Biometrics is the science and technology of measuring and analyzing
biological data. In information technology, biometrics refers to technologies
that measure and analyze human body characteristics, such as DNA,
fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, voice patterns and facial patterns.
Authentication by biometric verification is becoming increasingly common
in corporate and public security systems, consumer electronics and point
of sale (POS) applications. In addition to security, the driving force behind
biometric verification has been convenience. Biometric devices, such as
finger scanners, consist of:
- A reader or scanning device
- Software that converts the scanned information into digital form and
compares match points
- A database that stores the biometric data for comparison
To prevent identity theft, biometric data is usually encrypted when it's gathered.
Here's how biometric verification works on the back end: to convert
the biometric input, a software application is used to identify specific points
of data as match points. The match points in the database are processed
using an algorithm that translates that information into a numeric value.
The database value is compared with the biometric input the end user has
entered into the scanner and authentication is either approved or denied.
Source
Zwipe could use the general description above to describe our own solution.
As you can see there are three main components in the solution: the
scanner, the software in use and the database management. In addition to
these components the Zwipe card also has chips for processing, storage
and communication, and there is of course an NFC (Near Field Communication)
antenna incorporated in the card.
The hard part is then to choose right hardware components, write the best
algorithms and Software and put all together in a user-friendly form.
Zwipe solution incorporates components from the world leaders within
their own field. We use a Capacitance Scanner that will measure the electrical
current from your finger. As you swipe your finger the scanner puts
together all ridges and valleys of your fingerprint in a dataset, and the SW
compares this dataset with the stored template. More information about
Capacitance Scanners.
True innovation in the Zwipe solution is that we store the template within
the card. That means that your fingerprint never leaves your card. Both the
card (with your template) and the scanner are private.
