Conclusion

Iris biometrics appear to offer the Holy Grail of biometrics. Iris biometrics are quick, robust, fast to compare, and resist spoofing better than any other trait So, this should be the ideal biometric for network security. From a pure technological standpoint, it is the clear winner, hands down. The last question to be answered is: Why has the iris biometric not overtaken every other biometric and been widely deployed? The reasons are quite simple:

1. Hardware cost ” Specialized cameras are still required. These cameras need to have their own unique light source. As such, there are only certain economies of scale that can be leveraged to reduce the cost of the hardware. Continued research in this area will yield lower-cost products.

2. User perception ” Even though it is quite clear that the infrared light being used is perfectly safe, the mere thought of something being shined into the eye is disconcerting to the user.

3. Placement ” To get the iris in the proper position takes a fair amount of coordination. Therefore, some users will never be able to use the product, and others will require longer times to become fully habituated to its use. Some cameras use eye recognition techniques to try to auto-pan and focus the camera. These solutions, while better, do increase the cost of the camera and may still require some user coordination.

4. Size ” While the current size of the camera has been reduced to that of a desktop camera on steroids, it is still rather large. As the camera decreases in size, it will become easier to find the required desk real estate for its deployment.

All of the above problems will be solved with time, money, and technological advances. When this happens and user perception can be changed, iris technology will be a strong competitor to fingerprint biometrics for network security.