Joined at the hip (or eyeball and fingertip). Biometrics leaders Probaris and ImageWare Systems have announced a new partnership to integrate ImageWare's IWS biometric engine with the Probaris ID identity assurance system -- an effort that is intended to improve Probaris's HSPD-12-related biometric searching and matching platform. "Since the initial launch of our Probaris ID solution in 2006, we have experienced a high demand from federal agencies... beyond the standard FIPS 201 requirements," said Probaris's Jim Bensman. Adding ImageWare's IWS™ Biometric Engine®, he noted, would allow the company to offer what is known as 1:N matching, which will capture the applicant's fingerprint at a Probaris enrollment station and then compare the fingerprint to all of the previously captured fingerprints in the system. This serves as an additional security measure to ensure that the current applicant's fingerprints are not currently in the system or duplicated in the system.