The World Bank recorded an estimation that “the Africa continent alone accounts for half of the 1.1 billion people in the world unable to prove their identity” this opens up a primary potential market for companies in the sector.
Currently, in Africa, the biometrics industry is growing large in securing the recognition of people’s identity for voting, travel, or access to healthcare. It has a substantial economic impact on the activity of specific sectors, including public finance. Furthermore, its implementation has immensely reduced multiple identity fraud, an extremely costly phenomenon affecting the African continent.
According to the specialist firm Acuity, in 2019, nearly 139 million biometric and digital identity papers were manufactured in Africa and the Middle East. Three out of four Nigerians in Nigeria had no official documents in the early 2000s. However, the intelligent biometric identity card program, launched in 2014 by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), set new standards for the new card to be used first as a travel document and payment card and then as a driver’s license, social insurance document and voter’s card. As of January 2019, only 33.7 million Nigerians out of a total population of 190 million had received a unique identity number, leaving many citizens unverified.
Emerging biometric technologies are becoming universal across many parts of Africa, including facial recognition technologies in Zimbabwe, Uganda, and South Africa. This is because they have been proven effective in combating identity theft, fraud, and other security threats.
In the last decade, new biometric modalities have been developed by tech companies. Every biometric modality, however, works along the same fundamental principle: capture and measure specific biological or behavioral characteristics, evaluate them to generate and store a digital representation called a template, then match new captures against the template to verify identity. They differ in what’s captured, how it’s caught, and how easy and specific the process is.
In this article, we reveal 5 Biometric modalities that every entrepreneur should know about:
- Friction ridge biometrics
This biometric identifies, stores, and compares the complex patterns of the friction ridges found on the fingers or toes, the soles of the feet, and the palms of the hand. These ridges are unique to every person and are stable because they have been formed from conception. The fingerprint Recognition System is this category’s most known and used biometrics solution. It is used to authenticate people on biometric systems. It is an economical method, highly reliable, and secure. It also works on a small template size, accelerating the verifying process.
- Facial biometrics
Facial recognition is based on determining the shape and size of the jaw, chin, body, and location of the eyes, eyebrows, nose, lips, and cheekbones. It works by analyzing and comparing facial characteristics and landmarks, including the relative position, size, and shape of the eyes, nose, mouth, and any marks or patterns on the skin. Facial systems such as myidentitypay are fast, easy to use, and flexible. They can also capture or match biometric data from a video or photo.
The facial geometry is transferred to the database in terms of points. The comparison algorithms perform face matching and come up with the results. It offers easy storage of templates in the database, reduces the statistical complexities of recognizing face images, and involves no physical contact with the system.
- Ocular biometrics
Iris recognition works based on iris patterns in the human eye using patterns in the iris, the blood vessels of the sclera, periocular features, or the patterns of the retina. The process involves taking a picture of the iris with a capable camera, storing it, and comparing it with the candidate’s eyes using mathematical algorithms. It is convenient and unique, requiring little more than having the subject look into a camera outfitted with a functional light source. Iris biometrics also offer another advantage: they can be used in place of fingerprinting if digits are missing. It is also highly scalable as the iris pattern remains the same throughout a person’s lifetime and involves no physical contact with the system.
- Voice biometrics
Voice Recognition is also called Speaker Recognition. It models the individual’s speech, using certain qualities such as pitch and cadence resulting from each person’s extraordinary length and shape of the vocal tract. Voice systems can be highly convenient as they capture, process, and match a voice over the phone, with or without using specific words or phrases. Combining biometrics with voiced passwords is also possible for more authentic security.
At the time of enlistment, the user utters a word or phrase into a microphone; this is necessary to acquire a speech sample of a candidate. The electrical signal from the microphone is converted into a digital signal by an Analog to Digital (ADC) converter. It is recorded into the computer memory as a digitized sample. The computer then compares and attempts to match the input voice of the candidate with the stored digitized voice sample and identifies the candidate.
It is a good option if only one user uses the system. One of the advantages is that they do not require training the design for each user, and they are an excellent choice to be used by different individuals where it is not necessary to recognize each candidate’s speech characteristics.
- DNA biometrics
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is the genetic material found in humans. This biometric uses DNA captured from hair, nails, body fluids, or, more commonly for identification reasons, a buccal swab from the inside of the cheek to perform verification purposes. DNA-based systems are widely seen as the gold standard for biometrics, given the unique and highly personal nature of DNA. The merit of the DNA Recognition System is that it provides the highest accuracy.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) biometrics
ECG biometrics works by measuring the pattern of a heartbeat. This pattern is defined by a range of specific factors, including the heart’s size, shape, and position in the body, making it unique to each person. In addition to that, because there’s no easy way to measure ECG without close contact, it’s difficult to duplicate or replicate. Wrist-based ECG systems can also be remarkably comfortable for uninterrupted authentication.
Are you searching for an authentic and reliable verification system? Identitypass APIs have been created to make your verification processes as basic as possible. Visit myidentitypass.com to learn more about our advanced authentication and verification services modeled primarily for your business.
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