Introduction

Biometric technologies can be used to identify people by pairing physiological or behavioural features of a person with information which describes the subject’s identity. It is almost impossible to lose or forget biometrics, since they are an intrinsic part of each person, and this is an advantage which they hold over keys, passwords or codes. These technologies, which include amongst others, face, voice, fingerprint, handand iris recognition, are the basis of new strong identification systems.

 

However, biometric technologies are still largely under development despite the fact that they

have been used in various applications over the past 40 years. In addition, they form only part of an identification system. There are challenges for such systems, on the one hand emerging from the need to adequately protect them from abuse, and on the other as a result of their wide-scale implementation and the impact that may have on society. There is currently a lack of data and research relating mainly to the non-technological challenges and more specifically to the large-scale introduction of biometric identifiers, including their use in visas, residence permits and passports.

 

Fingerprint recognition

The idea that no two individuals have the same fingerprints and that fingerprints patterns do not change significantly throughout life became accepted during the course of the 19th century. This

gave rise to the practice of using fingerprints for the identification of criminals. Though undoubtedly law enforcement remains the best known application of fingerprinting, there are many other everyday applications and in 2004 fingerprint recognition accounted for 50% of the biometrics market.

 

What is fingerprint recognition?

A fingerprint consists of the features and details of a fingertip. There are three major fingerprint

features: the arch, loop and whorl. Each finger has at least one major feature. The minor features

(or minutiae) consist of the position of ridge ends (ridges are the lines that flow in various patterns across fingerprints) and of ridge bifurcations (the point where ridges split in two). Fingerprint matching done on the basis of the three major features is called pattern matching while the more microscopic approach is called minutiae matching.

 

Iris Recognition

The iris is the externally-visible, coloured ring around the pupil. It is a physical feature of

a human being that can be measured and thus used for biometric verification or identification.

The human iris is well protected as although it is externally visible, it is an internal part of the eye. Iris patterns are both highly complex and unique (the chance of two irises being identical is estimated at 1 in 10) making them very well-suited for biometric identification.

 

Technical Aspects of Biometric Technologies

For a long time, the use of biometrics was limited to forensic applications. Recently,

however, it has become possible to digitize, store and retrieve biometric patterns and have them

processed by computers. Large scale deployment can thus be envisaged in, for example, passports, voter ID cards, national ID cards, and driving licenses, which will reduce waiting time at border controls, or for welfare disbursement. Biometrics provides a challenging solution to increased security needs, as it bases authentication on aspects that are specific to each individual. However, biometrics is only one element of a larger system that involves: the use of sensors to acquire a biometric sample; the transmission of this data from the sensor to a computer; the access to a database of stored templates in order to find a match; and the decision and subsequent action. Biometrics should not be considered alone but as part of global system that must be designed and evaluated in its entirety.

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