Standoff Fingerprint Collection via Optical Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fingerprint collection technologies are limited by the need for bulky sensors and may conflict with cultural or sanitation issues, restricting ease of use and mobility, especially when collecting fingerprints from a digital image without physical contact.
Innovation Solution
A method and system using a mobile device with a digital camera to capture and process biometric images, employing lighting compensation, segmentation, and Gabor filtering to create an identification profile without the need for physical contact, allowing for standoff fingerprint collection and enhanced mobility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional fingerprint sensors are used, then fingerprint collection accuracy is maintained, but device mobility and ease of operation deteriorate due to bulky size and physical contact requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical contact-based fingerprint sensors with an optical imaging system using a digital camera. The camera captures images of fingerprints at a distance without physical contact, substituting mechanical sensing with optical field-based imaging. This eliminates the need for bulky sensors while maintaining fingerprint collection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy of the fingerprint image through camera capture and subsequent image processing. Instead of directly sensing the physical fingerprint through contact, the system captures an optical copy and processes it through algorithms including lighting compensation and Gabor filtering to extract biometric features, thereby eliminating the need for physical sensor contact.
2Reliability
If physical contact sensors are used, then fingerprint data quality is ensured, but cultural and sanitation concerns worsen due to touching shared objects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical contact-based sensing with optical imaging. The digital camera captures fingerprint images through light reflection without requiring the user's finger to physically touch the sensor surface, thereby eliminating sanitation concerns associated with shared contact sensors while maintaining reliable fingerprint data collection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces light as an intermediary between the fingerprint and the sensor. Instead of direct physical contact between the finger and sensor, light reflects off the fingerprint ridges and valleys to carry the biometric information to the camera, creating a non-contact transmission medium that eliminates contamination risks.
3Adaptability or versatility
If standoff collection is implemented, then mobility and ease of use improve, but lighting effects and image quality worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies lighting compensation algorithms that adjust image parameters to counteract the effects of varying lighting conditions during standoff capture. By dynamically modifying image parameters through processing algorithms including Gabor filtering and lighting compensation, the system maintains measurement precision despite the challenges of non-contact image-based fingerprint collection.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, a biometric identifier collection device, and a set of instructions are disclosed. A memory 208 may store a digital image having a biometric identifier. A processor 204 may execute a lighting compensation to remove a lighting effect from the biometric identifier. The processor 204 may process the biometric identifier to create an identification profile.