Biometric Basics
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This FAQ covers general questions about biometrics.
Contact info@idintl.com to submit a new question for inclusion on this page.
Where can I find the list of FBI certified products?
Visit http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/iafis/cert.htm.
Think about bar codes for a moment. We use them everyday on mail, groceries, and property tags. Bar codes identify group membership of items. Sometimes there are many members in a group -- think of all the boxes of a cereal with the same bar code but, sometimes the items are unique -- think of property/asset tags.
A biometric is a personal bar code that places us into groups. Most of the time, the target is to make each group size exactly one -- that is, the goal is to identify people uniquely. From a more technical perspective, the goal of biometrics is to uniquely identify people in a short amount of time using physiological characteristics. A more detailed description of biometrics can be found on the trade associations page.
Fingerprints have been around for a long time and as such they are the most studied and recognized biometric. Some other examples include iris and retina scanning, facial recognition, hand geometry, vein patterns, skin patterns and gait analysis. Note that many times DNA is not considered a biometric because it cannot be processed within the short amount of time a biometric typically needs to be processed within.
How accurate are biometrics?
Biometrics involve complex operations that are typically effected by environmental conditions. To quote an accuracy rate of one approach and compare it against another could very well be comparing apples and oranges due to differences in environmental or test conditions. Therefore, in response to this question, we submit that meeting a customer's specifications is the paramount objective of all concerned. Many biometric systems have been deployed that meet and exceed the customer's requirements.
Historically, governments have been the largest user of biometrics for applications such as criminal background identification and forensics. Around the world, governmental applications are expanding into credentialing areas such as passports and national identification programs. Commercially, biometrics are used to secure computers and peripherals, pay at grocery stores, secure entries and exits to buildings, validate access to controlled substances, and maintain time sheets.
Why are biometric standards important?
This question can be answered best using an analogy. Arguably two of the most important inventions in the last 100 years have been the car and the computer. Many different manufacturers exist for both, but the products sold by all manufacturers of these items have certain commonalities, or standards, used between them. For cars, all makes and models use globally specified tire sizes and they use one of several globally specified fuel grades. For computers, they all have specific power inputs and they all communicate with other computers with standardized protocols. Thus, standards help make innovations available to a much wider audience by enabling multiple manufacturers to deliver products with a variety of different features while reacting to market price requirements.
Achieving FBI certification means that your products have met rigorous quality standards set by the FBI. Once an organization has been issued a certification letter for a product, this product is listed as an FBI certified product on their web site. Two primary levels of certification exist: scanning and printing devices must be certified and the software that uses these certified devices must be certified as well. i3 is one of the few companies in the world to manufacture both certified devices and software. In the United States, submission of fingerprint data for criminal background checks requires the use of a FBI certified system.
i3 offers advanced FBI certified fingerprint scanning, collection, and criminal background check solutions. These solutions can be used stand-alone or the components can be integrated into more expansive solutions.