The Eyes Have It What is Iris Recognition? - Imageware

Iris recognition is a biometric modality that compares the unique characteristics and patterns of the colored part of the eye to verify and authenticate an ... Solutions ExploreOurSolutions BiometricAuthenticationandAccess Credentialing Cybersecurity IdentityVerificationandProofing AccessControl TheFutureofIdentity ByIndustry AirportsandSeaports Education Financial Government Healthcare LawEnforcement Products ImagewareAuthenticate ImagewareBiometricEngine® ImagewareCapture ImagewareCredential ImagewareDigitalID ImagewareIdentify ImagewareProof Resources Videos Webinars Blogs Support ContactSupport EPISuite/BuilderHardwareCompatibility LawEnforcementTechnicalSupport EPIBuilderTechnicalSupport EPISuiteTechnicalSupport EPIDownloads ImagewareAuthenticateTechnicalSupport Company About Leadership InvestorRelations Careers BecomeaPartner IntellectualProperty Events Press SpeaktoanExpert TryAuthenticate Blogs TheEyesHaveItWhatisIrisRecognition? Share Irisrecognitionisabiometricmodalitythatcomparestheuniquecharacteristicsandpatternsofthecoloredpartoftheeyetoverifyandauthenticateanindividual’sidentity.Similartofingerprintmatching,irisrecognitionismoreaccurateanddoesn’trequirephysicalcontact,offeringmoreusecases,includingtheabilitytooperateatfurtherdistancesthanfingerprintsorpalmprints. Usinganalgorithm,systemsuseautomatedmathematicalpatternrecognitiontoverifytheidentityofanindividualbasedononeorbotheyes.Theirisiscomplex,unique,andstable,meaningitdoesn’tchangewithagethewaythefaceorevenfingerprintscan. Biometrictechnologyreliesontheabilitytoencodetheuniquenessofindividualsthatcanthenbeusedformatching.Irisrecognitionissuperiortomostothermodalitiesduetotheirinherentqualityofuniqueness,resultinginhighlyaccuratematchingwithalmostnofalsepositives.Evenamongidenticaltwins,whosefacesmaynotbeuniqueenoughtodistinguishusingfacialrecognition,irisesprovideindividualpatternsthatareeasilydistinguishable. Upuntilnow,irisrecognitionhasbeenlessadoptedthanfingerprintrecognitionorface,butduetoitsexceptionalaccuracyrate,wecanexpectittocontinuetogrowinpopularity,particularlybygovernments.Infact,it’sbecomingincreasinglymorecommonforimmigrationcontrolaroundtheworld. HowDoesIrisRecognitionWork? Irisrecognitionworksbycapturinganimageandencodingtheuniqueproperties(approximately240featuresperiris)tocreateabiometrictemplateforsearchingandmatching.Unlikefacialrecognition,though,irisrecognitionrequiresaspecializeddigitalcamerathatusesinvisibleinfraredlighttocaptureahigh-contrastimageoftheiris,pickinguptheuniquepatternsthatareimperceptibletotheunaidedeye.Thesecamerascanbehandheldormountedforabroadrangeofusecases. HowDoesIrisRecognitionComparetoOtherModalities? Irisrecognitionisextremelyreliableandhighlyaccurate,makingitthemethodofchoiceforlawenforcementandbordercontrol.However,duetoitsrequirementsforspecifichardware,unlikeothermodalities,suchasfaceandvoicerecognition,it’smuchlesscommonlydeployedforconsumer-facingusecases.Likemosttechnology,though,advancesintheindustryaremakingitmoreaffordableandaccessibletoconsumersviamobiledevices,suchasSamsung’sGalaxyNote7. Fingerprints Comparedtofingerprints,irisrecognitionismorestable,astheirisdoesn’twearawaythesamewayafingerprintcanovertime,particularlyifyouhaveahobbyorjobthatcausesfrictiontothefingertips,suchassurfing.However,usingfingerprintsasatoolforidentifyingindividualsisbroadlyacceptedbymostofthepublic,whereasothermodalities,particularlytouchlessforms,liketheiris,canbeaharderselltoprivacyadvocates. Face Similartoirisrecognition,facialrecognitiondoesn’trequirephysicalcontact.Butitdoesn’thavenearlytheaccuracyofirisrecognition.Abetterapplicationforfacialrecognitionistheabilitytoexcludeindividualsfromasearchtoreducethepoolofpotentialhits,makingitagoodcandidateformulti-modalsolutions.Whensearchinglargepopulations,reducingthepoolofpotentialsuspectsbyeliminatingcertainindividualsfirst,thenrunningbiometricmatchingontheremainingindividualsgreatlyspeedsuptheprocess,whentimingiscritical.Thisisidealforlivemonitoringoflargecrowdsagainstawatchlist. ProsofIrisRecognition SpeedandAccuracy Onceenrolled,irisrecognitionisoneofthefastestbiometricmatchingmodalitiesonthemarket,withtheabilitytohandleverylargepopulationswithspeed.Itisalsooneofthemostaccuratewithoneofthelowestratesoffalseacceptanceandfalserejectionrates.Thefalserejectionrateisafractionoffingerprintsandthefalseacceptancerateishalfwhatfingerprintsare. NearlyImpossibletoForge Irisrecognitionisnearlyimpossibletoforgeorspoofwithcurrenttechnology.Thismodalityiswidelydeployedaroundtheworldwithnoreportsofbreachesbyplacesusingirisrecognitionforsecuritypurposes.Duetotheaccuracyofirisrecognition,thethresholdcanbesetverylow,protectingagainstpotentialfraud. Stability Theirisdoesn’tdegradewithageandiswell-protectedbytheeyelid,cornea,andaqueoushumor,makingchangesasaresultofinjurymuchlesscommonthanothermodalities. Flexibility Becausethecamerasuseinfraredlight,irisscannerscanbeusedinnearlyanysetting,includinginthedark. Contactless Irisrecognitiondoesn’trequirephysicalcontactwiththesensorforscanning,makingitmorehygienicandlessintrusivethanfingerprintsandothertouchbiometrics. ConsofIrisRecognition Cost Atcurrentmarketrates,irisscannersaremoreexpensivethanotherbiometricdevices,makingirisrecognitioncost-prohibitiveformany.Butastechnologyadvancesandnewmanufacturerscomeonthemarket,pricescouldcomedown. CaptureQuality Althoughirisrecognitionisoneofthemostaccurateformsofbiometricidentification,thereareissuesthatwillimpactthequalityofthescan,includingmovementonthepartoftheindividual,reflection,particularlywithglassesandcontactlenses,anddistancetotheindividual.Allofthesecanbeovercome,buttheyareafactorwhenmakingyourbiometricmodalitychoices. PublicAcceptance Thebiggestchallengeispublicacceptanceofirisrecognitionduetoprivacyconcerns.Aswithanybiometricmodality,thisisanobjectionthatwillneedtobeovercomethrougheducationandpoliciesregardingacquiringandstoringsuchpersonaldata. WhereistheIrisRecognitionMarketGoing? Contactlessscanningisthefutureofbiometrics,withirisrecognitionpoisedtotaketheleadrole.Butgettingthepublictoembracebiometricsisthebiggesthurdlefacingtheindustry,followedcloselybythecostsofthescanninghardware.Bothcanbeovercomewithtimeandtherightapproach.Butevenwiththesechallenges,irisrecognitionisgrowinginadoptionbygovernmentagencieswithenterpriseslikelytofollow.Infact,theFBIhasrecentlyaddedirisrecognitiontotheNextGenerationIdentification(NGI)initiative,thelargestrepositoryofbiometricandcriminalinformationintheworld,andisencouraginglocallawenforcementagenciestoadoptthemodalityaswell. Imageware’sApproachtoIrisRecognition Imagewaretakesthesameapproachtoirisrecognitionaswedotootherbiometricmodalities.Wemaintainavendor-neutralphilosophywhenitcomestohardwareandalgorithmsusingonlythetopNIST-ratedalgorithms.Ourbiometricsolutionscansupportanyirisscannerdeviceandanyvendor’salgorithm,includinghardwareandalgorithmsfromdifferentvendors,andseamlesslyintegratethem.Thisprovidesourcustomerswithacustomsolutionatacommercial-off-the-shelf(COTS)price. NextSteps [email protected],toscheduleademo,ortodiscusshowwecanhelpyouimplementanirisrecognitionsolution.