Image analysis – Applications – Personnel identification
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-16
2001-02-27
Mehta, Bhavesh (Department: 2721)
Image analysis
Applications
Personnel identification
C382S124000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06195447
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to fingerprint verification systems and methods and, more particularly, a system and method for discriminating between a real fingerprint and a counterfeit fingerprint.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Human fingerprints provide a unique and relatively economical means for identifying particular individuals. Every fingerprint typically comprises a series of spaced apart curved ridges resembling a topographical map. The ridges often form irregularities that terminate in endings and/or may split to bifurcate and form other adjacent ridges. Because of the randomness and sheer numbers of such features, data representative of the features offers a conveniently compressed form of identifier that retains the uniqueness of a full fingerprint.
Taking advantage of the uniqueness of a fingerprint's topographical characteristics, those skilled in the art have devised fingerprint identification systems to compare an unknown fingerprint to a database of known fingerprints. One such proposal, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,147 to Sparrow, includes a computerized fingerprint comparison system for law enforcement purposes. The system scans an unknown fingerprint and breaks down the fingerprint into predetermined minutia points comprising particular topographical characteristics. Such minutia include particular types of irregularities, the scanning angle, the ridge count, and the radial distance between minutia.
A second proposal that carries an improved version of the Sparrow teachings into the field of security systems and methods is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,442 to Tanaka. Tanaka implements a system having respective remote and local sites separated by transmission lines. The system extracts fingerprint data to establish predetermined minutia points from fingerprint ridge endings and bifurcations. The improvement by Tanaka includes the capability of not only detecting predetermined characteristic minutia, but also noncharacteristic minutia. This allegedly improves the resolution of detected real time fingerprints to provide a closer match between compared fingerprint files.
While the Tanaka proposal appears beneficial for its intended purposes, it suffers from a basic problem in that it cannot distinguish between a real fingerprint presented for verification, and a perfectly matching counterfeit fingerprint file injected through the transmission lines to the local site. This is because from the system's point of view, perfectly matching minutia satisfy the system's security criteria. Although such active tampering in security systems may be countered by encryption methods disposed at the remote and local sites, many operators choose not to implement such methods due to the typically prohibitive costs arising from the additional hardware and software required to effect the relatively complex encryption schemes. Moreover, other potential solutions to detect the presence of a real digit, for example blood flow or body temperature sensors, also undesirably increase hardware and software costs.
Therefore, the need exists for an economical and feasible system and method for discriminating between real fingerprints and counterfeit fingerprint data. The system and method of the present invention satisfies this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The system and method of the present invention provide the advantage of increasing security in security systems that utilize fingerprint comparisons, without requiring additional hardware costs.
To realize the advantages above, the present invention, in one form, comprises a fingerprint authentication system for use in a secured environment for verifying a fingerprint having a nonpredictable plasticity. The system includes a remote site located proximate the secured environment. The remote site includes a fingerprint detector for generating real time image data of an applied fingerprint and an access mechanism responsive to a verification signal to provide access to the secured environment. The system also includes a local site disposed distally from the secured environment and coupled in signal communication to the remote site. The local site includes a processor for extracting from the image data real time topographical minutia points and measuring at least one real time physical relationship between the real time minutia points.
A database memory interacts with the processor for storing a historical image file corresponding to the applied fingerprint. The historical image file comprises respective statistical representations of respective spatial relationships between the minutia points. The statistical representations are acquired through repeated detection and statistical analysis of the applied fingerprint. The local site further includes a comparator for identifying the real time physical relationship against the corresponding statistical spatial relationship and verifying the applied fingerprint as authentic where the real time physical relationship is not less than a predetermined minimum deviation from the statistical spatial relationship corresponding to the fingerprint plasticity and not greater than a predetermined maximum deviation from the statistical spatial relationship corresponding to a different fingerprint.
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Lucent Technologies - Inc.
Mehta Bhavesh
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