reconstruct a 3D image from the X-rays and show them to their patients, and even allow the patients to move the image around themselves.