Page 20 - EngineerIt July 2021

MEASUREMENT

Biometrics, a diverse technology

with numerous applications

iometrics is the most secure and measure temperature, this facility is now also incorporated in many access control systems”.
accurate way of authenticating and Many of these systems now combine facial recognition with temperature measurement,
Bverifying an individual’s identity. so if the person seeking access has an elevated temperature, access will be denied, often
In most cases, it is also accepted as with a message to seek medical attention.
the most frictionless form of verification for These sophisticated systems are now also applied in industries like mining where a
most individuals – such as the case of miner, before he is able to enter the shaft cage to descend to his operating level, is scanned
the forgotten PIN, for example. for various parameters in addition to just identification. These include intake of alcohol, body
Nicolas Garcia, sales director for temperature and whether the person’s medical records are up to date. Should for instance,
biometrics terminals at IDEMIA, said in his medical fitness certificate have expired, the person will be denied access and a message
a Teams interview with EngineerIT that displayed “Please report to the medical centre.”
the chosen type of biometric modality
(facial, iris, fingerprints) always depends Meeting the POPIA
on security requirements and preferences, Privacy concerns are an important issue that the industry needs to address, especially in the
but can also be influenced by cultural case of biometrics. Garcia said that as a company that puts the individual at the centre of its
habits, beliefs or other things. In today’s technology, IDEMIA works with customers to design solutions that comply with data privacy
context of a world that still faces seemingly regulations such as POPIA.
endless waves of COVID variants, we see “As a technology provider, IDEMIA does not store individual biometric data like finger or
a trend towards contactless biometrics, face prints. To ensure that the biometric data is protected, the captured data is reduced and
such as facial recognition where biometric changed into biometric characteristic points, with its own template and biometric code. It is
information can be captured and verified worth noting that it is physically impossible to recreate the image of the fingerprint or face
without compromising the health and from the template, as templates only keep specific points and discard all other information
safety of the individual, and in a most from the original picture”, Garcia said.
convenient manner.
Biometric technology does not How far in the future is implanted biometrics?
stand still, there are continual new According to Nicolas such technology does exist and already in use. “There are highly
developments. A good example is the secure situations where the verification process has two steps – for instance, a bank might
single fingerprint scanner. When first want to verify an individual with what he/she has on a chip-enabled ID card with implanted
introduced, the surface of the finger was biometric information. This verification process is essentially to ascertain that the holder of
scanned, very much like the messy ink the ID document is indeed the owner. This manner of verification will be increasingly used for
version still used at some Home Affairs highly secure situations and/or remote transactions to minimise the chances for fraud.”
offices. Over the past two decades, many The question remains though, that while implanting an RFID chip is technically and medically
adaptations have been developed that feasible, there will most likely not be a large call for this. Every time I change my job, do I need a
scan under the skin, using tissue structure new RFID chip implanted and the old one removed? Or can the current one be updated through
and blood platelet combinations that are a scan? Perhaps this topic should rather be left to the film and soapy producers!
unique to every person. It also overcomes Listen to our podcast where Hans van de Groenendaal discusses this topic in detail with
the problem with older people who have Nicolas Garcia. Listen here. n
no visible finger prints.
Facial recognition can be problematic About Nicolas Garcia
in communities where the wearing of a veil, Nicolas is the sales director for Biometrics Terminals in IDEMIA,
also called a hijab, is compulsory, making leading the business in the Middle East and Africa region. He
electronic facial recognition impossible. first moved to South Africa at the beginning of 2000, where
“When Covid-19 mask wearing he worked as IT manager for the French Embassy’s Trade
became compulsory in many countries, we Commission. Shortly thereafter, he was recruited to join IDEMIA
had to adapt fast and develop a system South Africa in 2004, then known as SAGEM South Africa,
that would be able to provide good facial where he held several leadership roles within the company.
recognition of mask-wearing people. By An expert in the topic of biometric access technology, Nicolas
adapting the recognition software with new penned a book entitled “Layman’s Terms Biometrics: A Journey
algorithms, we now have a product that into Biometrics, Access Control and Time and Attendance”.
delivers the required results”, Garcia said. The paperback is available from Amazon. He is currently based
“While we have always had the facility to in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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