FB pixel

Metalenz polarization tech could boost mobile biometric liveness

Metalenz polarization tech could boost mobile biometric liveness
 

Optical technology expert Metalenz has developed a polarization-based optical technology which drastically reduces the size of the imaging systems for implementation on mobile devices, with potential benefits for biometric liveness detection.

Dubbed PolarEyes, the new tech is not yet commercially available, but according to the company, it may soon be used to improve privacy and security levels in smartphone-based face biometrics applications.

From a technical standpoint, polarization software uses polarized light to discern various properties of surfaces, including roughness and composition.

“Polarization imaging is known to have a number of great potential applications including providing contrast in medical imaging and sensing objects that can’t be seen by standard cameras like black ice to help autonomous driving,” Metalenz co-founder and CEO Robert Devlin tells Photonics Media.

Because of these capabilities, PolarEyes could be used, for instance, to counter presentation attacks against face biometric systems by using high-quality masks and high-resolution prints.

“Polarization in facial recognition tells you whether you’re looking at real human skin, or a silicone mask, or a high-quality photo or something,” Devlin says in an interview with TechCrunch.

Early tests conducted by the company seem to confirm the feasibility of these applications, with the Metalenz optical technology spotting biometric spoof attacks with printouts and recognizing surgical masks as a separate object from the person trying to gain access.

“Perhaps the most exciting part, though, is once we get polarization imaging into everyone’s pocket, we have the potential to unlock unforeseen applications and markets,” Devlin says.

These may include detecting black ice in automotive applications, as well as enabling individuals to carry out at-home dermatological exams.

At the time of writing, PolarEyes technologies are not yet small enough to be implemented within smartphones.

However, Metalenz confirmed it aims to make those applications feasible by the first half of 2022, with PolarEyes units potentially being installed as additional modules alongside traditional cameras in smartphones’ front-facing arrays.

Related Posts

Article Topics

 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 

Latest Biometrics News

 

Biometrics and injection detection for deepfake defense a rising priority

Biometrics integrations with injection attack detection to defend the latest front in the global battle against fraud, deepfakes, is the…

 

Biometric Update Podcast looks at the road to a global standard for age assurance

Episode 2 of the Biometric Update Podcast is a dispatch from the 2025 Global Age Assurance Standards Summit, held from…

 

WEF launches new DPI initiative focused on emerging tech, including biometrics

Global Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) initiatives are lagging behind emerging technologies such as AI, which could lead to inefficiencies, bottlenecks…

 

Odds are good for biometrics firms in the global gambling sector

Gambling has always been a vice associated with certain kinds of criminal activity, but the development of the online gambling…

 

New Zealand issues tender for digital ID services accreditation infrastructure

New Zealand’s accredited digital identity services regulator, the Trust Framework Authority (TFA), has published a request for information (RFI) for…

 

Pindrop surpasses $100M in annual recurring revenue, kicks off BU podcast

A release from Atlanta-based voice biometrics firm Pindrop celebrates a milestone: the firm has surpassed US$100 million in Annual Recurring…

Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Market Analysis

Most Viewed This Week

Featured Company

Biometrics Insight, Opinion

Digital ID In-Depth

Biometrics White Papers

Biometrics Events