Methods of Use

What is Biometric Authentication?

Authentication is also referred to as Verification. This is where a one-to-one match is used. Very similar to checking a person’s photo to verify who they are.

Biometric Authentication confirms that the person is who they say they are. Authentication compares a newly captured biometric sample against a previously stored biometric sample stored for that individual to see if they match. At the start of the verification process the user enters the code to pre-select their original template from the database. The answer returned is either “YES” or “NO”.

What is Biometric Identification?

Identification is also referred to as one-to-many matching or 1:N. This is like checking a whole series of photos in order to find a match.

Biometric Identification distinguishes an individual from a database of possible candidates based solely on the biometric information provided. The matching process works in phases. The 1st pass eliminates 85% of the database, the 2nd pass eliminates a further 12% and a final pass is conducted on the remaining 3% to provide a final match. The answer is displayed as a percentage.

Finger, face and iris biometrics are currently the only methods capable of performing one-to-many matching. They’re also suitable for one-to-one matching.

Identification vs. Authentication

Image Quality

Biometric Authentication

The image quality used to create the template does not need to be very stringent for the one-to-one scenario. It is quite easy to create a template with a 0.00001% false acceptance ratio using a low-resolution scanner.

Biometric Identification

The template must be very detailed for the one-to-many process to be effective. Therefore a much higher quality scanner is required to capture more information.
These scanners are much more expensive than authentication scanners. Additional equipment is also required to deliver a complete solution. The total cost for an effective one-to-many system can reach into six figures. This level of investment is needed to ensure accuracy and high speed.

Processing Speed

Biometric Authentication

In a one-to-one match the typical time to verify one template against another is about 1 second. The comparison is normally done in the device itself.

Biometric Identification

One-to-many matching is normally completed by a PC or server attached to the scanner. A special search engine using advanced algorithms is needed for one-to-many identification. These search engines employ very sophisticated techniques to enable the search and comparison to be done quickly and accurately. The hardware and software required for one-to-many identification makes it far more expensive than authentication.

The PeopleKey engine will locate a single user from 150,000 others within 1 second using a Pentium PC.

(Note: It is not practical to use the one-to-one method of capturing and searching for identification because a database of 1000 templates would take several minutes to search each template and find a match. A special search engine using advanced algorithms is needed.)

Typical Applications

Biometric Authentication

Authentication devices are generally used for Time and Attendance and Access Control. Authentication devices are also available as logon devices for PC security.

Biometric Identification

One-to-many systems are generally used by Government agencies, where checking against a large number of enrolees is required. Its most recognised use is for law enforcement. It is also proving useful for social welfare payments, drivers licence identification and even border control.