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Biometrics could be about to cast off its space-age image and become an increasingly important security tool in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the US.
Companies involved in biometrics, which is the science of measuring physical characteristics such as a fingerprint or an iris pattern to recognise a person, have seen interest in their products increase markedly since the suicide bombings.
In fact the IBIA (International Biometric Industry Association) released a statement following the attacks, saying that while the technology may not have been able to stop such a coordinated assault from taking place in its current state of development, there remain prospects for the future. "It would be equally inaccurate to underestimate the pivotal role biometrics will most certainly play in the construction of an effective international security program," the organisation said.
According to Richard Norton, executive director of the association, IBIA has had to revise its projections for industry sales this year. Sales were expected to increase to USD170 million in 2001 from USD21million in 1996. In an interview with Bloomberg he said the group would be looking at those figures again because of the interest from government agencies and businesses in the sector since the attacks.
One company that has already seen calls from clients and prospective customers jump in the last two weeks is EyeTicket. The US company provides electronic devices that scan eyes and then determines whether the person is who they say they are.
Its main product, EyePass, has been on trial in Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in North Carolina for over a year and such was its success that the US Senate and House of Representatives voted in June to give the airport USD2.75 million to complete its installation.
EyePass works by scanning an employee's iris and comparing it with a picture of the iris stored in a computer. If they match, the person can enter two restricted areas they are allowed access to. EyeTicket said that it has had a 100 percent accuracy rate and there have been no security breaches. The company also added that its products could not be by-passed by using contact lenses or a detached eyeball.
Iris recognition technology works by identifying people by the unique patterns of the iris -- the coloured ring around the pupil of the eye. Iris recognition technology examines more than 240 degrees of freedom in the human iris to create the patented "IrisCode" record, a 512-byte data template used to identify individuals and authenticate user privileges. According to EyeTicket, iris recognition technology is the most accurate, scalable, stable, fast and non-invasive biometric technology in the world.
However, whether iris recognition becomes the main use of biometrics for security purposes remains to be seen. According to Cahners In-Stat Group, while eye scanning is being used in more mainstream applications such as ATMs, facial scanning may usurp it.
"From a consumer standpoint, facial scan is viewed as less intrusive; as a result, facial scan will be the preferred technology," said Marlene Bourne, senior analyst for In-Stat's Emerging Semiconductor Applications Service.
Iceland Airport has already announced that it will be among the first airports in the world to using face scanning technology to screen passengers. Face scanning works by identifying the 80 so-called landmarks on the human face, including the bridge and tip of the nose as well as the size of the mouth and eyes. Furthermore, the technology can identify a face with only 20 of those characteristics, making fake beards and wigs ineffective disguises.
For more information visit http://www.ibia.org/ or http://www.eyeticket.com/
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