 |
 |
|
|
Biometric, Biometric security
services, Biometric solutions, Biometric technology, Biometric fingerprint,
Biometric companies, Biometric fingerprint, Biometric research, Biometric books,
biometric tutorials, biometric india, biometric access, biometric contact pune,
bioaccess, biometric products, fingerprint india, time attendance, fingerprint
access control, time cards, biometric identification, biometric research,
biometric solutions, biometric services, biometrics ,Biometrics India, USA,
America, Europe, Japan, UK, Germany, france, uae, singapore, Time attendance
india, access control india, biometric india, security india Fingerprint india,
Precise Biometrics Biometric Biometrics Security Biometrics Information Bio,
Biometrics india, Biometric, Fingerprint scanner, Time attendance, Access
control, OEM modules, security, Time cards, SDK, USB finger print sensor,
Authentication, Identification, Verification, Biometrics time attendance,
Biometrics access control, Fingerprint time attendance, Fingerprint access
control, Proximity, RFID, smart cards, Software, Hardware, free, low cost,
cheapest, products, Solutions, project, services, development, matching,
recognition
|
|
 |
|
|
Home | About
Us | Services
| Products
| Solutions
| Support
|
Partners | News | Contact
Us |
 |
|
|
|
|
:: Why Fingerprints? |
|
With
increasingly urgent need for reliable security, biometrics is
being spotlighted as the authentication method for the next
generation. Among numerous biometric technologies, fingerprint
authentication has been in use for the longest time and bears
more advantages than other biometric technologies
do.
Fingerprint authentication is possibly the most
sophisticated method of all biometric technologies and has
been thoroughly verified through various applications.
Fingerprint authentication has particularly proved its high
efficiency and further enhanced the technology in criminal
investigation for more than a century.
Even features
such as a person�s gait, face, or signature may change with
passage of time and may be fabricated or imitated. However, a
fingerprint is completely unique to an individual and stayed
unchanged for lifetime. This exclusivity demonstrates that
fingerprint authentication is far more accurate and efficient
than any other methods of authentication.
Also, a
fingerprint may be taken and digitalized by relatively compact
and cheap devices and takes only a small capacity to store a
large database of information. With these strengths,
fingerprint authentication has long been a major part of the
security market and continues to be more competitive than
others in today�s world. |
|
|
:: History of Fingerprint
Technology |
|
The
beginning of fingerprints goes back to as early as the ancient
times. According to historical findings, fingerprints were
used on clay tablets for business transactions in ancient
Babylon. In China, thumb prints were found on clay seals. But
it was in the 19th century that the results of scientific
studies were published and fingerprint technology began to be
considered more seriously.
Using the1800�s scientific
studies as a foundation, fingerprint technology was already in
use by the beginning of the 20th century. In 1924, FBI(Federal
Bureau of Investigation) is already known to have maintained
more than 250 million civil files of fingerprints for the
purpose of criminal investigation and the identification of
unknown casualties. In the late 1960's, fingerprint technology
met a great turning point when it gave birth to 'live-scan,' a
method to obtain a fingertip image without the use of print
ink. When the FBI announced that it planned to stop using
paper fingerprint cards inside their new Integrated AFIS
(IAFIS) site, it was actually announcing the remarkable
breakthrough of today's live-scan technology.
But
fingerprint identification technology did not stop as a
forensic method only. It was officially used for business
purposes in 1968 at one security corporation in Wall Street.
Fingerprints are now being used as a secure and effective
authentication method in numerous fields, including financial,
medical, e-commerce and entrance control applications. Modern
applications of fingerprint technology rely in large part on
the development of exceptionally compact fingerprint sensors.
|
| top
|
|
|
:: Fingerprint Identification
Process |
|
|
Fingerprint
identification process consists of two essential procedures:
enrollment and authentication. Taking the following steps
completes each procedure: |
 |
|
As
shown in the diagram above, fingerprint identification system
compares the input fingerprint image and previously registered
data to determine the genuineness of a fingerprint. All the
steps described above affect the efficiency of the entire
system, but the computational load of the following steps can
be reduced to a great extent by acquiring a good-quality
fingerprint image in the first step. |
|
Step 1. Image
Acquisition |
|
Real-time image
acquisition method is roughly classified into
optical and non-optical. Optical method relies on
the total reflection phenomenon on the surface of
glass or reinforced plastic where the fingertip is
in contact. The sensor normally consists of an
optical lens and a CCD module or CMOS image
sensor. In contrast, semiconductor sensors, as a
typical example of non-optical sensors, exploit
electrical characteristics of a fingertip such as
capacitance. Ultrasonic wave, heat, and pressure
are also utilized to obtain images with the
non-optical fingerprint sensors. Non-optical
sensors are said to be relatively more suitable
for massive production and size reduction such as
in the integration with mobile devices. Detailed
comparison is found in Table 1. |
|
Optical |
Non-optical |
|
Measuring
Method |
light |
pressure,
heat, capacitance, ultrasonic wave |
|
Strength |
highly-stable
performance
physical/electrical
durability
high-quality image |
low
cost with mass production compact size
integrated with low-power application |
|
Weakness |
relatively
high cost
limit to
size-reduction
relatively easy to fool with a
finger trace or fake finger |
physical/electrical
weakness
performance sensitive to the outer
environment(temperature, dryness of a
finger) |
|
Application |
entrance,
time, and attendance control
banking
service
PC security |
PC
security
e-commerce authentication
mobile
devices & smart
cards | |
|
|
Step
2. Feature Extraction |
|
There
are two main ways to compare an input fingerprint
image and registered fingerprint data. One is to
compare an image with another image directly. The
other is to compare the so-called 'features'
extracted from each fingerprint image. The latter
is called feature-based/minutia-based matching.
Every finger has a unique pattern formed by a flow
of embossed lines called �ridges� and hollow
regions between them called �valleys.� As seen in
the Picture 2 below, ridges are represented as
dark lines, while valleys are bright. |
 |
|
|
|
Step
3. Matching |
The
matching step is classified into 1:1 and 1:N
matching according to its purpose and/or the
number of reference templates. 1:1 matching is
also called personal identification or
verification. It is a procedure in which a user
claims his/her identity by means of an ID and
proves it with a fingerprint. The comparison
occurs only once between the input fingerprint
image and the selected one from the database
following the claim by the user.
On the
contrary, 1:N matching denotes a procedure where
the system determines the user's identity by
comparing the input fingerprint with the
information in the database without asking for the
user's claim. A good example of this is
AFIS(Automated Fingerprint Identification System)
frequently used in criminal
investigation.
The output result of the
matching step is whether or not the input
fingerprint is identical to the one being compared
in the database. Then how could the accuracy of
the matching procedure be represented in number?
The simplest measures are FRR(False Reject Rate)
and FAR(False Accept Rate). The former is the rate
of genuine user's rejection and the latter is the
rate of impostor's acceptance.
| |
| top
| |
|
|
:: Fingerprint Application |
|
|
Markets
for fingerprint technology include entrance control and
door-lock applications, fingerprint identification mouses,
fingerprint mobile phones, and many others. The fingerprint
markets are classified as follows: |
|
|
As
the advanced technology enables even more compact fingerprint
sensor size, the range of application is extended to the
mobile market. Considering the growing phase of the present
mobile market, its potential is the greatest of all
application markets. |
|
|
References
|
|
[1]
International Biometric Group,「Biometric Market Report
2000-2005」, 2001. |
|
[2]
Anil K. Jain, Lin Hong, Sharath Pankanti, Ruud Bolle,「An
Identity Authentication System Using Fingerprints」, 1997.
|
|
[3]
http://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html
|
|
| top
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Sitemap | � Bioenable Technologies
Pvt. Ltd. 2004-2005 |
|
Send your requirements
