Iris-recognition system is new key to ATMs

Feb. 1, 1998
Automated teller machines (ATMs) in England will be the first place to look for a commercial test of a human-iris-recognition system. The system, IrisIdent, was developed by Sensar (Moorestown, NJ) and formally unveiled on Dec. 3, 1997, at the Banking Administration Institute`s annual conference in New Orleans, LA.

Iris-recognition system is new key to ATMs

Automated teller machines (ATMs) in England will be the first place to look for a commercial test of a human-iris-recognition system. The system, IrisIdent, was developed by Sensar (Moorestown, NJ) and formally unveiled on Dec. 3, 1997, at the Banking Administration Institute`s annual conference in New Orleans, LA.

To use the system, a customer stands one to three feet from a wide-angle charge-coupled-device (CCD) video camera that captures a frontal view and determines the position of the eye. Then, a narrow-view CCD video camera focuses on the eye and captures a black-and-white digital image. A circular grid pattern is overlaid on the picture of the eye, and the system analyzes how light and dark areas of the iris fall inside the grid. Lighting is supplied by a bank of 880-nm light-emitting diodes with an illumination power on the skin or iris of less than 2 mW/cm2--well below safety limits. From the analysis of light and dark areas in the iris, the system generates a 256-byte barcode that is checked against a database of customer barcodes. The entire process takes approximately two seconds.

"Individual iris patterns are more specific than genetic code. A person`s left and right irises are statistically independent from each other--and from the rest of the world," says Michael Negin, Sensar`s vice president and chief technical officer. There are 250 features unique to each person`s iris compared to approximately 40 for fingerprints.

The iris-recognition system software process technology was invented by John Daugman at Cambridge University (Cambridge, England). Relevant patents are controlled by IriScan Inc. (Mt. Laurel, NJ) and licensed to Sensar. The vision system technology was developed by Sarnoff Laboratories (Princeton, NJ), of which Sensar is a spin-off.

Negin says that in February two pilot tests will begin at branches of the NationWide Building Society in England. Each site may see two systems installed at ATMs, two at teller stations, one at an enrollment station, and one at a high-security vault access area. Full sales are expected to begin in 1999, when smaller versions of the system will be available for integration into ATMs. There are more than 700,000 ATMs in world, with 130,000 more added each year.

W. Conard Holton

Sponsored Recommendations

High-speed cameras offer UV-extended capability

Nov. 25, 2023
The Phantom T3610, T2410, and TMX high-speed cameras (TMX 7510/6410/5010) are available in a UV variant.

Linear voice coil motors offer peak force of 2.20 N

Nov. 24, 2023
The LVCM-013-032-02M and LVCM-013-032-02 are 12.7 mm diameter linear voice coil motors.

Image sensor has use in home and professional security

Nov. 23, 2023
The OS08C10 image sensor features both staggered high dynamic range (HDR) and single exposure dual analog gain (DAG).

Image sensor has use in home and professional security

Nov. 23, 2023
The OS08C10 image sensor features both staggered high dynamic range (HDR) and single exposure dual analog gain (DAG).

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Laser Focus World, create an account today!