Biometrics

Biometric fingerprint recognition was once the boon of science fiction and comic books. But in recent years biometric fingerprint recognition has been used for door locks and safes for the elite community, such as government agencies, rock stars, and high paid executives. Today biometric fingerprint recognition is becoming more common, not only in government uses but in commercial use and even in residential homes.

You might be surprised to know that biometric fingerprint recognition has been used by the Chinese for thousands of years. They first used the earliest form of biometric fingerprint recognition by inking and printing the hands and feet of infants and children, as a way to tell them apart. This use of biometric fingerprint recognition is still used today as a part of most birth certificate registrations.

Biometric fingerprint recognition found a new forum in the eighteen hundreds in Scotland Yard, when fingerprint recognition became commonplace in law enforcement. Criminals who were arrested for various crimes were inked and printed, and their fingerprints filed away for future comparison of later crimes.

Unfortunately, this was a vastly time consuming process that required a lot of effort. Sifting through thousands of files of fingerprints to try to make a match was time consuming, and not nearly as accurate as today's systems. Thankfully, with the coming of the computer age, biometric fingerprint recognition has become much easier and more commonplace in law enforcement. Fingerprints are stored in an FBI database, which can then be used for comparison with prints that are found at crime scenes.

In the last few years, biometric fingerprint recognition has left these more common venues and entered into the commercial and private sectors. The technology is now available on door locks, safe locks, and even as login points for personal computers and laptops. Biometric fingerprint recognition is also being used as an alternate form of payment, and for attendance or time clock tracking in schools and businesses. Additionally, pricing of these biometric fingerprint recognition systems has become more reasonable, allowing more than just rock stars and executives to enjoy the benefits of the keyless entry and the added security that biometric fingerprint recognition brings.

It is not unlikely that biometric fingerprint recognition will grow even more in the near future. What was once the imagination of science fiction films and novels will become reality. Keyless door entry for vehicles, as well as starting your engine by using a fingerprint scan may not be too far in the future. While offices strive to become paperless for convenience and security, businesses and residences strive to become keyless for these same reasons.

While many are concerned about privacy issues relating to biometric fingerprint recognition for these uses, they are actually just as safe if not safer than any other door lock, safe lock, or password. Because the fingerprints are stored as numbers (as is all data) in computer systems, an experienced hacker could potentially enter into your home or system. However, the average thief or seeker of fraud will not be able to enter your home or computer using biometric fingerprint recognition technology.