Biometric Systems for Access Control: Fingerprint, Hand Geometry, and Iris Recognition

(a) Research into the different types of biometric systems which are currently
available for access control systems. Briefly describe the techniques and
technologies used for each type and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
the three types below. Give an example application when each type could be
used:
• Fingerprint
• Hand Geometry
• Iris Recognition
Fingerprint- Fingerprint scanners are fingerprint recognition devices used or computer security. The
fingerprint scanner is very safe & convenient device for the security. Fingerprint scanners provide
identification, verification and authentication function that let users fingerprints acts like the digital
passwords which cannot be stolen, lost or forgotten. It is the type of biometric technology which
utilizes the mixture of software & hardware techniques to recognize the fingerprint scans of the user
(Wilson, 2018). For eg. Mobile phones and computer.
Figure 1: Fingerprint recognition
Source (Ashtopustech)
Advantages of fingerprint recognition:
 Improved security.
 Easy to use.
 It has very high accuracy.
 Improved consumer experience.
 Reduced operational cost.
 Cannot be lost or forgotten.
 The only authorized user can access the system.
 It is always unique & can never be similar for two users.
 It employs ergonomic & easy to use the device.
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Disadvantages of fingerprint recognition:
 The system is not 100% accurate.
 It is not possible to reset once compromised.
 It requires additional & integration hardware.
 Environment & usage can affect measurement (Esguerra, 2016).
Hand geometry- Hand geometry is a type of biometric recognition technique which identifies the
users by their hands’ shape. Hand geometry recognition technique measure users hand dimensions &
compare those dimensions or measurements with the measurements which are stored in the file. This
device uses an easy method to record and measure the length, thickness, width or surface area of
user’s hand.
Advantages of using hand geometry-
 Simple, inexpensive and easy to use.
 Less intrusive than retinal, fingerprints.
 Easy to collect hand geometry data.
 It has low computational cost.
 Hand geometry biometric is able to operate in the challenging environment.
 Hand geometry is a reliable, established core technology.
 Hand geometry is based on stable physiological characteristics (Schmitthammer, 2015).
Disadvantages of using hand geometry-
 Considerable size.
 Very expensive.
 Hand geometry recognition is not unique & cannot use in an identification system.
 The data size is very large for hand geometry recognition.
 Hand geometry has limited accuracy.
Iris recognition- It is the very reliable technique of biometric identification among all the biometric
techniques such as facial, palm vein and fingerprint. Iris recognition used mathematical recognition
technique on the video image for identification. Iris recognition technology is based on the distortion-
free & high-resolution image of irises of the human eye. For eg., Many countries use iris recognition
technology at their borders. These include the Jordan or UAE.
Figure 2: Block diagram of Iris recognition
Source (Research gate)
Advantages of using Iris recognition-
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 Accuracy- Iris recognition is the best biometric technology in terms of the accuracy. The
false rejection & false acceptance rate is low in this technology.
 Scalability-Iris recognition technology is very highly scalable & used in both small and
large-scale programs.
 Distance- It can be easily done from a normal distance.
 Easy to use- This system is play & plug compared to other techniques of biometric
recognition. It is a very comfortable process for users.
 Fast- Iris recognition is very fast biometric recognition technology user can easily
complete within a few seconds.
 Randomness- The degree of randomness is very high in iris recognition system which
makes the iris system unique.
 Traceable- The decision making and encoding of the iris recognition system are highly
traceable. It takes 30 milliseconds to analysis the image & the subsequent encoding.
 Iris recognition is capable of reliable identification as well as verification.
 Iris recognition maintains the stability of characteristics.
Disadvantages of using Iris recognition-
 Iris recognition has an inclination for the false rejection.
 Acquisition of the image requires moderate training and attentiveness.
 It requires a lot of memory to store the data (Thakkar, 2018).
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