A Fingerprint Update
Well, needless I say, just last week, I wrote a series of Postings on some of the latest, technological developments with regards to Fingerprint Recognition. So guess what today’s Posting is about??? Yep, another technological breakthrough, or at least supposedly. The problem tackled has to do with 3 D imaging, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences has found a solution.
Here are the details: “A traditional problem with high resolution 3d imaging is interference from the optical colour and texture information from the object being imaged. MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences have now created a highly functional, portable high resolution 3d imaging system called GelSight which bypasses this difficulty entirely. GelSight utilizes a slab of transparent, synthetic rubber, the top side of which is coated with a paint containing tiny flecks of metal. When pressed against the surface of an object, the paint-coated side of the slab deforms. 3 lights, one red, one blue, and one green, are positioned underneath in a triangular configuration so that the cameras on the device capture what looks to be a "normal map", a map that shows the surface normals of the object instead of simply mapping depth. A standard greyscale depth map would require much higher resolution to capture the same 3d information. Computer vision algorythms are then used to decode the 3d data, which can be displayed as a 3d mesh, rotated, scaled or otherwise transformed in a 3d environment.” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/articles/i/9167/).
My Take
I have to admit, that the above is pretty much tech geek talk, so I leave it up to my subscribers who have such a mindset to decipher all of the above quote. But, what I am most interested in is what implications this has for the Biometrics Industry, and there are some rather significant ones, from what I can see. First, it seems like that this could even provide a much thorough reading and subsequent fingerprint sample than multispectral imaging, of which I just wrote about a few days ago. Even thought Fingerprint Recognition is a very modern technology, it still has some inherent weaknesses to it (just like anything else).
Who knows, this could address and mitigate most of these weaknesses. Second, it can also measure a human pulse. Pretty much all of the Biometric Systems today require a live sample in order to create the enrollment and verification templates. This answers the age old question if you can rip somebody’s eye out or cut off their finger and use it in a Biometric device: No, it will not work. This is probably one of the few times where I have come across a possible solution in which a live pulse can be taken. I know that there has been some research and development done into using an actual pulse as a potential Biometric Technology. Where this work has gone so far I have no idea, but this could very well be an extra asset to Fingerprint Recognition.
For example, along with taking the image of the fingerprint, the pulse can be recorded as well, making it an add on to the fingerprint, and providing an extra layer of uniqueness. Although this sounds great in theory, the reality of it though, may be a long time out. The pulse of every person is perhaps unique, but it can vary and fluctuate greatly, depending of course, on the environmental conditions present. A person’s pulse rate can escalate greatly, especially, if that person is anxious or nervous about using a Biometric device. In this regard, the statistical profiling will stray far away from what is considered to be a normal pulse, thus making it an ineffective Biometric template.
Third, this solution, as described in this Posting, is portable and the images can be constructed in real time. And in the world of Biometrics, timing and speed is what can make or break the market potential of a particular device. Finally, although these are strong advantages and benefits, I still think there is a long time to go for this solution until it rapidly hits the market place. There is already string interested garnered in it, from an aerospace company, and forensics experts from within the various law enforcement agencies. Heck, there even could be an interest in this in the Financial sector, as also supposedly, this solution can also be used to detect counterfeit currency. Well, in the end, only time will tell if this solution goes from “supposedly” to “reality”, in my humble opinion.
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