The future of biometric technologies is promising.  Biometric devices and applications continue to grow worldwide.  Biometric technologies will soon be the common way to gain access into your personal computer system.

CardTech/SecurTech predicted that in 1998 the total expenditures for biometrics was to reach $100 million.  According to Erik Bowman, an industry analyst at CardTech/SecurTech, located in Bethesda, Maryland, of the $100 million, governments will spend approximately $62 million and corporations $38 million.  By 1999, as biometrics continues to grow and gain user acceptance, total corporate spending for biometric hardware and software will increase to $50 million (Millman, H. 1998).

There are several other factors that will push the growth of biometric technologies.   A major inhibitor of the growth of biometrics has been the cost to implement them.   That is beginning to change as computer hardware and software as well as manufacturing prices fall in price.  One can now go and purchase a fingerprint imaging system for under $100 per seat.  Also, increased accuracy rates are and will play a big part in the acceptance of biometric technologies.  The development and research into biometric error testing, false reject (false non-match) and false accept (false match), has been of keen interest to biometric developers.  How well do biometrics keep the "bad guys" out and let the "good guys" in will always be a question that is asked when customers look to implement a biometric technology.  Both false match and false non-match error rates continue to improve and it is the balance between the two that will be critical when implementing a biometric technology.  Finally, new applications and new markets are expanding the deployment of biometric technology.  Biometric applications that were once reserved for just military and other government applications are now finding their way into our daily lives.   Biometric applications are surfacing in child day-care centers,  healthclubs, universities, and automated teller machines (ATM's).  The explosion of the Internet and Intranet's are also fueling the presence of biometrics.  As e-commerce continues to develop as a mode of communication, many corporations and individuals are becoming concerned with security issues.  Ernst & Young's 1997 survey of businesses found that nearly one in four are staying away from the Internet because of worries about security breeches (International Computer Security Association, 1998).

The sales of biometrics is not the only factor that is contributing to its growth.   There are a number of new technologies that are under development that are looking at other physiological features for identification: 

• Vein pattern identification

• much like retinal identification in that it uses infrared light to produce an image of one's vein pattern in their face, wrist, or hand.  Advantage of this type of biometric technology is that veins are relatively stable through one's life and cannot be erased or tampered with. 

• Ear shape identification

• measures the shape (geometry) of the ear.

• Body odor identification

• body odor can be digitally recorded for identification.  A British company, Mastiff Electronic Systems Ltd., is working on a system that uses your hand to identify your body odor.  The British company has developed a sensor named Scentinel that is used to "capture" your body odor.  The product is still three years away from commercial release and is still too expensive ($48,600) but there is interest in its implementation from the British embassy in Buenos Aires, Saudi Arabia's National Guard, and private Indian and Japanese companies (Davis, A. 1997).

• Body salinity (salt) identification

• development in this area has been conducted by IBM and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  Their joint product, The Personal Area Network (PAN), works by exploiting the natural level of salinity, or salt, in the human body which is accomplished by an electric field which passes a tiny electrical current through the body (salt is an effective conductor of electricity), on which data can be carried.  The electrical current that is used is in the order of a nanoamp (one-billionth of an amp) which is less than the natural currents already present in the body.  Speeds equivalent to a 2400-baud modem have been claimed, giving 400,000 bits per second data transfer (Computer Business Review, 1998).

Applications of this kind of biometric technology could include the interaction (data transfer) between communication devices carried on the body including watches, mobile phones, and pagers.  Also, applications could include "waking up" household appliances/devices as one enters a room.

• DNA matching

• the "ultimate" biometric technology which would produce proof-positive identification of an individual.  This technology is still not considered a "biometric" technology and is years away from any kind of implementation.   It is also very intrusive for the user.

• Palm print identification

• uses the lines on one's palm to identify an individual.  Like fingerprint identification systems, palm print systems measure ridges and minutiae points found on the palm.

• "Electronic nose" identification

The field of biometrics is evolving.  Biometrics are now not just used to control physical access, but are used in a variety of industries and circumstances.  Biometric technology is improving and falling in price as vendors increase revenue.  As a result, funding is becoming more widespread and the development of biometrics is on the rise.

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