Biometrics International Development Trends

Biometrics technology mainly refers to a technology that uses human biometrics for identity authentication. Biometrics here are usually unique (different from others), can be measured or can be automatically identified and verified, heritable or lifelong. The core of the so-called biometrics is how to obtain these biometrics, convert them into digital information, store them in computers, and use reliable matching algorithms to complete the process of verifying and identifying individuals. This article focuses on the status of biometric identification in China and its international development trends.

The status of biometric identification in China

The earliest development in China's biometric identification industry was fingerprint recognition technology, which was basically synchronized with foreign countries. It began as early as the beginning of the 1980s and mastered the core technologies. The industry is relatively mature. In China, the research on biometric authentication techniques such as face recognition, iris recognition, and hand shape recognition was conducted after 1996. In 1996, Tan Tieniu, the current Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of the National Key Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, joined the 100-person Plan of the Academy of Sciences and resigned from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom as a tenured post. He opened up an international identity based on human biometrics. The research direction of the new disciplines in the frontier field has begun the research on the biometrics recognition fields such as human face, iris and palmprint in China. At present, the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is China's most authoritative biometric identification and scientific research institution, and has achieved domestic or international leading research results in the fields of face recognition, iris recognition, fingerprint recognition, and palm print recognition. Relying on scientific research results of biometric identification in top domestic scientific research institutes and famous universities, Beijing Zhongke Hongba, Beijing Traveler, Zhongkeaosen, Beijing Digital Express, Peking University Hi-tech, Hangzhou Zhongzheng Biological Certification Co., Ltd., Shanghai Yinchen Technology A group of high-tech companies in the field of biometrics, such as Daocengqi, slowly developed and led the development of the industry.

Since 2003, the biometrics industry has entered a period of growth. The main features are: the product system has been established, the technical standards have been gradually improved, the number of enterprises in the industry has increased dramatically (the number of companies currently operating in the world has exceeded 1,000), and the cost of products has dropped significantly. Technology has been widely recognized by customers, and applications in various fields have become increasingly popular. The industry system has also been formed.

At this stage, China's biometrics industry began to create a number of companies with leadership advantages in market segments, such as IDworld, Beida Hi-Tech, and Zhongkong Electronics in the criminal investigation and social security fingerprint locks. Fingerprint attendance and other areas have achieved certain advantages.

Relying on scientific research achievements of the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Zhongke Hongba Technology Co., Ltd. actively explored the industrialization of iris recognition. In October 2006, it developed the first embedded networked iris recognition instrument in China, and its performance has reached the international level. . Some companies have also made breakthroughs in areas such as technology research and development. For example, Yaluit and Yinchen Technology have achieved advanced levels in face recognition and other technologies.

The National Standard for Information Security Technology Iris Recognition System Technical Requirements (GB/T20979-2007), which was reviewed and approved by the National Standardization Management Committee, will be formally implemented on November 1, 2007. This is the first national standard in the field of biometric identification in China. The formulation of this standard has far-reaching significance for the development of the biometric identification industry in China. This is the first standard in China's biometrics industry.

Biometrics International Development Trends

1. National governments and industry organizations will play a significant role in promoting industrial development

Due to national security considerations, governments of various countries have implemented biometric passports, national identity card plans, and other policies that have greatly promoted the R&D, design, and application of biometric technologies. International organizations such as the International Society for Biometrics Identification and Identification, Biometric Alliance, and Biometric Application Programming Interface Alliance have also contributed to the formulation of industry standards, the exchange of training, and the coordination of government and industry.

2. Automatic identification technologies are integrated with each other and products tend to be more complex

The mutual integration of automatic identification technologies is an important development direction in the future. On the one hand, biometrics and other emerging automatic identification technologies, such as radio frequency cards, smart cards, two-dimensional barcodes, and RFID, may be combined in the future; on the other hand, different biometric technologies, such as fingerprint recognition, iris recognition, The combination of speech recognition and other forms of multiple biometric recognition technologies can greatly increase the accuracy of recognition. Currently, manufacturers in developed countries such as Europe and the United States have turned their attention to the mid-to-high end products and applications of complex large systems and multi-biometrics.

3. Frequent mergers and reorganizations in the industry, and oligopoly development

In recent years, major global biometrics technology companies have made planned and frequent mergers and acquisitions and restructurings with the goal of acquiring multiple technologies for the development of multiple biometric fusion products, reducing competitors and gaining greater market share. Currently, there are only about 20 biometric technology companies above the global scale. In the future, M&A and restructuring will continue in the industry, and oligopoly development will continue.