BIOMETRICS : AN INTRODUCTION

 

BIOMETRICS 

Biometrics defined as a branch of ICT and considered as a tool for the identification and verification of the person  on the basis of physiological and/or behavioral characteristics of the person.

A method of authenticating personal identity electronically through the use of digital data (usually encrypted) in which measurements of the person's unique physiological or behavioral characteristics are recorded (ODLIS).

NEED OF BIOMETRICS

Password are not reliable-

–        Too many

–        Can be stolen

–        Forgotten

–        Shared

–        Many passwords easy to guess

–        PIN can be duplicated

–        PIN can be lost or stolen

–        PIN a weak link (writing the PIN on card)

Protect Sensitive Information-

–        Banking

–        Medical

–        Commercial

–        Government

TYPES : -

FINGERPRINT

 Every person has a unique fingerprint which is composed of ridges, grooves, and direction of the lines.

There are three basic patterns of ridges namely- arch, loop, and whorl.

  The uniqueness of fingerprint is determined by these features as well as minutiae features such as bifurcation and spots (ridge endings).

FACE

Facial recognition is based on determining shape and size of jaw, chin, shape and location of the eyes, eyebrows, nose, lips, and cheekbones.

The facial geometry is transferred to the database in terms of points.

The comparison algorithms perform face matching and come up with the results. Facial recognition is performed in the following ways:

HAND GEOMETRY

 

It includes measuring length and width of palm, surface area, length and position of fingers, and overall bone structure of the hand.

A person’s hand is unique and can be used to identify a person from others. 

VOICE RECOGNITION

Voice Recognition is also called Speaker Recognition. At the time of enrollment, the user needs to speak a word or phrase into a microphone. This is necessary to acquire speech sample of a candidate.

The electrical signal from the microphone is converted into digital signal by an Analog to Digital (ADC) converter. It is recorded into the computer memory as a digitized sample. The computer then compares and attempts to match the input voice of candidate with the stored digitized voice sample and identifies the candidate.

RETINA

It is a reliable biometric as the retina pattern remains unchanged throughout the person’s life, barring the patterns of persons having diabetes, glaucoma, or some degenerative disorders.

In retinal scanning process, a person is asked to remove lenses or eyeglasses. A low intensity infrared light beam is casted into a person’s eye for 10 to 15 seconds.

This infrared light is absorbed by the blood vessels forming a pattern of blood vessels during the scan. This pattern is then digitized and stored in the database. 

GAIT

Gait is the manner of a person’s walking. People show different traits while walking such as body posture, distance between two feet while walking, swaying, etc., which help to recognize them uniquely

DNA

Deoxyribo Neuclic Acid (DNA) is the genetic material found in humans. Every human barring identical twins, is uniquely identifiable by the traits found in their DNA, which is located in the nucleus of the cell.

There are number of sources from which DNA patterns can be collected such as blood, saliva, nails, hair, etc.