How Biometrics Work
To start it, let me first give you a basic understanding of Biometric Technology. It is a type of security measure that uses a person’s biology, like their physical or behavioral characteristic’s for identification and security purposes. Biometrics will use a part of a person like their face, finger, voice, hand, or even their eye. This technology is mainly utilized to unlock, control, or access things like devices or systems and identify a person for access permissions or surveillance. Biometrics is used widely, but the question is, how does it work?
What is needed?
Biometrics, of course, uses a part of a person to act as a type of password to access or unlock a specific thing using identification. Different types of biometrics, whether that user is using a fingerprint scanner, a facial scanner, or even a voice recognition scanner, all will work slightly different in terms of what that device and software are interpreting. For biometrics to be able to work, they need these components.
- A Scanning device or sensor that will read the specific biometric factor (fingerprint, face, etc.)
- A computer and database that will store and read the information from the scanning component.
- A type of software that will convert that into code or a specific format
These will be vital to making sure the biometrics is fully functioning and has all the components for it to be successful and provide the user with the purpose they are using it for. The most critical element of biometrics is the physical or behavioral part of a person that is going to be used.
How it works
Before the biometrics can be set up, there will be an initial identification process, like a password, name, number, etc. This prior identification in place will identify the person to verify it is the correct user; then, the device will scan/take in the sensor’s information or scanner the specific biological trait used for the biometrics. This will then be translated into a form of code or graph to read the attribute that was used. When the biometrics is used again, it will compare the original attribute that was scanned/taken and either reject it or accept it based on if it matches.
Different biometrics types will need other systems; a voice recognition system will not have the same system as a fingerprint scanner, making the biological trait that is being used uniquely to that specific system. Since a person’s physical or behavioral quality will be only apparent to them, this makes biometrics very high security, giving ease to the users that their data that is being protected will be safe. Identifying that person will be transferable is unique to that individual.
Types
There are many different parts and characteristics of a human that have been used for biometrics that could potentially be used in the future. Here are the biometrics’ that have been made and used in today’s world and are most known.
- Iris or Retina recognition
- Facial Recognition
- DNA matching
- Fingerprint recognition
- Finger geometry recognition
- Voice recognition
- Signature Recognition
- Ear shape recognition
- Vein recognition
Biometrics is evolving; it is being implemented into more devices and systems and is used by more people and companies worldwide; it allows the users to keep their data and information or create a safe and effective way to identify a specific individual. With all the different ways biometrics is being utilized, it is a trending technology that will be seen more and more in the technology world as it changes.
