Palm/finger vein recognition is a biometric security measure used to authenticate a person’s identity by analyzing the number and position of the veins in his or her hands or fingers, and the points at which they intersect. The technology was first conceived in 1984 by Joseph Rice, who built the first device using LEDS and photo diodes.
The way the technology works is that infrared light scans the wrist, finger, palm, or back of a subject’s hand. The veins absorb the rays, so that they appear black while the rest of the hand appears grey or white. The image, which delineates the position of the subject’s veins, is recorded, digitized, and stored in an encrypted form as a template in a database. When the need arises, the vein patterns of a subject are compared to the stored templates in under 200 milliseconds, and the person’s identity is either authenticated or rejected by the system.
The pattern of veins is unique to every individual — as unique as a fingerprint or iris. It even differs between identical twins. Although the veins do get larger as the individual grows, the position and number of the veins does not change from infancy. Given that the vein structure is under the skin, thus invisible to the naked eye, and is so complex, it is extremely difficult to spoof the system.
This technology can be used for such applications as physical access control, time and attendance, and is being widely deployed for logical access at ATMs. It is being deployed by several Japanese banks, the University of Tokyo Hospital, the Chiba Institute of Technology, and is beginning to emerge in regions outside of Japan, where the broadest initial acceptance of the technology has taken hold. Standards for the use of the technology are under development.
Introduction
Finger vein recognition is a method of biometric authentication that uses pattern-recognition techniques based on images of human finger vein patterns beneath the skin's surface. Finger vein recognition is one of many forms of biometrics used to identify individuals and verify their identity.
Finger Vein ID is a biometric authentication system that matches the vascular pattern in an individual's finger to previously obtained data. Hitachi developed and patented a finger vein ID system in 2005. The technology is currently in use or development for a wide variety of applications, including credit card authentication, automobile security, employee time and attendance tracking, computer and network authentication, end point security and automated teller machines.
To obtain the pattern for the database record, an individual inserts a finger into an attester terminal containing a near-infrared LED (light- emitting diode) light and a monochrome CCD (charge-coupled device) camera. The hemoglobin in the blood absorbs near-infrared LED light, which makes the vein system appear as a dark pattern of lines. The camera records the image and the raw data is digitized, certified and sent to a database of registered images. For authentication purposes, the finger is scanned as before and the data is sent to the database of registered images for comparison. The authentication process takes less than two seconds.
Blood vessel patterns are unique to each individual, as are other biometric data such as fingerprints or the patterns of the iris. Unlike some biometric systems, blood vessel patterns are almost impossible to counterfeit because they are located beneath the skin's surface. Biometric systems based on fingerprints can be fooled with a dummy finger fitted with a copied fingerprint; voice and facial characteristic-based systems can be fooled by recordings and high-resolution images. The finger vein ID system is much harder to fool because it can only authenticate the finger of a living person.
Working of Finger Vein
Vein Recognition Biometrics
Biometrics, such as with vein recognition, refers to methods for recognizing individual people based on unique physical and behavioral traits. Physiological biometrics is one class of biometrics that deals with physical characteristics and attributes that are unique to individuals. Vein recognition is a type of biometrics that can be used to identify individuals based on the vein patterns in the human finger.
Vein recognition is a fairly recent technological advance in the field of biometrics. It is used in hospitals, law enforcement, military facilities and other applications that require very high levels of security. Vein recognition biometric devices can also be used for PC login, bank ATM identification verification, and many other applications such as opening car doors.
Vein recognition biometrics is a particularly impressive and promising technology because it requires only a single-chip design, meaning that the units are relatively small and cheap. The ID verification process is very fast and contact-less. Using a light-transmission technique, the structure of the vein pattern can be detected, captured and subsequently verified.
The user's vein pattern structure is image processed by the device and stored in a relevant data repository in the form of digital data. Many feel that vein recognition biometrics can produce higher accuracy rates than finger print recognition and finger vein patterns are virtually impossible to forge.
Of the many new biometric technologies such as DNA, Iris recognition, ear and body odor recognition, vein recognition, with its own unique characteristics and advantages is now emerging as one of the fastest growing technologies. Vein recognition is the newest type of biometric technology and is quickly moving from labs to widespread commercial development.
One reason that vein recognition has such great potential for explosive growth, and may one day be the leading biometric technology in the world is its potential to be applied in several unique forms. There is a wide selection of great companies that have all developed different kinds of vein recognition biometric technologies.
There are a variety of methods for vein recognition biometric technology. Some companies have developed devices that scan the vein structure pattern in the index finger, or more than one finger at a time. Others have developed vein recognition devices designed for reading the vein patterns located under the palm and at the back of the hand. The variety of devices available gives a wide selection of choices for consumers to meet different needs and demands.
Another reason for the fast emergence of vein recognition biometrics is very, very low False Rejection and False Acceptance Rates. Vein patterns are unique to each individual and they do not change over time except in size so it is hardly possible to fool the technology. Vein recognition technology has a False Rejection Rate of 0.01% and a False Acceptance Rate of 0.0001% and so it is arguably the most suitable for high-security deployment.
The potential for vein recognition biometric technologies is very promising for many reasons. Vein recognition biometric devices are often small, portable and affordable because they often use a single-chip design. It often takes less than two seconds for a vein recognition biometric device to authenticate the user, and contact is not necessary.
Other promising facts about vein recognition biometric technologies include their capability to fuse with existing biometric technologies. Vein recognition can be used along with fingerprint and hand geometric technology, provide one-to-many matching and also enhance security and decrease vulnerability for fraud.
Today vein recognition biometric technology is most commonly found in the Asia Pacific region. Due to some controversy surrounding fingerprint biometrics, vein recognition has found widespread acceptance in the Asian Pacific.
Adoption of vein recognition technologies has been highest among financial institutions and it is used commonly for ATM identity verification and PC login authentication where high security is a necessity.
No comments:
Post a Comment
leave your opinion