The term “biometrics” is one of those words that many of us are familiar with, but we might not be able to define it if we were on a quiz show. To help you win that top prize on Jeopardy someday, biometrics are body measurements. Thanks to some pretty amazing advancements in technology, we now use different types of biometrics as security features in our devices like smartphones. As Study notes, biometric security measures the unique characteristics that we have in our bodies; in turn, these biological traits will verify who we are and give us access to our portable devices.
Or, as Android Central states, instead of having to remember the bunch of letters, numbers and characters that make up a traditional password, in the land of biometric security, we are the password. Here are three of biometric's coolest applications:
Iris Recognition
Iris recognition works by measuring and scanning a smartphone owner’s iris pattern. Each one of us has a different pattern of color our irises, so smartphones that are equipped with this form of biometric security can scan the user’s eye to verify his or her identity. For example, if you own a Samsung Galaxy S8, to use the iris scanner to authenticate yourself, you will lift the phone to eye level at arm’s length, and wait for the innovative scanner to capture the iris data from your peepers. The Galaxy S8 is able to do this process pretty quickly and unlock your
phone. The technology also works from a longer distance and will not get fussy and stop working if your eyes are not perfectly centered with the phone.
Fingerprint Scanners
Another cool type of biometric security involves fingerprint scanners. As you have probably been told from the time you were a kid, your fingerprints are unique, so they are a reliable way to allow — or not allow — someone into a smartphone. Fingerprint scanners work by measuring the arches, loops and whorls on the finger. If the sensor detects your unique print, it will let you get into your phone.
As M2Sys.com notes, while fingerprint scanners used to be used only by the government, the military and law enforcement, they have become increasingly popular over the past five years and are now found in a number of smartphones, including the Touch ID feature that is found on many recent-model iPhones.
Facial Recognition
As the name implies, this type of biometric security uses your face to gain access to your smartphone. Apple announced Face ID not too long ago, and it has gotten a lot of attention as people wonder if it is possible to “fool” this form of security with a photo or other methods.
Iris Recognition
Iris recognition works by measuring and scanning a smartphone owner’s iris pattern. Each one of us has a different pattern of color our irises, so smartphones that are equipped with this form of biometric security can scan the user’s eye to verify his or her identity. For example, if you own a Samsung Galaxy S8, to use the iris scanner to authenticate yourself, you will lift the phone to eye level at arm’s length, and wait for the innovative scanner to capture the iris data from your peepers. The Galaxy S8 is able to do this process pretty quickly and unlock your
phone. The technology also works from a longer distance and will not get fussy and stop working if your eyes are not perfectly centered with the phone.
Fingerprint Scanners
Another cool type of biometric security involves fingerprint scanners. As you have probably been told from the time you were a kid, your fingerprints are unique, so they are a reliable way to allow — or not allow — someone into a smartphone. Fingerprint scanners work by measuring the arches, loops and whorls on the finger. If the sensor detects your unique print, it will let you get into your phone.
As M2Sys.com notes, while fingerprint scanners used to be used only by the government, the military and law enforcement, they have become increasingly popular over the past five years and are now found in a number of smartphones, including the Touch ID feature that is found on many recent-model iPhones.
Facial Recognition
As the name implies, this type of biometric security uses your face to gain access to your smartphone. Apple announced Face ID not too long ago, and it has gotten a lot of attention as people wonder if it is possible to “fool” this form of security with a photo or other methods.
As Wired notes, a team from the website tried hard to crack the Face ID system in a number of ways without any success. The new Apple iPhone X, which features Face ID, uses more than a 2D facial check; it will use a grid of 30,000 infrared dots projected onto a face, along with an infrared camera reading the distortion of the grid to create a 3D image of your face.
As the years go by, it will be interesting to see what other advances will be made in biometric security and its application to smartphones. It is nice to know that we no longer have to recall complicated passwords to access our trusty devices and rely instead on certain unique parts of our bodies.
As the years go by, it will be interesting to see what other advances will be made in biometric security and its application to smartphones. It is nice to know that we no longer have to recall complicated passwords to access our trusty devices and rely instead on certain unique parts of our bodies.
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