A discussion of biometrics within the field of biological sciences typically refers to the process of identifying or recognizing individuals based on their unique physiological traits, including their face, fingerprint, hand, iris, DNA, or some other characteristic that can be uniquely attributed to that individual. Once a registration sample, or template, is captured from an individual, subsequent input samples can be compared to the original template sample to authenticate identification of that individual.
In 1892, an Argentinean anthropologist named Juan Vucetich made the first positive identification of a criminal using fingerprint analysis. Since then, fingerprinting has emerged to become the most widely used and widely accepted form of biometrics around the world, representing the largest percentage of biometric use.
In the United States, biometric techniques have been used to identify criminals since the early 1900’s, and the country’s first professional forensic organization, the International Association for Identification (IAI) was founded in 1915. During the first several decades of the 20th century, first public safety organizations (including state and local authorities, and later, the FBI) and gradually all branches of the United States military and other government-based organizations adopted fingerprint technology to track criminals, and confirm the identification of soldiers and staff.
By the late 20th century, the private sector (and other public sectors like education that had previously rejected use of the technology) had begun to recognize the benefits of using biometric technology to identify employees, members, patients, and other individuals within their organizations. Since then, fingerprint biometrics has grown rapidly and is anticipated to become a $1.3 billion industry by 2012. Today, because of their high user acceptance, Europe leads the world in biometric use. However, the greatest market potential appears to exist in Asia, where developed countries like South Korea and Japan and expanding economies in China and India are expected to drive a majority of the demand.
One of the more common uses of biometric technology in the private sector is the integration of a fingerprint component with a workforce management application that can be used to identify employees and have their work schedules tracked and monitored. The use of this technology minimizes fraud, increases data accuracy, and helps to cut costs by eliminating “buddy punching”, the phenomenon that occurs when an employee clocks in or out for another employee. It can also eliminate “ghost workers”, employees who are no longer employed with an organization but continue to draw a paycheck by having someone falsify their credentials. With a biometric system in place, employees can no longer share identification cards or passwords, increasing the integrity of captured data.
In 1892, an Argentinean anthropologist named Juan Vucetich made the first positive identification of a criminal using fingerprint analysis. Since then, fingerprinting has emerged to become the most widely used and widely accepted form of biometrics around the world, representing the largest percentage of biometric use.
In the United States, biometric techniques have been used to identify criminals since the early 1900’s, and the country’s first professional forensic organization, the International Association for Identification (IAI) was founded in 1915. During the first several decades of the 20th century, first public safety organizations (including state and local authorities, and later, the FBI) and gradually all branches of the United States military and other government-based organizations adopted fingerprint technology to track criminals, and confirm the identification of soldiers and staff.
By the late 20th century, the private sector (and other public sectors like education that had previously rejected use of the technology) had begun to recognize the benefits of using biometric technology to identify employees, members, patients, and other individuals within their organizations. Since then, fingerprint biometrics has grown rapidly and is anticipated to become a $1.3 billion industry by 2012. Today, because of their high user acceptance, Europe leads the world in biometric use. However, the greatest market potential appears to exist in Asia, where developed countries like South Korea and Japan and expanding economies in China and India are expected to drive a majority of the demand.
One of the more common uses of biometric technology in the private sector is the integration of a fingerprint component with a workforce management application that can be used to identify employees and have their work schedules tracked and monitored. The use of this technology minimizes fraud, increases data accuracy, and helps to cut costs by eliminating “buddy punching”, the phenomenon that occurs when an employee clocks in or out for another employee. It can also eliminate “ghost workers”, employees who are no longer employed with an organization but continue to draw a paycheck by having someone falsify their credentials. With a biometric system in place, employees can no longer share identification cards or passwords, increasing the integrity of captured data.
Michael (Micha) Shafir
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source: http://www.zdnetasia