BIOMETRICS By: Lucas Clay and Tim Myers
WHAT IS IT? Biometrics are a method of uniquely identifying a person based on physical or behavioral traits. In Computer Science, they are used as a form of identity access management and access control.
HISTORY The first type of biometrics, bertillonage, came about in 1890, created by an anthropologist named Alphonse Bertillon. He based his system on the claim that measurement of adult bones does not change after the age of 20. The method consisted of identifying people by taking various body measurements like a person’s height, arm length, length and breadth of the head, the length of different fingers, the length of forearms, etc. using calipers. The methodology was unreliable as non-unique measurements allowed multiple people to have same results, decreasing the accuracy and hence is no longer used.
WHY USE IT? Universality – each person shares the same physiology. Uniqueness – each person has their own unique traits. Permanence – most things do not change over time, like fingerprints, retinas, etc. Collectability – easy to aquire data. Performance – accuracy, speed, and robustness of technology used. Acceptability – publicly accepted. Circumvention – difficult to forge.
BIOMETRIC SYSTEM The biometric system can operate in two modes: Verification – A one to one comparison of a captured biometric with a stored template to verify that the individual is who he claims to be. Can be done in conjunction with a smart card, username or ID number. Identification – A one to many comparison of the captured biometric against a biometric database in attempt to identify an unknown individual. The identification only succeeds in identifying the individual if the comparison of the biometric sample to a template in the database falls within a previously set threshold.
TYPES Fingerprint Recognition Facial Recognition Iris Recognition Voice Recognition Others
FINGERPRINT RECOGNITION Involves taking an image of a person's fingertips and records its characteristics like whorls, arches, and loops along with the patterns of ridges, furrows, and minutiae. Advantages: Easy to use, large database of fingerprints, multiple fingers. Disadvantages: Age can impede recognition.
FACIAL RECOGNITION Technique records face images through a digital video camera and analyses facial characteristics like the distance between eyes, nose, mouth, and jaw edges. These measurements are broken into facial planes and retained in a database, further used for comparison. Advantages: Cameras are common and there is no physical contact needed. Disadvantages: Sensitive to expressions, faces can be obstructed, lighting can be bad, and age can change how people look.
IRIS RECOGNITION Analyzes features like rings, furrows, and freckles existing in the colored tissue surrounding the pupil. The scans use a regular video camera and works through glasses and contact lenses. The image of the iris can be directly taken by making the user position his eye within the field of a single narrow-angle camera. This is done by observing a visual feedback via a mirror. Advantages: No physical contact needed, iris is stable through aging, and it is less prone to injury. Disadvantages: Difficult to capture iris image for some people.
VOICE RECOGNITION Combines physiological and behavioral factors to produce speech patterns that can be captured by speech processing technology. Inherent properties of the speaker like fundamental frequency, nasal tone, cadence, inflection, etc. are used for speech authentication. Advantages: Inexpensive and easy to use. Disadvantages: Sensitive to background noise, voice can be duplicated, illness and aging change the voice.
OTHER FORMS Hand Geometry Retina Recognition Facial Thermography Vascular Patterns Keystroke Patterns Signature/Handwriting Recognition
APPLICATIONS National security Secure banking Health services Passports/Travel Employee recognition Elections Building or secure location access Access to computer systems Law enforcement Consumer/Retail
QUESTIONS?