FINGERPRINT BIOMETRIC READERS

Fingerprint biometric readers is used in a variety of applications including door locks, smart cards, ignitions of vehicles and many more.  Once your fingerprint is captured by the scanner, the information is transferred to a digital signal processor to generate a match for your fingerprint, allowing you access or entry.

Accuracy is very important in fingerprint biometric readers. Fingerprints are a universal biometric characteristic, but not always all fingerprints can be used. Elderly people might have problems using a fingerprint scanner, as they often have faded and damaged fingerprints. According to the Scientific American website, “the elasticity of skin decreases with age, so a lot of senior citizens have prints that are difficult to capture. The ridges get thicker, the height between the top of the ridge and the bottom of the furrow gets narrow, so there’s less prominence. So if there’s any pressure at all on the fingerprint scanner, the print just tends to smear”. Individuals like manual labourers, like tillers, sometimes also struggles with fingerprint biometric systems, due to the wear and tear on their hands and fingers.

But how does a fingerprint scanner work you might ask. A fingerprint biometric reader has two jobs: to scan the fingerprint and match the ridges and valleys of the print to pre-scanned images of people allowed access. People are often misguided in thinking the whole image of your fingerprint is stored. This is incorrect; a binary code (a series of numbers) is used for verification. This algorithm cannot be reconverted a simple image, thus your fingerprint can’t be duplicate.

This biometric security system is perfect, as only you have your fingerprint. A password or a swipe security card can be lost, but you always have your fingerprint. For the scanner to get a match, it simply has to find a sufficient number of minutiae patterns that the stored print and your fingerprint have in common.

Tips for correct fingerprint scanning:

1. Place your finger on the bottom of the scanning sensor.

2. Keeping the finger in contact with the bottom part of the sensor and bend your finger at the joint and press on the centre of the sensor.

3. Fingers must always be placed straight (not sideways or skew) onto the fingerprint scanner.

4. When you have heard the beep, you can take your finger off the scanner.

5. Do not just press your finger down forcefully.

Contact AAA Locksmiths today for more information on biometric fingerprint readers.