Touchless fingerprinting acquisition and processing application for mobile devices

• US 9,672,406 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2015
• Issued: 06/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telos Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Diamond Fortress Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Hatcher, II, Charles W., Butler, Ryan R., Lucas, William C., Brakefield, Howard Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Alavi, Amir
• Application Number:
  US14/947,419
• Publication Number:
  US 20160078271A1
• Time in Patent Office: 564 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20132 Image cropping
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20182 Noise reduction or smoothing in the temporal domain; Spatio-temporal filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/73 Deblurring; Sharpening
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/17 using hand-held instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1312 direct reading, e.g. contactless acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1376 Matching features related to ridge properties or fingerprint texture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/71 Charge-coupled device [CCD] sensors; Charge-transfer registers specially adapted for CCD sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors

Abstract

This disclosure is of a biometric authentication system and method. The system includes a mobile device having a camera and a screen, and a database. The system is programmed to superimpose on the screen an overlay of a finger over a real-time image seen by the camera, capture an image of a fingerprint of a user with the camera, compare the captured image with an authenticated fingerprint image that is stored in the database, and return a positive result if the compared images match.

Claims

1. A method for biometric authentication of a user comprising the steps of:

a) providing;

a mobile device comprising a camera and a screen; and

a server external to the mobile device, wherein the server comprises a database;

b) superimposing on the screen a translucent overlay of a finger over a real-time image as currently seen through the camera;

c) capturing with the camera an image of a fingerprint of the user;

d) sending the captured image to the server;

e) processing on the server the fingerprint image, which processing includes at least one of;

converting the fingerprint image to black-and-white;

reducing noise in the fingerprint image;

reducing blurring of the fingerprint image;

enhancing ridge contours of the fingerprint image; and

compressing the fingerprint image;

f) comparing the captured image with an authenticated fingerprint image that is stored in the database; and

g) returning a positive result if the compared images match;

wherein step d) occurs after step c) and before step f); and

wherein step e) occurs after step d) and before step f).

2. A method for biometric authentication of a user comprising the steps of:

a) providing;

a mobile device comprising a camera and a screen; and

a database;

b) superimposing on the screen a translucent overlay of a finger over a real-time image as currently seen through the camera;

c) capturing with the camera an image of a fingerprint of the user;

d) processing the fingerprint image, which includes at least one of;

converting the fingerprint image to black-and-white;

reducing noise in the fingerprint image;

reducing blurring of the fingerprint image;

enhancing ridge contours of the fingerprint image;

compressing the fingerprint image; and

encrypting the fingerprint image;

e) calculating a time used for the processing of step h); and

f) comparing the calculated time from step i) against a pre-set threshold;

g) comparing the captured image with an authenticated fingerprint image that is stored in the database;

h) returning a positive result if the compared images match;

wherein steps d)-f) occur after step c) and before step g); and

wherein step h) returns a negative result if the calculated time from step e) is less than the pre-set threshold compared against in step f).

3. A method for biometric authentication of a user comprising the steps of:

a) providing;

a mobile device comprising a camera and a screen; and

a database;

b) superimposing on the screen a translucent overlay of a finger over a real-time image as currently seen through the camera, wherein the overlay is oriented such that the finger of the overlay is positioned horizontally;

c) capturing with the camera an image of a fingerprint of the user, wherein at least one of the top and bottom one-third portions of a field of view of the camera is either;

     1) not imaged, or

     2) cropped out after imaging;

d) comparing the captured image with an authenticated fingerprint image that is stored in the database; and

e) returning a positive result if the compared images match.