Over the last decade, biometrics has become the preferred technology for many identity management implementations in the Southern African region. One of the major players is the Morpho brand from Safran. Morpho has been available since 1979. The design of Morpho fingerprint terminals evolved through extensive experience in biometric solutions.
Morpho Technology
Fingerprint-based identity management solutions can run in tandem with numerous other systems used where identity-based fraud is rampant. Innovative IDM solutions can minimize criminal activities in many areas of business, inter alia, workforce management, canteen access, or account management. Reliable identification is of fundamental importance in industries where environmental hazards will be encountered. In harsh working environments, it is essential to be able to locate all staff at all times.
Testing and benchmarking surveys by the US National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) and NIST Minutiae Interoperability Exchange (MINEX) consistently rank Morpho algorithms among the world’s top performers. Morpho algorithms are able to manage more than 2 billion fingerprints worldwide.
A fingerprint is captured as a template. The unique pattern formed by true minutiae points distinguishes one fingerprint from all others. Typically, a fingerprint has around 80 minutiae points. These minutia points are the positions on a fingerprint where ridges split or end. A damaged fingerprint could have 150 minutia points, of which some 50% may be false. If these false points are misinterpreted there is a strong probability of mismatching. Morpho algorithms recognise and exclude these false minutiae and are able to store accurate templates. This capability has been clearly proven in environments that typically exhibit the worst quality fingerprints – mining, construction, agriculture, manufacturing and pension payments.
Scanners’ Surface Area Size
The size of a scanner’s surface area determines the size of the fingerprint read and minutiae data that can be captured – the larger the surface area, the larger the amount of data. Morpho scanners can capture a lareger fingerprint area and data, so an authorised user can place his / her finger differently at each clocking event and a positive match will result.
Morpho terminals operate in identification mode, verification mode or a combination of both.
- Identification* compares a person’s fingerprint to all records in the database, returning an exact match and positively identifying that person. This process is called one-to-many or 1:N.
- Verification* matches a user’s fingerprint data with additional information, for example, a password, ID number, PIN or card. This process is called one-to-one or 1:1.
Morpho’s superior scanners and algorithms’ analytical and predictive abilities deliver faster and more accurate identification than any other fingerprint technology.