How Do Fingerprint Access Control Systems Work and What Are the Benefits?
Everyone has a different approach when it comes to protecting their valuables. For some, a simple lock and key is enough to bring peace of mind. Others require more, such as a safe protected by a pin code, a hidden nook beneath the floorboards of their home, or a network of red lasers that trigger a system-wide lockdown if tripped (in the style of Mission Impossible, James Bond, etc.). However, modern-day companies and business owners are opting for a more conventional approach: fingerprint access systems, also known as biometric access control systems.
What Are Biometric Access Control Systems?
A biometric access control system is a type of security system that relies on a person’s chemical, behavioral, or physical characteristics to grant or deny access to a restricted area. To do this, the system relies on a network of sensors. While there are many types of biometric access control sensors, today we are only concerned with fingerprint pads, a sensor that uses a person’s unique fingerprint to confirm their identity.
How Does a Biometric Access Control System Work?
The magic of biometric access control systems lies in their ability to provide access to a given area based on who a person is, rather than what they have in their possession. Unlike code- and password-based systems, or systems that rely on keys and badges, biometric access control systems gather a specific type of unique, biological data from a person, focus on an isolated piece of that data, then compare the data against a database to identify the person and grant access.
In the case of fingerprint-based access systems, there are three phases to the fingerprint recognition process. First, a person must scan their fingerprint to enter themselves into the system’s database. Next, the system must establish a connection between the person and the print. Finally, the person uses their print to gain access a restricted area. If the system is working properly, the person will be identified by their fingerprint and given access to the restricted area.
The system administrator can then choose which areas an individual should be allowed to access.
Why Are Biometrics Important?
Biometric fingerprinting technology is important because it is virtually impossible to duplicate an individual’s fingerprint (despite what Hollywood spy movies would have you believe). This means business owners can implement a highly-effective security system with relative ease, and in the age of information technology and mass data collection, this a security measure most companies are happy to explore.
What’s more, biometric fingerprinting technology is often cheaper than traditional lock-and-key, password, token, or badge systems. This is because, as mentioned earlier, these methods of granting access rely on possessions, and possessions can be lost. When a person loses a key, badge, or forgets their password, the company is forced to spend time and money to replace them.
Admittedly, it’s possible to lose a finger. It’s just a lot more difficult.
When Were Biometrics First Used?
Some say biometrics were first used in 500 B.C., when Babylonian’s collected fingerprints on clay tablets to document business transactions. We can positively say that 14th-century Chinese merchants used children’s handprints and footprints to distinguish them, and that early Egyptian traders were identified by their physical characteristics. But the widespread use of biometrics didn’t begin until the 20th century.
Government buildings and other high-security locations were the first to use biometric access systems on a large scale. But as technology progressed and the need for highly-secure security systems increased in the private sector, biometric systems became cheaper and more broadly used. Now, nearly all major technological, financial, and medical companies are using some form of biometric security to ensure proprietary information, customer information, intellectual property, and their cold, hard cash isn’t stolen.
Today, biometrics have become so widely used that, in 2001, they were implemented at the Super Bowl in the form of facial recognition software that identified criminals against a database of mugshots. Moreover, small-scale biometric security providers are cropping up around the country, such as Accurate Biometrics, a biometric fingerprint reader company based in Chicago, IL, among other locations.
As technology continues to advance, biometric access systems, and especially fingerprint-based security systems, will continue to appear in more and more places. At first, they will be used to do what they do best: replace locks, keys, badges, and other antiquated access systems. After that, who knows. You may be making payments, starting your car, or even receiving medical advice using the tiny, unique grooves at the tips of your fingers.
