29-06-2010, 12:56 PM
ABSTRACT
We come across many situations in our day-to-day life where personal identification becomes very important. At such times we are reminded of passwords, smart cards or any such identification tokens. But all these have something in common; they can all be easily faked. All these identification methods we know have shortcomings as they are things we possess or know. So why not go for some unique physiological or behavioral trait present in us which can neither be duplicated or faked in any manner? This is where biometrics comes into picture. As with almost every new technology that seeks to find its place in everyday life, iris recognition has both the potential to be a convenience enhancer (including an access enhancer), but also the potential to be an obstacle or excluder if improperly configured or installed without consultation and guidance from disabled persons. Because it allows hands-free, automatic, rapid and reliable identification of persons, it can facilitate access for persons unable to engage in the standard mechanical transactions of access.
Humans have traditionally identified each other by their appearance, by the sound and content of their speech, and by context. If the other person is neither visible nor audible, e.g. when receiving their email, we either simply accept their asserted identity, allow it to establish itself by shared knowledge and context, or rely on special secret knowledge such as encryption keys. Identification amongst strangers in official interactions, such as immigration passport control or financial transactions, has traditionally relied upon special possessions (documents such as passports and identity cards), or secrets (e.g. passwords).
We come across many situations in our day-to-day life where personal identification becomes very important. At such times we are reminded of passwords, smart cards or any such identification tokens. But all these have something in common; they can all be easily faked. All these identification methods we know have shortcomings as they are things we possess or know. So why not go for some unique physiological or behavioral trait present in us which can neither be duplicated or faked in any manner? This is where biometrics comes into picture. As with almost every new technology that seeks to find its place in everyday life, iris recognition has both the potential to be a convenience enhancer (including an access enhancer), but also the potential to be an obstacle or excluder if improperly configured or installed without consultation and guidance from disabled persons. Because it allows hands-free, automatic, rapid and reliable identification of persons, it can facilitate access for persons unable to engage in the standard mechanical transactions of access.
Humans have traditionally identified each other by their appearance, by the sound and content of their speech, and by context. If the other person is neither visible nor audible, e.g. when receiving their email, we either simply accept their asserted identity, allow it to establish itself by shared knowledge and context, or rely on special secret knowledge such as encryption keys. Identification amongst strangers in official interactions, such as immigration passport control or financial transactions, has traditionally relied upon special possessions (documents such as passports and identity cards), or secrets (e.g. passwords).
