17-09-2014, 02:37 PM
The world is witnessing a huge demand for security devices due to various factors. Almost all security systems require reliable personal recognition schemes to either confirm or determine the identity of an individual requesting their services. The purpose of such schemes is to ensure that the rendered services are accessed only by a legitimate user and no one else. Examples of such applications include secure access to buildings, computer systems, laptops, cellular phones, and ATMs. In the absence of robust personal recognition schemes, these systems are vulnerable to the wiles of an impostor. This is where biometrics comes into picture. Biometrics refers to the automatic recognition of individuals based on their physiological and/or behavioral characteristics. Biometric Security Systems use biometrics for identification and authentication. Biometric security systems are inherently more secure since they confirm or establish an individual’s identity based on “who she is,” rather than by “what she possesses” (e.g., an ID card) or “what she remembers” (e.g., a password). In this paper, I start with a literature survey of various biometrical systems in the past. Then we consider various types biometric methodologies. Particularly iris recognition is considered in great detail. We cover procedure in a typical biometric system and measures of various methods. We then compare various methods and end with a conclusion.