The initiative, which replaces an older Digimarc system, will offer a number of innovations in driver's license security and system architecture to help the state offer a high level of customer service and security to Indiana residents, according to the company.

The system will be deployed across the state to process applications and instantly issue driver's licenses and state IDs, and should be fully operational by this fall. It will also establish a platform that can be extended to incorporate new secure ID applications required by state or federal laws, including the federal Real ID Act. Under that law, federal agencies -- as of May 11, 2008 -- will stop accepting older U.S. driver's licenses or ID cards. Activities such as opening bank accounts, visiting national parks and traveling by air will all require the new federally-approved ID cards or licenses.

"The system will add layers of security -- including watermarks -- and we think that will be beneficial for us and our customers," said BMV spokesman Greg Cook, noting that the state issues between 1.5 million and 2 million licenses or ID cards a year. "The bottom line is it ... will be faster so it should expedite the issuing process. We want to get our customers in and out of the branches as quickly as we can."

Currently, the state pays about US$1.28 per license or ID issued. With the new system, that cost will drop to about $1 for each ID card or license, Cook said.

The system includes more than 200 workstations and camera towers that will be used to process driver's license and ID applications, as well as capturing signatures and taking high quality pictures of applicants, said Scott Carr, executive vice president of Beaverton, Ore.-based Digimarc. It also includes over-the-counter secure printing systems that allow the BMV to instantly issue secure licenses and ID at offices around the state, he said.