Finger Print Technology

1. Finger Print Technology

2. Abstract • Every person is believed to have unique fingerprints. This makes fingerprint matching one of the most reliable methods for identifying people. In this diploma work shall be examined if and how the identification can be done automatically by a software system. • Examples of use: Criminal identification, control for high security installations, credit card usage verification, and employee identification. • The program to be developed should extract the minutiae (ridge endings, bifurcation points, etc.) from a fingerprint bitmap file and create a compact, unique dataset.

3. Abstract • This dataset is then stored in a database or compared with one of the database. The goal is to recognize if the person whom the fingerprint belongs to is present in the database. • The fingerprints are present in the form of Windows-Bitmap-Files, which are created with a scanner from printed pictures. The software should have the following properties: • Reading a bitmap file and show it on the screen. • Building a dataset by extracting the minutiae. • Showing the original bitmap with the marked minutiae on the screen. • Storing the dataset in the database. • Comparing a dataset with those in the database. • Giving out the search result. If there is a match, showing the stored fingerprint on the screen for optical comparison.

4.  Why Fingerprints? • With increasingly urgent need for reliable security, biometrics is being spotlighted as the authentication method for the next generation. • Among numerous biometric technologies, fingerprint authentication has been in use for the longest time and bears more advantages than other biometric technologies do. • Fingerprint authentication is possibly the most sophisticated method of all biometric technologies and has been thoroughly verified through various applications. • Fingerprint authentication has particularly proved its high efficiency and further enhanced the technology in criminal investigation for more than a century.

5.  Why Fingerprints? • Even features such as a person’s gait, face, or signature may change with passage of time and may be fabricated or imitated. However, a fingerprint is completely unique to an individual and stayed unchanged for lifetime. • This exclusivity demonstrates that fingerprint authentication is far more accurate and efficient than any other methods of authentication. • Also, a fingerprint may be taken and digitalized by relatively compact and cheap devices and takes only a small capacity to store a large database of information. • With these strengths, fingerprint authentication has long been a major part of the security market and continues to be more competitive than others in today’s world.

6. History of Fingerprint Technology • The beginning of fingerprints goes back to as early as the ancient times. According to historical findings, fingerprints were used on clay tablets for business transactions in ancient Babylon. In China, thumb prints were found on clay seals. • But it was in the 19th century that the results of scientific studies were published and fingerprint technology began to be considered more seriously. • Using the1800’s scientific studies as a foundation, fingerprint technology was already in use by the beginning of the 20th century. In 1924, FBI(Federal Bureau of Investigation) is already known to have maintained more than 250 million civil files of fingerprints for the purpose of criminal investigation and the identification of unknown casualties.

7. History • In the late 1960's, fingerprint technology met a great turning point when it gave birth to 'live-scan,' a method to obtain a fingertip image without the use of print ink. • When the FBI announced that it planned to stop using paper fingerprint cards inside their new Integrated AFIS (IAFIS) site, it was actually announcing the remarkable breakthrough of today's live scan technology. • But fingerprint identification technology did not stop as a forensic method only. It was officially used for business purposes in 1968 at one security corporation in Wall Street. • Fingerprints are now being used as a secure and effective authentication method in numerous fields, including financial, medical, e-commerce and entrance control applications. • Modern applications of fingerprint technology rely in large part on the development of exceptionally compact fingerprint sensors.

8. History • The first year for the first known systematic use of fingerprint identification began in the United States is 1902. • The New York state prison system began to use fingerprints for the identification of criminals in 1903. • During the first quarter of the 20th century, more and more local police identification bureaus established fingerprint systems. • In 1924 the Identification Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was established to provide one central repository of fingerprints. • In 1992 the Identification Division was re-established as the Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS).

9. History • Human fingerprints have been discovered on a large number of archaeological artifacts and historical items • In 1684, the English plant morphologist, Nehemiah Grew, published the first scientific paper reporting his systematic study on the ridge, furrow, and pore structure • In 1788, a detailed description of the anatomical formations of fingerprints was made by Mayer. • In 1823, Purkinji proposed the first fingerprint classification, which classified into nine categories • Sir Francis Galton introduced the minutae features for fingerprint matching in late 19th century

10. History of fingerprints

11. Formation of fingerprints • Fingerprints are fully formed at about seven months of fetus development • General characteristics of the fingerprint emerge as the skin on the fingertip begins to differentiate. • flow of amniotic fluids around the fetus and its position in the uterus change during the differentiation process • Thus the cells on the fingertip grow in a microenvironment that is slightly different from hand to hand and finger to finger.

12. Fingerprint Identification Process •  Fingerprint Identification Process Fingerprint identification process consists of two essential procedures: enrollment and authentication. Taking the following steps completes each procedure: • As shown in the diagram above, fingerprint identification system compares the input fingerprint image and previously registered data to determine the genuineness of a fingerprint. All the steps described above affect the efficiency of the entire system, but the computational load of the following steps can be reduced to a great extent by acquiring a good-quality fingerprint image in the first step.

13. Classification of Fingerprints Human fingerprint patterns fall into three main groups: whorls, loops, and arches. Loops the most common type, accounting for about 65% of all fingerprints. Whorls account for 30% of fingerprints. Arches account for 5%

14. The three major groups are also subcategorized based upon smaller differences existing between the patterns within the specific group.

15. Advantages: • Compared to the other biometric authentication technologies, fingerprint scanners are: • The most widely available device. • Relatively low cost • Small size (easily integrated into keyboards) and • Easy to integrate • Fingerprint verification may be a good choice for in-house systems where adequate explanation and training can be provided to users and where the system is operated within a controlled environment.

16. Disadvantages • Fingerprint verification can suffer under large-scale usage. In a large population, poorly trained users cause higher usage errors and hence higher instances of false rejection. Also, the user interface (scanning module) can become damaged or dirty by large-scale usage.

17. Fingerprint Applications

18. Reference: • http://www.seminarprojects.com/Thread-Biometric-Fingerprint-Identification

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