INSIGHTS
The worldwide market for biometric identification (not limited to physical access control) grew to US$2.6 billion in 2009, and research from Acuity indicates that revenues will reach $10.9 billion by 2017. Other studies show higher projections, pegging the worldwide market at $5 billion in 2010, growing to $12 billion by 2015 at a CAGR of 18.9 percent. In this two-part feature, a&s explores the latest advances and applications in biometrics and RFID authentication, addresses real-life usage and development issues, and outlines where the technologies might be headed.
Setting the Bar in Biometrics: Accuracy, Robustness, Software Integration
Date: 2011/12/26
Source: the Editorial Team
Real Life
For establishments and facilities using biometrics, reliability issues are always front and center. “Take a hospital setting for instance. The repeated cleaning of the hands, dryness in some areas and wetness in others create demographic and environmental challenges for biometric sensors,” Scarfo said. “Nothing is more frustrating for a user or administrator than not being able to process a verification transaction simply because a user's finger was too moist or a bit dirty.”
Durability is another area that solution providers continue to improve upon. “Ruggedized devices for military and law enforcement markets have a much wider tolerance for temperatures and weather conditions to operate in, and have substantially more durable components to withstand impact and wear and tear,” Skiba said.
Future Apps
In “Mobile Phone Biometric Security Analysis and Forecasts 2011-2015,” Goode Intelligence forecasts that the current global user base of 4 million in 2011 is set to grow to 39 million users by 2015. And the key driver is probably affordability, as costs for parts and finished products have come down considerably, Matsui observed.
Biometric technology is also playing an increasingly important role in passport control, with a heavy emphasis on how it could help governments monitor and control access at borders, Cullis said. “Over the past decade, increasing concerns over national security have forced governments around the world to raise overall public safety profile by refining existing security policies and procedures. This has led to the advent of machine-readable passports, or e-passports, which contain a microchip with information (accessible through protected contactless technology) that aids agents in authenticating the identity of the passport holder based on encrypted biometric data.”
Additionally,according to Homeland Security Research, the fusion of video-based remote biometric and behavioral suspect detection will bring significant growth opportunities to video surveillance, biometric and IT system providers and system integrators. This new market (including systems sales, upgrades and postwarranty services) is forecasted to reach $3.2 billion by 2016, growing at a CAGR of 33 percent.
The future, thus, holds in solutions with advanced biometrics that create new, convenient life styles such as cardless transactions, while putting users at ease with identification and privacy issues, Katsumata envisioned.