Edge intelligence enables self-sovereign biometrics for access control at scale

Advances in biometrics have enabled a change in the identity architecture behind access control systems that allows organizations to shift their approach towards user control and consent. This vision of “self-sovereign biometrics” was spotlighted during a webinar last week by Biometric Update and RealSense on “Why Facial Authentication is Ready for Secure Access Control at Scale.”

The on-device biometrics processing and intelligence offered by RealSense’ facial authentication devices deliver a true positive rate (TPR) and false acceptance rate (FAR) that allow it to work at scale in a variety of conditions without introducing additional friction, CMO Michael Nielsen explained. Between the new possibilities in processing at the edge of devices like the recently-released RealSense ID Pro, and the growing public acceptance of face biometrics due to “the Apple effect” and airport deployments, biometric access control at scale is possible in a different way than just a few years ago.

Ones Technology Global Growth Officer Fred Fischer says the introduction of these capabilities allows businesses to use one-to-one biometric authentication for access control, by having them assert an identity with a credential like a card or a token on their phone, as well as provide the template which the biometric device matches.

The growing versatility and flexibility of user experiences with phones is part of this equation as well, any2any Founder and CEO Allan Chester said. He cites the ability to load credentials into a mobile wallet and then use the security and user interface characteristics of the phone to further reduce friction.

Allowing people to control their own biometrics, consent to their use and present them applies some of the fundamental principles behind self-sovereign identity (SSI) to facial authentication.

The concept of self-sovereign biometrics is about five years old, Fischer says, but regulations and technology together have made it not just possible to implement in physical access control systems (PACS), but the future of the market.

Article Topics

access control  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  face biometrics  |  facial authentication  |  RealSense  |  RealSense ID