Types of Biometric Identification

• November 13th, 2006 | Security, Privacy, Identification, Biometrics

With so many countries adopting more secure identification documentation for citizens, technology is playing a very important role in id cards. So is biometrics. In a nutshell, biometrics is the study of uniquely identifying humans by measurable characteristics. This includes the measurement (metrics) of any of the following:

• thumb or fingerprint
• palm vein patterns
• voice
• iris/ retina
• facial recognition
• dna

For biometric solutions to be optimum, there has to be a balance of technical, financial, and privacy factors:

• Achieving a sufficiently high unique metric. That is, can a particular metric be considered unique amongst all humans, or at least unique enough for a specific application?
• Achieving maximum verification speed. That is, optimum speed in scanning the live subject to get a biometric, then comparing it to stored metrics, and determining whether there is a sufficiently positive match.
• Minimum electronic outlay. Biometric id is often as small as a credit card-sized object. The amount of circuit and electronic memory space is limited. An optimum solution has to use the space efficiently
• Minimum cost. DNA scanning, for example, is infeasible for practical biometric id applications. It simple takes to long and is too costly. Iris scanning is also costly in comparison to voice or fingerprint recognition. The latter two require the least amount of memory to store metrics, compared to other biometrics.

To the above technical and financial factors, a truly consumer-friendly solution uses a biometric solution that is the least invasive. How can that be defined? Everyone has a different opinion. The easiest criteria is to consider consumer perception. For example, the general public is used to their voice being recorded. There is very little negative connotation with this biometric. Fingerprints are associated with being arrested. Palm vein and retinal scans may make people feel like they’re in a science fiction movie. The same is probably true with facial scans. DNA scans are often associated with a paternity suit.

I don’t think I’m getting too offbase here. Biometrics are a relatively new method of identifying people, and some methods will be considered more invasive than others because of their social connotations. Keep in mind that even to this day, there are tribes in the world who feel that their souls will be stolen if their photograph is taken. With out consciously realizing it, I think that many people feel something that belongs to them is being taken from them if they have to use certain types of biometric identification. Couple that with the fact that biometrics are being used in identification in tandem with RFID, a technology that has had some bad publicity.

So if consumers actually get a choice, some forms of biometrics will be less popular than others. It remains to be seen what types gain wide consumer use, either by choice or by force/ intimidation/ lack of choice.