Business

The A to Z of biometrics

Fingerprint, iris, palm, gait and keystroke - we've got the lot...

Written by Steve Ranger, Global News Director July 20, 2006 at 5:25 a.m. PT

Fingerprint, iris, palm, gait and keystroke - we've got the lot...

Biometric identity systems, until a few years ago the stuff of science fiction, are now hitting the big time in the real world.

All exploit the fundamental physical differences between human beings - whether in the form of the ridges on our fingers, the way we walk or even the way we speak - to identify individuals.

They're at the heart of the government's ID cards plans and are already being used in airport security systems.

But they're also appearing in more mundane settings - as a way of securing your laptop or mobile phone, or as a faster way of paying for groceries, or even as a high tech register to make sure kids stay in school.

While fingerprint is dominating the biometric market at the moment, other types including iris are coming to the fore, according to Sapna Capoor, biometrics analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

The list from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more on each of the entries in the list.

A is for Accuracy
B is for Behavioural biometric
C is for Cash machine
D is for Database
E is for Ear
F is for Facial recognition
G is for Gummi bears
H is for Hand geometry
I is for Iris
J is for Juan Vucetich
K is for Keystroke dynamics
L is for Liveness testing
M is for Mobile phones
N is for Network security
O is for Oxford
P is for Palm
Q is for Queues
R is for Registration
S is for Signature verification
T is for Twins
U is for Universality
V is for Voice verification
W is for Walk
X is for X-ray
Y is for Young
Z is for Zurich Airport

She said: "If you look at iris, it's the most expensive technology at the moment but it's the most accurate. The main drawback is the cost of the technology but governments tend to be quite price insensitive."

Not everyone wants to use fingerprint systems because of the connotations of criminality which stem from its origins in identifying criminals, meaning that other biometrics - such as palm vein - are also gaining momentum, she said.

As government and businesses look for better ways of checking identity - whether at airports or at cash machines - new forms of biometric are being developed.

According to a recent survey only around five per cent of businesses are using biometrics. But as projects such as the ID cards scheme start to be implemented, the use of biometric security systems is likely to become more pervasive.

Over the next few pages we take a look at some of the technologies in use now and the ones that are still in development.

Accuracy

Some biometrics are more accurate than others. Iris is generally considered to be the most accurate, followed by fingerprint then face.

Accuracy is usually determined by measuring the False Acceptance Rate - i.e. allowing in imposters - and the False Rejection Rate, which is when an authorised user is barred.

Accuracy will depend on the particular technology or mix of technologies involved and also the conditions under which they are being measured. For example, it's easier to capture a voice pattern in a quiet room than on a noisy street.

Behavioural biometric

Whereas physiological biometrics are based on a part of the body - the iris, finger or even DNA - behavioural biometrics are based on the traits of an individual, for example the way they walk, sign their name or speak.

These tend to be less accurate than physical biometrics simply because people change the way they walk or sign their name over time.

Cash machine

Biometrics are being used to increase security around cash machines. For example, Banco Bradesco in Brazil is trialling Fujitsu's PalmSecure palm vein system to verify users of ATMs.

The 35mm by 35mm sensor captures the palm vein pattern of the user and compares it with pre-registered data. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi is using the system for its cash machines in Japan - users access their accounts by having a scan of their palm compared to a pre-registered scan stored on their bank card.

Database

The UK is planning to build a giant database of biometric information for its ID cards project.

This will include fingerprint, iris and facial biometrics which will be stored in a giant database known as the National Identity Register. Other databases which hold biometric information include the police systems for finger and palm prints.

Ear

Ears don't change much as we get older, making them another useable biometric.

Some researchers have suggested they could be used to identify individuals from CCTV - or even as a way of authenticating mobile phone users.

Facial recognition

Facial recognition systems work by using the 80 different nodal points or landmarks on the human face - the valleys and peaks - made by features.

These measurements include the distance between eyes, cheekbones, jaw-line or chin.

The use of this biometric is widespread and increasing - police in the UK are already investigating how to incorporate facial recognition software into a new national mugshot database.

The DVLA is also exploring whether the facial images derived from passport photographs and held in its own database can be used for machine-assisted face recognition. The UK ID cards project is also likely to use facial recognition.

Gummi bears

Back in 2002 Japanese cryptographer Tsutomu Matsumoto showed that fingerprint readers could be fooled by the use of Gummi Bears.

After making a plastic mould of a real finger, he then used gelatine - the stuff that sweets are made of - to make a fake finger, which he managed to use to trick 80 per cent of fingerprint readers. The same technique was used to make copies of latent fingerprints that could also trick the readers. Some fingerprint readers measure the blood pumping through a finger or its temperature in an attempt to prevent this type of spoofing.

Hand geometry

This uses measurements including the length of fingers, distance between knuckles and thickness of the hand and fingers to identify an individual. It is often used for access control.

Hand geometry is not thought to be unique in the same way as other biometrics such as iris or fingerprint but it can be useful particularly when combined with an ID card or PIN.

Iris

Iris recognition - using the coloured part of the eye around the pupil - has been around for about a decade and is gaining more and more momentum.

It's the most accurate biometric on offer, although also the most costly.

It is already in use in the UK in the Iris Recognition Immigration System - which allows travellers to enter the UK without queuing to see an immigration officer at passport control at some airports.

Iris recognition is also likely to form part of the government's controversial ID cards project.

Juan Vucetich

Argentinean policeman Juan Vucetich was the first to identify a criminal by using their fingerprints, way back in 1892.

Since then fingerprinting has come on a long way. The UK police National Automated Fingerprint Identification System now holds around 4.6 million full sets of fingerprints.

The pattern of friction ridges and valleys on an individual's fingertips are unique - not even shared by identical twins - and so make a good means of identification.

Another benefit of using fingerprints is that they can be verified by the human eye, unlike some other biometrics. And because they are accurate and easy to capture, fingerprints are likely to remain the leading biometric in use.

Laptops are also appearing with fingerprint readers built in to replace passwords. The first and best-known is the ThinkPad range from Lenovo (ex of IBM), with a million units sold as of the end of last year. As this type of laptop becomes more common it's likely that access to corporate networks will increasingly be through fingerprint verification.

But there are limitations - manual workers can wear away the ridges on their fingers and some people also have missing digits. Some people are reluctant to use fingerprint systems because of connotations of criminality.

Keystroke dynamics

This uses the unique typing rhythm of an individual to create a biometric.

For example, it can measure variables such as how long each key is held down or the time between hitting each key. One advantage of using it is that you don't need a new piece of hardware - the existing computer keyboard is used.

Liveness testing

This is how systems try to tell the difference between a Gummi bear and your finger or between a photo and a real face.

This is especially important with remote transactions - such as making a payment over the internet with a fingerprint or iris scan.

With irises, for example, the red eye effect which often ruins family photos can be used to check whether it is a real iris that is being presented or a photo. Other options include testing for a pulse in a finger or even requiring a user to blink or smile when using a facial recognition system.

Mobile phones

Handsets that offer fingerprint recognition have been on the market in Japan for several years. But other biometrics can be used - using the camera on a phone, facial biometrics can be recorded as well.

Voice verification is another option for mobile phones.

Network security

Although many of the applications of biometrics are in the public sector, the private sector is also taking an interest.

A number of laptops now come with fingerprint readers and, as this technology becomes accepted, this will move from the laptop to accessing the network as well, according to analysts.

Oxford

The site of a trial of payment by fingerprint at three Co-op stores earlier this year. Shoppers were able to link their fingerprints with credit card or debit card information and verify payment by pressing their digit against a reader.

The trial was in part a response to customer concern over the complexities of using chip and PIN. In the US around two million people use the Pay by Touch technology to buy goods every week.

Palm

Around 30 per cent of the prints found at crime scenes - on knives or guns, for example - are palm prints.

They are identified in the same way as fingerprints, by the details of the friction ridges. Palm search was recently rolled out to police forces in England and Wales. Forensic investigators had collected palm prints for more than two years up to the launch of the national search capability.

Queues

Queue-buster or queue-generator? The jury is still out.

Airport implementations such as Iris - the Iris Recognition Immigration System - are aimed at automating the identification process and getting travellers through immigration faster.

Registration

A major part of any system is enrolling or registering the biometrics in the first place.

According to research by the London School of Economics on the UK government ID cards plan, registration may have to be repeated every five years for much of the population.

In particular, as people age their biometrics change and become less reliable and so people aged over 65 - around 17 per cent of the UK population - may have to update their information more frequently.

Signature verification

Rather than simply measure whether a signature is similar to a copy held on file, this measures variables such as the speed, pressure and angle used by the pen when writing. These are unique to each individual. This means it can't be faked in the same way that a normal written signature can be.

One benefit of such a system is it can be integrated into existing digital signature systems (such as those in retailers) and most people are happy to sign for something. But people do tend to change their signature over time, which can make it harder to get a match.

Twins

Identical twins aren't entirely identical.

Identical twins share some biometrics - such as DNA - but don't share fingerprints or irises or behavioural biometrics such as voice, gait or keyboard dynamics.

Universality

One problem with the widespread use of biometrics is that there are few biometrics - apart from DNA - that everyone has.

This becomes more of a problem when enrolling large populations into such a system. Given a large enough group there will always be people missing fingerprints, irises or other biometrics.

Many large-scale biometric programmes will therefore use more than one biometric, such as fingerprint and face, in order to ensure everyone can be enrolled.

Voice verification

Voice recognition systems measure the unique way that each individual speaks.

One of the major benefits of using this technology is that there is no need to add new hardware - users simply speak into their phones and the recognition is dealt with at the other end or in the network by software. Earlier this year, for example, Banco Santander said it will use a voice verification system to allow staff to reset passwords.

But bad phone lines and background noise can make it hard for a system to verify an identity. With some systems there is also the danger that recorded voices can be used to trick the software - although this can be avoided by asking the person to repeat a random phrase.

Walk

Researchers are looking at how differences in muscles, bones and body mass can give people different walking styles which can be used to identify them.

For example a team at the University of Southampton is working on an automatic gait recognition project which could help recognise people at a distance - for example running from the scene of a crime.

X-ray

US researchers have worked on the development of an automated dental identification system for the FBI.

This would held to identify missing or wanted persons based on X-rays of their teeth.

Young

It's not just adults who are having their biometrics recorded.

A secondary school in Berkshire is set to trial biometric fingerprint scanning technology to keep track of pupils entering and leaving its premises and cut truancy rates.

And earlier this year it was revealed that more than 24,000 children aged between 10 and 18 have had their DNA added to the government DNA database, despite never being cautioned or charged for any offence.

And then there are the issues of certain biometrics changing as children grow up.

Zurich Airport

This was the site of a fingerprint and facial recognition trial running for four months up to April last year.

The Secure Check project ran with Swiss International Airlines and covered the check-in, document control and boarding processes. As part of the project 1,400 passengers booked on the same outbound flight volunteered to participate in the trial phase and were successfully enrolled with their biometrics. According to the company that ran the project, feedback from participants and staff was very positive.

Editorial standards

Show Comments

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 with an Atlantic Blue Nomad Rugged Band.

The A to Z of biometrics

Related

6 reasons to buy an Apple Watch, according to a wearables expert

Linus Torvalds takes on evil developers, hardware errors and 'hilarious' AI hype

The best AI image generators to try right now