Fingerprint Enrollment Using Orientation Sensor Data

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current biometric authentication systems on mobile devices face challenges in speed and accuracy due to limited space, environmental variability, and the need for complex processing, leading to false rejections and acceptances.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a method that captures fingerprint images using a sensor and associates environmental information, such as orientation and ambient conditions, to generate and store enrollment templates, which are then used for accurate matching by prioritizing templates based on environmental similarity, thereby improving authentication speed and accuracy.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If traditional fingerprint matching methods are used without environmental information, then the system is simpler to implement, but authentication speed and accuracy deteriorate due to environmental variability and false rejections

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Environmental information (orientation, temperature, humidity, light) acts as an intermediary parameter that mediates between the fingerprint sensor and the matching algorithm. This intermediary data helps select appropriate templates and adjust matching parameters, improving accuracy without fundamentally changing the core fingerprint recognition system.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

Environmental information is captured and processed in advance during the authentication process. The system uses this pre-captured environmental data to pre-select relevant templates and pre-adjust matching parameters before the actual fingerprint comparison, thereby improving authentication speed and accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If multiple fingerprint templates are stored for different orientations and conditions, then authentication accuracy improves, but the quantity of data stored and processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication reliabilityVSAvoiddata storage volume

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of storing completely separate templates for different conditions, the system stores templates with associated environmental parameters (orientation, temperature, humidity). The matching algorithm then selects and adjusts templates based on these parameters, reducing storage requirements while maintaining reliability across varying conditions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The template selection and matching process becomes dynamic rather than static. The system dynamically selects which templates to use and how to weight them based on real-time environmental conditions, allowing a single set of templates to serve multiple conditions effectively.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Productivity

If environmental sensors and processing are added to capture and utilize environmental information, then authentication speed and accuracy improve, but device complexity and energy consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication speedVSAvoidenergy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses partial environmental information processing - not all sensors are activated simultaneously, and not all environmental parameters are processed with equal depth. Only the most relevant environmental data for the current authentication context is captured and processed, reducing energy consumption while maintaining authentication speed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

4Loss of time

If environmental information is used to index and select templates, then matching speed improves by reducing the search space, but the complexity of the matching algorithm increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication timeVSAvoidalgorithm complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The template database is segmented into groups based on environmental parameters (orientation categories, temperature ranges, humidity levels). This segmentation allows the system to quickly narrow down the search space by selecting only relevant segments based on current environmental conditions, improving speed while keeping the algorithm manageable through modular organization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS10146981B2Fingerprint enrollment and matching with orientation sensor input

Publication Date: 2018.12.04 QUALCOMM INC

AI summary

Techniques for associating environmental information with fingerprint images for fingerprint enrollment and matching are presented. The techniques may include capturing, using a fingerprint sensor of a mobile device, one or more images of a fingerprint. The techniques may include analyzing the one or more images to obtain fingerprint information associated with the fingerprint. The techniques may include obtaining, via an orientation sensor of the mobile device, environmental information indicating an orientation of the mobile device associated with the capturing of the one or more images. The techniques may additionally include generating, using the fingerprint information, an enrollment template for the fingerprint. The techniques may include associating the enrollment template with the environmental information. The techniques may include storing the enrollment template and the environmental information in a memory of the device, wherein the stored enrollment template is associated with the environmental information.