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Home > Biometrics history -- looking at biometric technologies from the past to the present
August 17, 2005
By: Alice Osborn
The ancient Egyptians and the Chinese played a large role
in biometrics' history. Although biometric technology seems
to belong in the twenty-first century, the history of
biometrics goes back thousands of years. Today, the focus is
on using biometric face recognition and identifying
characteristics to stop terrorism and improve security
measures. Once an individual is matched against a template,
or sample, in the database, a security alert goes out to the
authorities. A person's space between the eyes, ears and
nose provides most of the identifying data.
The ACLU and other civil liberties groups are against the
widespread use of these biometric technologies, although
they acknowledge the necessity of their presence in airports
and after the London bombings. Biometric technologies also
need to achieve greater standardization and technological
innovations to be recognized as a trustworthy identity
authentication solution.
A timeline of biometric technology
- European explorer Joao de Barros recorded the first
known example of fingerprinting, which is a form of
biometrics, in China during the 14th century. Chinese
merchants used ink to take children's fingerprints for
identification purposes.
- In 1890, Alphonse Bertillon, a Parisian police desk
studied body mechanics and measurements to help identify
criminals. The police used his method, the Bertillonage
method, until it falsely identified some subjects. The
Bertillonage method was quickly abandoned in favor of
fingerprinting, brought back into use by Richard Edward
Henry of Scotland Yard.
- Karl Pearson, an applied mathematician studied
biometric research early in the 20th century at University
College of London. He made important discoveries in the
field of biometrics through studying statistical history
and correlation, which he applied to animal evolution. His
historical work included the method of moments, the
Pearson system of curves, correlation and the chi-squared
test.
- In the 1960s and '70s, signature biometric
authentication procedures were developed, but the
biometric field remained fixed until the military and
security agencies researched and developed biometric
technology beyond fingerprinting.
- 2001 Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida -- each facial image
of the 100,000 fans passing through the stadium was
recorded via video security cameras and checked
electronically against mug shots from the Tampa police. No
felons were identified and the video surveillance led many
civil liberties advocates to denounce biometric
identifying technologies.
- Post 9/11 -- after the attacks, authorities installed
biometric technologies in airports to ID suspected
terrorists, but some airports, like Palm Beach
International, never reached full installation status due
to the costs of the surveillance system.
- July 7th, 2005 London, England -- British law
enforcement is using biometric face recognition
technologies and 360-degree "fish-eye" video cameras to ID
terrorists after four bombings on subways and on a
double-decker bus. In fact, London has over 200,000
security cameras and surveillance cameras that have been
in use since the 1960s.
Today and looking forward
Biometrics is a growing and controversial field in which
civil liberties groups express concern over privacy and
identity issues. Today, biometric laws and regulations are
in process and biometric industry standards are being
tested. Face recognition biometrics has not reached the
prevalent level of fingerprinting, but with constant
technological pushes and with the threat of terrorism,
researchers and biometric developers will hone this security
technology for the twenty-first century.
About the Author
Alice Osborn is a successful freelance writer and
contributor to Video-Surveillance-Guide.com. Your
definitive guide to video surveillance equipment, CCTV
cameras and wireless security systems for home and business.
Also See:
[ Biometric Technologies in Video Surveillance Applications ]
[ Glossary of Video Surveillance Terms & Definitions ]
[ How Network Based Video Surveillance Works ]
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