SRI executive discusses Iris On the Move technology

SRI International’s iris recognition solution, Iris on the Move (IOM), can offer significant value in identifying and authorizing users for a range of applications, including identity management, access control and time and attendance.

Earlier this year, SRI International began exclusively licensing its IOM technology to Samsung for use in their mobile devices.

As the first product to stem from this partnership, the customized Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 tablet with IOM technology delivers the accuracy of iris recognition with a fast and seamless solution for secure access control and identity authentication.

Tests have illustrated that IOM technology is more than 1,000 times more accurate than published fingerprint data.

BiometricUpdate.com recently talked to Steve Perna, SRI International’s executive director of products and solutions division, who discussed the benefits of IOM technology, the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro integration, and why iris patterns make for a stronger identifier than other biometric factors.

What benefits does SRI’s IOM technology have over other iris recognition solutions?

Steve Perna: SRI’s iris recognition systems employ patented technologies to operate faster, more accurately, and under a greater range of distances and conditions than typical competitive offerings. Because of these capabilities, we can detect subject identities that were previously not possible, allowing for recognition while the individual is moving, wearing sunglasses or contacts, and even outdoors – accurately and quickly. The products in SRI’s portfolio have won a number of industry awards in recognition of their excellent performance, and reflect the experience gained in the company’s two decades of experience with iris recognition biometrics.

With this year’s integration of SRI’s iris recognition technology in the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro, does SRI have further plans to integrate the technology into other Samsung products, such as the upcoming S7 smartphone?

This year, SRI introduced new iris recognition solutions in several compact, cost-competitive form factors—including the iris biometric-embedded B2B tablet and an iris-activated residential door lock. We expect to continue to evaluate potential applications with a range of technology partners to extend a higher level of security and convenience to a broad range of new commercial and consumer applications.

Do you think that more mobile device manufacturers in the coming months will move away from other authentication methods like fingerprint recognition to implement iris recognition in their devices?

It would be a natural migration since iris recognition is superior to other authentication methods in important ways. Continuing advances in processing power, camera resolution, and illumination in mobile devices are making iris recognition viable for a wider range of uses, so we would expect that manufacturers will continue to consider this improvement for future products. Users with the highest need for security will be the first adopters, and as consumers become more familiar with the technology it will continue to spread to mainstream devices.

What makes iris recognition a stronger biometric identifier than other modalities, such as fingerprint, voice or face?

Human iris patterns are more unique, reliable, and enduring than other biometric factors. Each iris has more than 240 points of identification, resulting in one of the lowest false accept rates of any method. Additionally, iris recognition is non-contact and extremely fast. Iris is an established biometric with NIST certification and is backed by extensive research on stability, accuracy, and usability.

What are some projects that SRI is working on for 2016?

Installations to improve security include major airports, critical infrastructure, borders and sports venues, medical and healthcare applications to improve patient safety and reduce fraud, and identity management applications to support higher-level security and policy applications.

Article Topics

access control  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  identity management  |  Iris on the Move  |  iris recognition  |  mobile identity credentialing  |  SRI International  |  time and attendance