By Pryanka Kumari  July 12, 2022

One of these fields is biometrics – a scientific lot that deals with personal identification using physical or behavioral characteristics such as fingerprints. One of the most commonly seen applications of biometrics is in digital security, but many other types and benefits can come from this fingerprint recognition biometric technology.

Benefits & Uses

First, let’s talk about digital security. One of the many common uses of fingerprints is for authentication or proving your identity to a system. Digital systems are used every day in our society – you need a phone to make calls, a computer to use computers, and sometimes even an ATM card to withdraw money from an account.

These systems will typically require you to provide a user name, password, or some other authentication methods before accessing these services. Imagine that you are a criminal who overhears a phone conversation between two people – perhaps it’s about some important information or sensitive documents – and you learn the PINs for their accounts. To steal this information, all you need to do is infiltrate their phones and get their passwords from them.

But with digital security, you can set up a fingerprint reader that will require you to put your finger on the scanner before using your phone – no matter who’s using it – and if they don’t have the correct fingerprint, they will not be able to access or use the information. This can improve security significantly, as criminals will have a much harder time infiltrating phones to steal files or data.

Another benefit is that fingerprints are so easy to use.

AFIS (AUTOMATED FINGERPRINT-IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM) DEFINITION

Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is a biometric system consisting of a computer database of fingerprint records that can analyze and then compare them to find either known or unidentified fingerprints. Modern AFISes can scan more than a billion fingerprint records within seconds. The algorithms currently in use are 100% exact.

Who are the primary users of AFIS?

Government agencies mainly use AFI for identification during elections, civil registers, and police. For criminal investigations, the latent fingerprints retrieved from crime scenes are compared with the database records of criminals who are known and fingerprints from unknown individuals.

Businesses also employ it to protect themselves, e.g., when national IDs aren’t reliable, and fingerprint-based identification could enhance their risk management.

If an ID management software uses more biometric options than just fingerprints (e.g., faces, face, or iris scans), the system is called an ABIS (Automated Biometric Identification System).

What’s the Process? AFIS Function?

To aid in search and comparison, AFIS contains so-called templates that represent the fingerprints stored mathematically. When you search for matches, the templates and not the actual images are compared, which results in more efficient search time. (This also means that the standard Hollywood image of changing fingerprints on computers is a complete fabrication).

In countries that have unreliable identity systems in the national system, biometrics provides the individual’s uniqueness in statistical calculations. It is thought to be the most secure form of identity and authentication.

What can AFIS assist in with criminal investigations?

AFIS can look up the fingerprint of a complete or incomplete person and return candidates that match. The results typically include scores that indicate the probability of being a good match within the AFIS database. The accuracy of the search may be improved by having more fingerprints of the same individual available.

Accuracy is also dependent on the strength and fullness of the fingerprint. Standardization of templates also implies that AFISes can collaborate with other electronic fingerprinting platforms, e.g., in international research.

Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems do not just assist in locating criminals but also help identify victims through fingerprints. Innovatrics AFIS in Indonesia was utilized to identify hundreds of tsunami victims in 2018. This type of search would have taken months before it was done by hand.

What exactly is the definition of an AFIS database?

Databases of AFIS are a repository of fingerprints or sets of fingerprints, footprints, palmprints, and information about the person. They can be derived from criminal investigations or other sources like the biometric registers of civil registration.

The database also includes templates derived from images that allow quick searches through AFIS for candidates to match. Suppose the right equipment is used that is in place. In that case, the AFIS database is also used through field computers, assisting in identifying victims of natural disasters and disbursing aid from state sources.

For critical applications for mission-critical applications, the AFIS database can be duplicated to create a disaster recovery site. If a significant failure occurs, the site could be functional quickly, allowing you to provide critical services like border security applications.

Conclusion

Fingerprint recognition technology has brought a significant change in the way people can be recognised in this digitally driven era. Still, its highly critical to make these innovations more secured and safer in order to avoid issues like data theft.

NEC is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies and brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to provide solutions for empowering people, businesses and society.Headquartered in Japan, NEC started operations in India in the 1950s, accelerating its growth through the expansion of business to global markets.

To know more about fingerprint recognition biometric technology Visit NEC India

sooperarticles.com