The new version of the Innovatrics algorithm improves fingerprint matching performance, taking the accuracy for both children and adults to the same level while maintaining the compatibility of templates. It allows the continuous rollout of accurate fingerprint comparison in children into existing Innovatrics ABIS installations.
The issue of fingerprint recognition for children has become more pressing due to new security measures at borders, where biometric checks are a crucial element. Most countries have set the use of fingerprints for passports at the age of 12 or 13 years. Others like EURODAC or EU residence permits have lowered it to 6.
Despite the uniqueness and permanence of fingerprints, the difference between children and adult fingerprint scans (belonging to the same person) poses a challenge for matching accuracy in installed ABIS systems.
The introduction of legislation requiring fingerprint recognition for children is thus a costly operation. With Innovatrics ABIS, not anymore.
Children’s fingerprints are more likely to produce false matches for several reasons. The key issue is the growth of children. While their fingerprints remain permanent, the area gets larger and the ridge distance wider. Therefore, the relative positions of minutiae points undergo changes over time.
The smaller size and ridge distance also invalidate methods designed for adult prints that can detect the reduced number of minutiae points on children’s fingerprints.
The same biometric register used for children and adults will thus generate a significant amount of either false positives or false negatives in identifying the fingerprints of children.
As a result, the introduction of children’s fingerprints enrollment or matching requires costly upgrades or new installations.
Facing similar problems from long-time Innovatrics ABIS customers, we came up with a solution that maintains the compatibility of templates. It also allows the continuous rollout of accurate fingerprint comparison in children into existing Innovatrics ABIS installations.
Innovatrics introduced a new algorithm that estimates the shape of an adult fingerprint from a child’s scan with impressive accuracy.
In this way, the matching algorithm works with the same biometric template for all combinations of datasets: children, adults and mixed. It enables the use of existing Innovatrics ABIS installations while maintaining a high level of accuracy and low latency.
The new algorithm reduces fingerprint matching error rate in children by 6 times, almost on par with the adult fingerprint matching level.
Maintaining compatibility of templates, the new Innovatrics fingerprint algorithm allows the continuous rollout of accurate children fingerprint comparison into existing Innovatrics ABIS installations.
This represents important savings in terms of time and resources for Innovatrics ABIS customers introducing children fingerprint matching into their systems.
Discover more benefits of implementing fingerprint biometrics in civil identification and trusted voter registration. Learn how our other multimodal biometric platforms can help solve your needs.
Our passion for technology brings biometric benefits to millions of people.
