Iris Scanning Technology: Coming Of Age

[FlameX 0]

THIS MAY SOUND incredible but the way technology is growing this will shortly be possible. Research by Sammy Phang, Queensland University of Technologys Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering scholar, helps overcome one of the final obstacles to application of iris scanning technology to unlock our homes, access bank accounts and log on to our computers. Of all the biometric technologies used for human authentication today, iris recognition is thought to be the most accurate. Iris is an externally visible coloured ring around the pupil of every human eye and is absolutely unique. It exhibits a distinctive pattern and the chance of two irides or irises (plural of iris) being identical is estimated at 1 in 1078.
The patterns in the human iris are defined when the individual is about a year old and remains constant (barring trauma, certain rare diseases or change that may occasionally ensue from some ophthalmologic / surgical procedures.) This means that once a subject is enrolled, the need to re-enrol is lower compared to other biometric identification options, where changes in voice timbre, weight, hairstyle, finger or hand size, etc, necessitate such re-enrolment.

By using iris recognition it is possible to confirm the identity of a person based on who the person is rather than what the person possesses, such as ID card or password. It is already being used around the world and it is possible that within the next 10 to 20 years it will be part of our everyday life.

Sammy Phang in her media interaction said although iris recognition systems were being used in a number of civilian applications, it was not yet perfect. "Changes in lighting conditions change a persons pupil size and distort the iris pattern," she said. "If the pupil size is very different, the distortion of the iris pat-tern can be significant, and makes it hard for the iris recognition system to work properly." To overcome this flaw, Sammy Phang has developed a technology to estimate the effect of the change in the iris pattern as a result of changes in surrounding lighting conditions. "It is possible for a pupil to change in size from 0.8 mm to 8 mm, depending on lighting conditions," she said. By using a high-speed camera which could capture up to 1,200 images per second, it was possible to track the iris surfaces movement to study how the iris pattern changed depending on the variation of pupil sizes caused by the light. Tests conducted using iris images showed it was possible to estimate the change on the surface of the iris and account for the way the iris features changed due to different lighting conditions. By using iris recognition it is possible to confirm the identity of a person based on who the person is rather than what the person possesses, such as ID card or password.

Edited January 12, 2008 by FlameX (see edit history)

[hitmanblood 0]

Yes this technology is nice and usuful and quite safe (unless someone pokes your eye out ). However the thing is that usage of the technology and its applications are expensive meaning that you have to invest a lot of money for the equipment and the following technical changes to the buildings then computer power databases and everything else also important thing to note is to consider the people like technical personal. And since it invloves today large expenises it is ought to be implemented only for small and rellayy secure parts of the buidlings like some offices and some labaratories where people ought to be accessed by not so much personal.

[ironchicken 0]

I remember on my visit to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, they used iris scanners to confirm my identity.

[suberatu 0]

This is pretty cool. It's like something right out of a science fiction movie. One can only hope that it doesn't pave the way for an apocalyptic age of totalitarian rule and loss of civil liberties.But in all seriousness, I am curious as to when such scanners will start appearing en masse across the world, or at least the major first-world countries that can afford them.

[FLaKes 0]

I like the thumb scan better, I really dont like to have access to something by having something scan my eyes. Although the thumb scan could also be dangerous, Imagine if someone cuts it to have access to somewhere :S

[csp4.0 1]

The iris scanner can and might be used as a 'assassination device' all the assailant has to do is change the scanner so that the laser can actually burn-out someone's eye. It would be a fun feature to have though. What's next DNA scanner?

[mbafactory 0]

IRIS technology is an application of Biometric Identification techniques. It has started taking its share from the security devices to protect offices. Though homes and application in other verticals is still not that much penetrated it is taking critical share of this market.. But the cost factor currently is high so it is not so widely used.

[sheepdog 10]

At the risk of sounding stupid, (which by now I'm sure ya'll know is probably the case anyway) what is is exactly that scans the iris? It would seem to me to be an easy way to damage one's eyes, even if it is just light, that close and that intense I can't see it being particularly safe, and as someone else mentioned, even if it was safe it could be tampered with to actually hurt someone. Even if it doesn't appear to be dangerous now, we always discover 10 or 20 years down the road that it may cause cancer or something to that effect after the technoligy has been around and in common use for some time.

[Nameless_ 1]

At the risk of sounding stupid, (which by now I'm sure ya'll know is probably the case anyway) what is is exactly that scans the iris? It would seem to me to be an easy way to damage one's eyes, even if it is just light, that close and that intense I can't see it being particularly safe, and as someone else mentioned, even if it was safe it could be tampered with to actually hurt someone.
Even if it doesn't appear to be dangerous now, we always discover 10 or 20 years down the road that it may cause cancer or something to that effect after the technoligy has been around and in common use for some time.

Well, iris recognition (or scanning, as it is known in this thread) is a method of biometric authentication... and that means that it uses pattern-recognition techniques based on high-resolution images to recognise the ridges and the deep places of the eye. Like, you know, the eye isn't completely smooth, it has it's ups and downs and bumps and dents, and they use this to identify you, as everyone's eye shape is very unique, just like you finger print.

It is actually, quite suprising to me, different from the less prevalent, retina scanning, as iris recognition uses camera technology, and it also uses a infrared illumination thing to reduce reflection from the outer coating of your iris and your eye to create images of the high resolution, intricate structures of the bumps and dents of your iris. Then it is then converted into digital templates (computer things like the 00101 things that a computer uses, bits, they're called), and these images give mathematical representations of the iris that will identify you as each iris is unique and different.

Iris recognition is rarely influenced and changed by glasses or contact lenses, so people that wear glasses can also wear it too!!! Yay!!!
I actually think that an advantage of iris recognition is its stability, or and its ability to be used many many times and a single enrollment can last a lifetime.