The iris is the colored ring of muscle that opens and shuts the pupil of the eye Identifying people-simplying by taking quick photographs of their Iris scans are a much more reliable way of Not infallible: illnesses and injuries, as well as basic wear-and-tear, canĪlter the pattern of ridges on our fingers in time. Our faces change all the time and lots of people look very similar.įingerprints are a more reliable form of biometrics, but even they're Is one nose bigger than another? Are the eyesįurther apart? That's simple biometrics. When the border guards look at your face andĬompare it with your passport photo, what they're doing is intuitivelyĬomparing two images. If you think about it, an ordinary passport photo is a crudeĮxample of biometrics. Positively identify them by measuring some unique pattern on theirīody. Instead of restricting access to things throughĪrbitrary locks and keys, we grant access to people if we can Most security experts think biometrics (body measurement) is theĪnswer. Photo: Scanners can be made handheld and easily portable, like this one being used by the US Army, or wall-mounted for convenience in places like airports. Security has a basic flaw: with the right key, even the wrong Hard to access without the right mathematical keys. While information secured by encryption (computerized scrambling) is Physically difficult to bust open without the correct metal keys, Relies on things that are difficult to do quickly: locks are More important but-ironically, thanks to the computing power atĮveryone's disposal-never easier to crack. Swapping more information every single day. There are more people on Earth than ever before, owning more things, and Advantages and disadvantages of iris scans.How does iris scanning work in practice?.MacLeod courtesy of US Army, published on This handheld scanner is made by SecuriMetrics Inc. Photo: The eyes have it: computerized security systems can recognize you by decoding the unique patterns in your irises (the colored parts of your eyes). WhatĮxactly are iris scans and how do they work? Let's take a closer Out in time) or DNA profiling (which isn't instant). Superior as a form of identification to fingerprints (which can wear (identity checking based on sophisticated body measurements)-far Iris scans are the most accurate form of biometrics

Military bases where fast, reliable identification is vitally Of seconds! Iris scanning technology could soon make this kind of Of jailer's keys wherever you go, imagine how cool it would be if youĬould unlock your door just by staring at it for a couple If you hate having to carry a jangling bunch

Iris scan software