ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9605310011
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PRINCETON, N.J.
IrisIdent, a biometric identification system developed by Sensar Inc., identifies people by unique variations in the iris, the colored ring of the eye.
The iris is a reliable identifier because it does not change after age 1 1/2 and is more unique than fingerprints. It has more than 400 identifying features: contraction furrows, filaments, freckles, pits, rings, striations and more.
Subjects enroll when they open a bank account, for instance, by standing a few feet from a camera, which takes about a minute to photograph the right iris (the left and right are different). The picture is converted to a digital code and, along with the person's name and account number, stored in the bank's central computer or possibly a national database.
When the customer later approaches an ATM or bank kiosk, the hidden camera spots him or her, targets the right iris and zooms in. The camera shoots the iris several times, verifying in seconds that the pupil moves and thus that it is a real eye rather than a photo. The person must look up toward the camera, which works through contact lenses, eyeglasses and sunglasses, except for very dark or reflective ones.
Within two seconds, the computer can compare that iris to up to 250 million data codes, Sensar says. The system rejects transactions by anyone not in the database.
Initially, customers probably would continue to use an ATM card; anyone trying to get into another person's account, even with the card, would be rejected.
Sensar expects blind people to be able to use the system, too, after receiving special training.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 41 linesby CNB