10.5 - Fingerprint Classification and Matching

Abstract

A smoothly flowing pattern formed by alternating crests and troughs on the palmar aspect of hand is called a palmprint. Formation of a palmprint depends on the initial conditions of the embryonic mesoderm from which they develop. The pattern on the pulp of each terminal phalanx is considered as an individual pattern and is commonly referred to as a fingerprint. This chapter overviews fingerprint-based identification and summarizes algorithms for fingerprint feature extraction, enhancement, matching, and classification. It presents a performance evaluation of these algorithms. The architecture of a fingerprint-based automatic identity authentication system consists of four components: user interface, system database, enrollment module, and authentication module. The user interface provides mechanisms for a user to indicate his/her identity and to input his/her fingerprints into the system. The system database consists of a collection of records, each of which corresponds to an authorized person that has access to the system. The task of the enrollment module is to enroll persons and their fingerprints into the system database. The task of the authentication module is to authenticate the identity of the person who intends to access the system.