Method and apparatus for producing a biometric identification reference template

• US 20060110011A1
• Filed: 11/17/2005
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Triad Biometrics LLC
• Original Assignee: Triad Biometrics LLC
• Inventors: Coby, Scott Stanley Allan, Cohen, Mark Sherman, Chirputkar, Shailesh
• Application Number:
  US11/280,221
• Publication Number:
  US 20060110011A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/115
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/128 involving web programs, i.e. using technology especially used in internet, generally interacting with a web browser, e.g. hypertext markup language [HTML], applets, java
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/95 structured as a network, e.g. client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0846 using time-dependent-passwords, e.g. periodically changing passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3231 Biological data, e.g. fingerprint, voice or retina network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using biometrical features in a packet data network H04L63/0861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3297 involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps

Abstract

In an enterprise biometric identification/authentication and migration system, a method and apparatus is disclosed for providing an identification reference image of a user by determining two or more Image Quality Index scores of a biometric identifier of the user based on two or more respective images received from two or more respective imaging devices, comparing the scores, and generating an identification reference biometric identifier image for the user with the imaging device that produced the image with the highest score. In some embodiments, the method and apparatus is extended to a plurality of biometric identifiers

Claims

1. A method for providing an identification reference image of a user, the method comprising:

determining two or more Image Quality Index (IQI) scores of a biometric identifier of the user based on two or more respective images received from two or more respective imaging devices;

comparing said two or more IQI scores; and

generating an identification reference biometric identifier image for the user with the imaging device of said two or more different imaging devices that produced the image with the highest of said two or more IQI scores.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein generating an identification reference biometric identifier image for the user comprises generating an identification reference biometric identifier image for the user with the imaging device of said two or more different imaging devices that produced the image with the highest of said two or more IQI scores, if the highest IQI score is above a threshold score.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein determining said two or more IQI scores comprises determining two or more imaging-device-independent IQI scores.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said biometric identifier comprises a fingerprint.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

repeating said determining, said comparing, and said generating, for each of a plurality of biometric identifiers of the user.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein generating an identification reference image for each of said plurality of biometric identifiers of the user comprises generating the identification reference biometric identifier image for each of said plurality of biometric identifiers of the user if the highest IQI score is above a threshold score for each biometric identifier.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein said plurality of biometric identifiers comprise one or more fingerprints.

8. A method for providing a plurality of identification reference images of a user, the method comprising:

determining an Image Quality Index (IQI) score for each of a plurality of biometric identifiers of the user based on a plurality of images of said plurality of biometric identifiers, respectively, received from a first imaging device;

determining an IQI score for each of said plurality of biometric identifiers of the user based on a plurality of images of said plurality of biometric identifiers, respectively, received from a second imaging device;

computing a first average IQI score based on the IQI scores of said plurality of images received from the first imaging device;

computing a second average IQI score based on the IQI scores of said plurality of images received from the second imaging device;

comparing the first and second average IQI scores; and

generating said plurality of identification reference biometric identifier images for the user with the imaging device of said first and second imaging devices that produced the images having a higher average IQI score.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein generating said plurality of identification reference biometric identifier images comprises generating said plurality of identification reference biometric identifier images if the higher average IQI score is above a threshold score.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein determining said IQI scores comprises determining imaging-device-independent IQI scores.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein said plurality of biometric identifiers comprise one or more fingerprints.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

repeating said determining, said computing, and said comparing of average IQI scores for three or more images received, respectively, from three or more imaging devices; and

generating said plurality of identification reference biometric identifier images for the user with the imaging device of said three or more imaging devices that produced the images having the highest average IQI score.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein generating said plurality of identification reference biometric identifier images comprises generating said plurality of identification reference biometric identifier images if the highest average IQI score is above a threshold score.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said plurality of biometric identifiers comprise one or more fingerprints.

15. An apparatus for providing an identification reference image for biometric identification and/or authentication of a user, the apparatus comprising:

a processor to determine two or more Image Quality Index (IQI) scores of a biometric identifier of the user based on two or more respective images received from two or more respective imaging devices;

to compare the two or more IQI scores; and

to generate an identification reference biometric identifier image for the user with the imaging device of said two or more imaging devices that produced the image having the highest IQI score; and

a memory, associated with the processor, for storing said two or more images received from the two or more imaging devices, said IQI scores, and said identification reference biometric image.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, comprising one or more interfaces, operatively associated with the processor, to receive the images from said two or more imaging devices.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, comprising a network interface, operatively associated with the processor, to transmit the identification reference biometric image for the user to a database of identification reference biometric images.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said memory is to store a threshold IQI score, and wherein said processor is adapted to generate the identification reference biometric identifier image for the user if the highest IQI score is above the threshold IQI score.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said IQI scores comprise imaging-device-independent IQI scores.

20. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the processor is adapted to repeatedly determine and compare said IQI scores, and to generate said identification reference biometric identifier image, for each of a plurality of biometric identifiers of the user.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said memory is to store a plurality of threshold IQI scores for each of said plurality of biometric identifiers respectively, and wherein said processor is adapted to generate said identification reference biometric identifier image for each of the plurality of biometric identifiers if the highest IQI score is above the respective threshold IQI score for each biometric identifier.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said plurality of biometric identifiers comprise one or more fingerprints.

23. An apparatus for providing a plurality of identification reference images for biometric identification and/or authentication of a user, the apparatus comprising:

a processor to determine a plurality of Image Quality Index (IQI) scores for each of a plurality of biometric identifiers of the user, based on a plurality of images of said plurality of biometric identifiers, respectively, received from each of a plurality of imaging devices;

compute average IQI scores for each said plurality of IQI scores;

compare the average IQI scores for each of said plurality of IQI scores; and

generate said plurality of identification reference biometric identifier images for the user with the imaging device of said plurality of imaging devices that produced the plurality of images having the highest aver age IQI score; and

a memory, associated with the processor, for storing said plurality of images received from each of said plurality of imaging devices, said IQI scores, said average IQI scores; and

said plurality of identification reference biometric images for the user.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 further comprising one or more interfaces, operatively associated with the processor, to receive the images from the two or more imaging devices.

25. The apparatus of claim 23 further comprising a network interface, operatively associated with the processor, to transmit said plurality of identification interference biometric images for the user to a database of identification reference biometric images.

26. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said memory is adapted to store a plurality of threshold IQI scores for said plurality of biometric identifiers, respectively, and wherein said processor is adapted to generate said plurality of identification reference biometric identifier images if the highest average IQI score is above the respective threshold IQI score for each of said plurality of biometric identifiers.

27. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said IQI scores comprise imaging-device-independent IQI scores.

28. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said plurality of biometric identifiers comprise a plurality of fingerprints.