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Iris Recognition To Take Off

Posted by timothy on from the not-the-cute-iris-I-know dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Looks like iris recognition is about to explode. Turns out, a major patent held by iris recognition leader Iridian is expiring, and that's leading a stampede of start-ups and VCs into this space."

5 of 229 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Iris vs Retina by kaiser423 · · Score: 4, Informative

    The iris is much more unique (I believe it has the highest amount of uniqueness in any biometric system), and I believe they've come up with some very compact and efficient schemes for its use. I remember when I looked back at various biometric technology about 3 years ago, iris scanning was the clear winner barring this patent nonsense.

  2. Re:You've gotta admit... by NickFortune · · Score: 3, Informative
    This is about the new opportunities for feeding at the Homeland Security trough, which by pure coincidence happens to be at about the time the patent expires.

    That's one opinion. Business Week, that hotbed of anti-patent activism and communist propaganda, doesn't seem to agree.

    While Iridian still holds some two dozen active patents on everything from ways to digitize an iris scan to camera design, expiration of the Flom patent will finally allow a stream of competitors to enter the iris-recognition market.
    That's from TFA in case it wasn't obvious. The emphasis is mine.
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  3. Re:Defeated by contact lenses? by pHatidic · · Score: 2, Informative

    No, contact lenses don't defeat it. Cf John Daugman's homepage, the inventor of the iris scan recognition algorithm.

  4. Re:Iris Recognition by Bishop · · Score: 2, Informative

    Iris scanning is very fast, and can be done from a distance of several meters. It is typically setup such that people can walk up to an iris scanner controled door and be identified without missing a step. Iris scanners are used in some airports to identify and admit crew to the departure area. Aircrew love the scanners.

  5. Complete Fallacy by samael · · Score: 2, Informative

    Biometric recognition systems have generally been designed to only work if the part is still attached.

    Retina scans depend on blood vessels in the eye - which change radically if said eye is detached (or the owner is dead).

    Fingerprint scans are usually designed to check for electrical conductivity, which is different for an attached finger and a detached one.

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