Fingerprint Recognition

Fingerprint technologies are based upon the characteristics of an individual’s fingerprint, which is considered highly distinctive and unique, and has served as a basis for law enforcement forensic activities since the late 1800’s. These minutiae, the loops, whorls, arches, ridges, valleys, ridge endings, etc., can be matched in two basic ways:

Identification (1:n, 1:many matching) of an individual using their fingerprints is usually done for forensic or background checking purposes. AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) is the most mature of all biometric systems with the most widespread use, and has gone through its own major advancements in terms of reliability and integration over the past decade.
This technology has traditionally been used by law enforcement agencies around the globe to identify individuals. However, the technology is increasingly being used in the private sector as a tool for employee background checking, and its use is expanding within the public sector as part of civil identification systems. AFIS systems require the collection of all ten finger and thumb prints, both flat and rolled.

Key Applications:

• Law Enforcement Forensics
• Civil Identification
• Background Checking
• Employment
• Adoption/Foster Parenting
• Border Control/Visa Issuance

Verification (1:1 matching) is accomplished using systems which are generally referred to as Fingerprint Recognition systems. This usually involves an individual pressing one or two fingers (or finger and thumb) against a reader to verify that they are who they say they are (usually in combination with a smart card which includes a stored template for that individual). The technologies underlying fingerprint readers vary, including optical, silicon, and ultrasound-based models. Fingerprint technologies have been reduced in size that readers can now be incorporated into very small form factors, embedded into laptops, mobile telephones or PDAs, even integrated with portable USB drives, where they replace passwords as the key to gain access.

This technology is widely used for access control (both physical and logical) applications. Fingerprint-based systems are commonly combined with smart card technologies and boast high levels of accuracy. Fingerprint recognition technologies do have some key drawbacks, however: there continues to be limited interoperability, as well as some resistance from users who may associate fingerprint technologies with law-enforcement applications.

With a large number of vendors competing for a piece of the fast growth market for biometrics, the costs for use of fingerprint recognition has been driven down to the point that it has become quite commonplace, included as a standard option on a number of portable devices from manufacturers. High profile government sponsored programs (e.g., US VISIT) will likely force greater global adoption of fingerprint recognition technology in passport and immigration programs.

Key Applications:

• Physical Access Control
• Logical/Network Access Control
• Identity Verification – International Travel Documents (passports, visas)
• Device Access Control (e.g., PDAs, mobile devices)
• Identity Theft Protection
• Payments Authorization

For more information about this topic, please contact us at info@globalseci.com