Computerized
systems that automatically match fingerprints have become
so sophisticated that the best of them are accurate more than
99 percent of the time, according to the most comprehensive
known study of the systems ever conducted.
Computer
scientists at the Commerce
Department’s National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) tested 34
commercially available systems provided by 18 companies from
around the world. NIST conducted the testing to evaluate the
accuracy of fingerprint matching for identification and verification
systems.
While
law enforcement agencies long have employed automated fingerprint
matching devices, they are used increasingly in biometric
systems to make national borders more secure. NIST conducted
the study to fulfill requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act and
the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act.
The test
used operational fingerprints from a variety of U.S. and state
government sources. A total of 48,105 sets of fingerprints
from 25,309 people, with a total of 393,370 distinct fingerprint
images, were used to enable thorough testing.
The most
accurate systems were from NEC of Japan, SAGEM of France and
Cogent, an American company. The performance of these three
systems was comparable. The performance varied depending on
how many fingerprints from a given individual were being matched.
The best system was accurate 98.6 percent of the time on single-finger
tests, 99.6 percent of the time on two-finger tests, and 99.9
percent of the time for tests involving four or more fingers.
These accuracies were obtained for a false positive rate of
0.01 percent.
Researchers
found that the number of fingers used and fingerprint quality
affected the accuracy of the systems. Prints from additional
fingers greatly improved accuracy, and the greatest gains
were seen when graduating from a single finger to two fingers.
The Justice
Management Division of the U.S. Department of Justice funded
the study in connection with its efforts to integrate the
fingerprint systems operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
and the Department of Homeland Security.
NIST
is publishing a series of reports on the testing that includes
a comprehensive analysis of the results. The first of these
reports is available at http://fpvte.nist.gov.
As a
non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s
Technology Administration, NIST develops and promotes measurement,
standards and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate
trade and improve the quality of life.
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