In 2019, the PSIA decided to have one of the most compelling demonstrations for its PLAI specification at ISC West 2020. It would rely on a cloud-based agent, which would allow attendees to badge and authenticate at various vendor’s stands who had implemented the spec. 

As we entered 2020, technical development was progressing well and eight vendors were set to have PLAI implemented in devices and systems at their various booths and suites in Las Vegas. Of course, ISC West was canceled, but the group was able to do a quick reset for a Virtual PLAI Experience six weeks later.

The reception for the Virtual PLAI Experience was impressive, with over 400 people registered. On May 20, the event took place, with PLAI-enabled products in three countries (U.S., Ireland, and Switzerland) and seven states (Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, and Colorado) participating.

The demonstration was conducted on Zoom which showed not only the main PLAI dashboard with products passing and synchronizing identity data, but also each participant’s product performing after card authentication.

David Bunzel, PSIA Executive Director, noted, “The members of the PSIA were particularly gratified to see the enthusiastic response to our PLAI demonstration. Hard work by the participating companies allowed us to show PLAI performing in a real-world environment similar to how it will be used in commercial implementations.”

Two weeks later the PSIA hosted a Q&A session with industry professionals which provided time for deeper discussions on how PLAI could be deployed in enterprise applications. 

“The PSIA has demonstrated that PLAI is ready for commercial deployment,” said Consuelo Bangs, Sr. Program Manager at Idemia Identity & Security. 

“Our ability to pass identity data to multiple PACS and biometric systems and synchronize them in real time will offer a significant benefit to our customers.”

The PSIA has a video recording of the Virtual PLAI Experience on its site and is working on a condensed version of the demo to share with industry professionals.

Momentum is building in the market for PLAI with a number of commercial implementations in large enterprise customers in process. 

“PLAI is satisfying a critical requirement for some of our large customers,” said Stuart Tucker, Vice President, Enterprise Solutions at AMAG Technology.

“We expect to announce some significant commercial implementations of PLAI this year.”