ThumbPod is an embedded system being designed at the University of California at Los Angeles to process fingerprint information. It will be biometrically secure, and hence will have applications in credit card transactions, secure data storage, and any area that requires identity verification. This research paper, presented at the Design Automation Conference in June 2003, describes the design process for ThumbPod. The hardware and software used to implement the system is discussed, specifically in regard to processing acceleration.