By the ASSA ABLOY ITG Research Division

ITG Research, the research division of ITG, monitors advances in biometric technology and evaluates its suitability for access control products.  In 2002 ITG Research conducted a thorough study of fingerprint identification technology and technology suppliers to support the development of HID’s BioClass cards and readers, which launched in late 2004.  The study has been updated since and includes a review of fingerprint sensor and template generation techniques.  This article includes a technology review but the detailed product comparison has been left out as product specifications can quickly become obsolete.

Adding biometric identification to an access control system significantly improves security by validating that a security badge is presented by its rightful holder. But to add value the biometric identification system must provide the security in a way that is easy to use and cost effective. Other important factors are durability, consistency, maintainability, and potential for use in other applications.

Among biometric techniques, fingerprint recognition systems are comparatively mature and inexpensive. These systems don’t come in one-size-fits-all packaging so this review was aimed at identifying the benefits of various technologies to determine how to optimize a system for security, convince, and price. System requirements are driven by the implementation of the access control application. So the first step is to define the process for enrolling and operating the access control system.

Read more on the following pages:

Page 1 - Templates
Page 2 - Fingerprint Biometric Suppliers
Page 3 - Sensor Review
Page 4 - Algorithm Review

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