Researchers in India should develop applications to facilitate Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) transactions through fingerprint and face recognition instead of the Personal Identification Number (PIN), said Anil K. Jain, professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, the U.S.
Delivering a lecture on the significance of biometrics at the 103rd at the Indian Science Congress here, Prof. Jain said that improvements in communication technology and advanced electronic devices had created new avenues for deployment of biometrics and pointed out that face and fingerprint recognition techniques were more secure and foolproof.
With the performance of state-of-the-art digital cameras capable of matching the human eye in image recognition and the fingerprinting technology too having matured enormously over the last few years, Prof. Jain said that Indian researchers should explore the possibility of their applications in financial transactions through ATM.
Professor of Computer Science in University of Mysore D.S. Guru told The Hindu that ATM transactions with PIN were not completely secure.
“What if somebody snatches your ATM or debit card, forcefully extracts your PIN and draws money. But, if biometric technology is deployed, the camera atop the ATM will recognize your face. So will the fingerprint sensor on your ATM card. If these two biometrics do not match, the ATM will reject the transaction,” Prof. Guru said.
Prof Jain also urged the scientists to develop biometric applications in surveillance. “For instance, he said researchers should work towards face recognition when a person is in motion,” Prof. Guru said.
Prof Guru, who is also working on biometrics, said there are also avenues for exploring the technology’s application for locking system.
“Instead of having a physical lock for your house or your almirah, you can have a fingerprint lock, assisted with camera for face recognition. The handle to open the lock will have a finger print sensor and it will open only when the fingerprint matches and the face recognition matches,” he said.
Meanwhile, seven invited speakers, 36 oral presentations and 42 poster presentations will be made as part of the Information and Communication Science Technology Section
