Developing an iOS App with Biometrics

Getting the call to support a company that has agreements to protect data centers of the US and Canadian Governments as well as multiple State and DoD sites was a big deal. Apple had recently come out with the ability to use your fingerprints to access the device, and Digitus — a leading provider of biometric security solutions — wanted to offer this to their customers that had field technicians accessing remote hardware. Digitus's goal was to create a prototype iOS mobile application that interfaced with their locking hardware to allow someone to unlock the cabinet using Apple's TouchID.

Requirements

• Create a rapid prototype application in 60 days or less
• Use BTE-LE to securely communicate with Digitus locking hardware
• Work on-site with engineering to validate the approach
• Communicate via REST API to retrieve a list of a user's authorized locks

Approach

Since this was a prototype, we opted to use React Native and develop a small native iOS module that could securely communicate using an encryption key with the devices, combined with accessing controls via REST API. Meeting with the principal engineer and CTO of Digitus, we mapped out a straightforward UX, a flowchart of the process, and a scoping document.

After a few initial meetings we created wireframes and began developing a native iOS module to interface with the BTE-LE hardware. After successfully demonstrating the unlocking using BTE from this native portion, we rapidly built out the overall user interface and the REST API integration.

Technology Used

• Objective-C
• React Native
• Sketch for wireframing
• Digitus locking hardware

Final working prototype

A short demonstration of the working prototype is available on YouTube.