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Where Can You Find Information On Fingerprint Verification?

Posted by Cliff on from the how-does-it-work dept.

not your mother asks: "I work for a company that is interested in finding out more about fingerprint verification. I'm having no trouble finding companies that make fingerprint sensors, but it seems to be a bit more difficult to find unbiased descriptions of the technology (optical systems vs. capacitive vs. linear scanning systems, for example). Can anyone tell me where I can find more information on this topic?"

1 of 7 comments (clear)

  1. Check out "Database Nation" by scotpurl · · Score: 3

    Check out the book "Database Nation" from O'Reilly & Associates. ISBN: 0596001053

    While a bit paranoid, it does cover several of the biometric techniques. In this book, I learned that retinal patterns change for women who are pregnant. Or that you could use regular retinal scans to detect pregnancy (and thus terminate employment to keep your insurance costs down).

    I recall a criticism a few years ago for fingerprint scanners that about 10% of the population didn't have "moist" enough fingertips to render a good image on the scanner. That may have been fixed, but there is still a significant portion of the population that doesn't have fingerprints.

    Biometrics is cool, but still maturing. I'd instead recommend something clunky like Secure ID cards, or AirLAN badges.