Fingerprint recognition technology is a type of biometric technology that confirms identity by comparing and analyzing an individual's fingerprints. Each person's fingerprint is unique and has a unique pattern, which makes fingerprint recognition a very safe and reliable method of authentication. Here are the basic principles of fingerprint recognition technology:
Fingerprints are made up of a variety of different patterns, including ridges (fingerprint lines), detail points, ridge flow directions, and more. These patterns are unique to each person, even twins.
When the user places their finger on the fingerprint scanner, the scanner captures an image of the fingerprint. This can be achieved through a number of different sensor technologies, including optical, capacitive, ultrasonic, and thermal.
The captured fingerprint image is first processed to improve the quality of the image and highlight important features. This includes enhancing contrast, removing background noise, and more.
Extract feature points from the processed image. These feature points (also known as "microdots") are the most important part of fingerprinting, and they include the bifurcation point of the ridge, the end point, etc.
The extracted feature points are converted into numbers and stored in a database. In practice, the complete fingerprint image is usually not stored, but only these digitized feature points.
When authenticated, a new fingerprint image is captured, features are extracted from it, and those features are compared to those stored in the database.
If the two sets of feature points match enough, the authentication is successful. Otherwise, the verification fails.
Fingerprint recognition technology is highly dependent on the precise extraction and matching algorithm of feature points, which makes it very secure.
In order to protect user privacy, most systems do not store the full fingerprint image, only the digitized feature data.
Fingerprint recognition technology is widely used in various occasions, including mobile phone unlocking, access control systems, bank authentication, etc., and is favored for its convenience and high security. With the development of technology, the accuracy and speed of fingerprint recognition are constantly improving.