The next big thing in biometrics will
be a thermal imaging scan that maps the
blood vessels under the skin of your face for instantaneous face
recognition that would be almost impossible to spoof.
The pattern of blood vessels just
beneath the skin of our faces is as unique as a fingerprint, iris or other
characteristic. It can be revealed easily with an infra-red thermal imaging
camera. Rubber fingerprints can be made to simulate another person's dabs while
contact lenses can be fabricated to spoof someone's iris so that an impostor
could bypass biometric security measures.
However, it would be almost impossible
to create a realistic mask for an impostor to wear that simulated the pattern
of blood vessels in someone's face because no matter how good the mask, the
thermal imaging camera would be able to see the impostor's blood vessels in
their skin too and they would be unmasked, figuratively speaking.
A computer algorithm has been developed
that can analyze the minutiae of the blood vessels revealed by an infra-red
scan of a person's face. The thermogram readily reveals the pattern of blood
vessels almost down to the smallest capillary with an accuracy of more than
97%. Such a degree of precision would suffice even for high-security
applications provided the thermogram scan was tied to second or third forms of
identity, such as photo ID, security card, PIN number etc.
Face recognition is widely accepted by
security systems, law enforcement and legal agencies; thermal imaging takes
this fundamental human trait to a lower, subcutaneous, level.
Regards,
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