Editorial Feature

The Importance of Fingerprint Sensors

The pattern of ridges and valleys found in your fingerprint is unique to you – not even identical twins share the same fingerprint – and as such it is one of the most important pieces of biometric information that distinguishes you from everyone else.

The Importance of Fingerprint Sensors

sibfox / Shutterstock

Using a person’s fingerprint as a means of identification is nothing new; it has been utilized for thousands of years. East Asian potters, for example, used to place their fingers on clay as it cured to show the work was theirs, and 19th Century criminologists used them to identify habitual criminals. It was not until the 1970s that fingerprint technology was first used to control physical access to building, for instance.

Since then fingerprint sensors have become incredibly popular and widespread – and it is easy to see why. Fingerprint sensors offer a way to reduce fraud as well as provide protected access to physical and logistical properties.

Unlike passwords or tokens, fingerprints cannot be stolen, guessed or lost making them highly precise and reliable. Furthermore, biometric fingerprint scanners are low cost, and the fingerprint technology is easy to integrate into existing infrastructure.

Fingerprint sensors perform a very basic function; taking an image of the fingertip and comparing it against information from a previously scanned fingerprint. It equates the ridges and valleys of a fingerprint – which is dictated by genetics and environmental factors – against stored data.

Fingerprint scanners can be used in one of two ways, for verification or identification. A one-to-one comparison of an individual’s fingerprint sample with a stored reference template is performed if verification is required, to gain entry to a building for example.

Identification would see a fingerprint sample compared against all the reference templates on file – like the Police’s National Fingerprint Database - to confirm a person’s identity, which occurs when the individual’s fingerprint matches any of the stored templates. Such applications of fingerprint sensors are commonly used by law enforcement following a crime scene.

Apart from law enforcement, fingerprint sensors in your mobile phone are perhaps the most common use of fingerprint scanners.

Toshiba first used fingerprint sensors in 2007, but it was not until Apple released the iPhone 5S that the technology became more widespread. Not only are they used to verify identification for unlocking a phone, but such sensors are also used to buy apps, or gain entry to apps for baking or payment purposes.

As far as phones go, fingerprint technology is designed to make life easier, but fingerprint sensors could benefit some organizations including healthcare, government, technology, and manufacturing organizations as well as institutions like universities and libraries – imagine being able to borrow a book using your fingerprint instead of a library card.

The Importance of Fingerprint Sensors

ktsdesign / Shutterstock

Fingerprint sensor technology could provide a means of identifying and tracking employees allowing the better and more efficient management of the workforce. Not only would it show that an individual is present when stated, but it also allows for the automated calculation of the number of hours worked (with the added benefits of reducing paper wastage and the number of human hours spent on manual reconciliation).

Biometric fingerprint scanners utilize fingerprint sensors and can be employed in building entry systems, finding use in ensuring the secure storage of medicines in healthcare environments. They could also be used to provide logical access to internal resources such as computers and systems containing confidential information or intellectual property.

In a government setting, such systems might be utilized to help combat fraud and security breaches, thus safeguarding confidential data and reducing costs. It could also provide a flexible and precise means of digital proof of identity for numerous applications such as border control, voter registration and national identification cards.

In the banking sector, customers could use fingerprint sensors to access in-branch services and establish links between them and their transactions. Such a system could also eliminate insider fraud.

Biometrics is one of the most swiftly growing fields in the information technology arena – it is forecast that the market will reach $23.54 billion by 2020 – with fingerprint sensor technology predicted to remain the principal form of biometric technology. It is easy to see why; the technology is cost-efficient, easily integrated, fast and highly accurate – after all, fingerprints cannot be lost, stolen or guessed, and are unique to every individual.

References and Further Reading

Fingerprint sensors history & uses: do we really need them?

Fingerprint scanners: what they are and how they work

Importance of biometric fingerprinting technology: Does your organization really need it? This will help you decide

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.

Kerry Taylor-Smith

Written by

Kerry Taylor-Smith

Kerry has been a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader since 2016, specializing in science and health-related subjects. She has a degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Bath and is based in the UK.

Citations

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

  • APA

    Taylor-Smith, Kerry. (2022, September 29). The Importance of Fingerprint Sensors. AZoSensors. Retrieved on October 15, 2024 from https://www.azosensors.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1356.

  • MLA

    Taylor-Smith, Kerry. "The Importance of Fingerprint Sensors". AZoSensors. 15 October 2024. <https://www.azosensors.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1356>.

  • Chicago

    Taylor-Smith, Kerry. "The Importance of Fingerprint Sensors". AZoSensors. https://www.azosensors.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1356. (accessed October 15, 2024).

  • Harvard

    Taylor-Smith, Kerry. 2022. The Importance of Fingerprint Sensors. AZoSensors, viewed 15 October 2024, https://www.azosensors.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1356.

Tell Us What You Think

Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this article?

Leave your feedback
Your comment type
Submit

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.