BT/ Google files patent apps for fingerprint and voice liveness

Paradigm

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Paradigm

15 min readDec 17, 2023

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Biometrics biweekly vol. 79, 4th December — 18th December

TL;DR

Google has filed a pair of patent applications for software capable of detecting spoofed voice and fingerprint biometrics that could be used to gain access to facilities and information
NIST updates biometric image quality assessment evaluation, seeks feedback
Thales’ latent fingerprint biometrics algorithm scores high accuracy, and speed in the NIST test
Fime France gets NIST lab accreditation for biometrics testing
Rank One Computing launches iris biometrics with the fastest speed in the NIST test
IrisGuard biometrics to support Yemen’s national payment platform
Deutsche Telekom works with Bielefeld University students on a digital identity project
1Kosmos adds mobile device-scanning capabilities, partners with AWS Cognito
Daon adds adaptive protection against deepfakes for voice biometrics
Worldcoin launches ‘World ID 2.0’
Onfido is now providing its selfie-based onboarding technology for InbestMe
Hitachi Solutions will work with the Concordium Foundation on a Web3 wallet that will leverage Hitachi’s Public Biometric Infrastructure (PBI)
The China-based smartphone brand RealMe has opted for a novel biometric authentication method in its newest smartphone
Precise, CyberLink and Genetec for biometric access control partnerships
Selfie camera detects palm biometrics and gestures in the Realme GT5 Pro phone
1Kosmos adds mobile device-scanning capabilities, partners with AWS Cognito
FortressPay to launch biometric payment platform as consumer interest grows
European digital wallet framework endorsed by EU Parliament committee
EU Council proposes launch of mobile driver’s licenses for digital wallets
India layers new IDs for workers on top of Aadhaar, as DPI projects expand
China’s project to verify real-name digital ID leans into national blockchain ambitions
Decentralized, user-owned ID propounded by DFend founder, platform launched by Zetrix
Estonia to support Kenya’s digital govt pursuits with $324K investment
Ethiopia shops for PR firm to popularize Fayda digital ID, speed adoption
Australian parliament approves ID verification, face biometrics bill with major amendments
Bangladesh, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Zambia advance with digital credentials projects
Malaysian digital ID available to the public from July 2024
Academics lay out principles for rollout of NSW digital ID, face biometrics
Biometric industry events. And more!

Biometrics Market

The Biometric system market size is projected to grow from USD 36.6 billion in 2020 to USD 68.6 billion by 2025; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% during the forecast period. Increasing use of biometrics in consumer electronic devices for authentication and identification purposes, the growing need for surveillance and security with the heightened threat of terrorist attacks, and the surging adoption of biometric technology in automotive applications are the major factors propelling the growth of the biometric system market.

Biometric Research & Development

Latest Research:

Main News:

Google files patent apps for fingerprint and voice liveness

Google has filed a pair of patent applications for software capable of detecting spoofed voice and fingerprint biometrics that could be used to gain access to facilities and information.

The applications are 20230385393 A1, relating to localized illumination for biometric authentication, and 20230386506 A1, for self-supervised speech representations for detecting fake audio.

The first one involves a fingerprint scanner that would change the luminosity and color of multiple regions of the screen.

Biometric authentication managing software would create illumination patterns to create and analyze a print reflection. The reflection would be used to detect print authenticity and liveness through characteristics like blood oxygen saturation or heart rate.

The second patent application involves plans for software and a device capable of recording audio data to spot synthetic speech.

Engineers’ plans, involve using a trained self-supervised model to generate “audio feature vectors.” The data would be scored by a shallow discriminator model looking for signs of a synthetic voice.

The score would be based on based on the features of each audio feature vector.

NIST updates biometric image quality assessment evaluation, seeks feedback

Image quality assessment algorithms are getting better at detecting specific defects that will impact face biometrics match success, according to a new report from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology.

NIST’s Face Analysis Technology Evaluation (FATE) Part 11 report evaluates algorithms for Face Image Quality Vector Assessment, in terms of their performance for Quality Specific Image Defect Detection (SIDD).

The latest evaluation adds a pair of submissions from secunet, as well as modified measures for subjects with open eyes and mouths, and occluded faces. The measurement modifications were made to better align the test with the specifications of ISO/IEC 29794–5:2024.

Prior submissions have been entered by Digidata, FRP LLC, Neurotechnology, Rank One Computing, Fraunhofer IGD, Idemia, Dermalog and Seamfix, along with two prior submissions from secunet.

All of the 13 “algorithms submitted have some success at measuring various quality-related parameters.”

The evaluation evaluated a use case involving machine-readable travel documents, how long it takes to produce results, and how accurately algorithms count the number of faces in a frame. Assessments of yaw, pitch and roll angle, as well as background uniformity, resolution, and under- and overexposure, are also evaluated. Algorithms were also evaluated for the detection of eyeglasses and sunglasses and motion blurring.

Algorithms from secunet delivered a particularly sharp decrease in false non-match rate (FNMR) as its quality assessments were used to discard lower-quality images.

Thales’ latent fingerprint biometrics algorithm scores high accuracy, speed in NIST test

Thales has scored a rank-one hit rate of 91.9 percent for latent fingerprint biometrics in the last evaluation by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), according to a company announcement.

The company also says its forensic latent print identification algorithm uses over 50 percent less computing power than the algorithms submitted by competing vendors, and is more than 50 percent faster than all other submissions to NIST’s Evaluation of Latent Friction Ridge Technology (ELFT).

Lower computing power in combination with higher speed means that Thales’ forensic fingerprint matching algorithm delivers its high accuracy at a lower cost, the company says.

The algorithm’s Detection Error Tradeoff (DET), which NIST describes as it’s “preferred accuracy metric,” has improved by 44 percent, which Thales says reduces the amount of time forensic practitioners must take manually reviewing weak hits.

The 91.9 percent rank-one hit rate for the ThalesCogent+0007 algorithm is based on the Cumulative Match Characteristic metric, as assessed for matching probes with EFS data to an FBI-provided dataset.

Thales scored an 87.4 percent rank-one hit rate with no threshold and no EFS features provided, which ranks third among the eight active algorithms assessed.

Fime France gets NIST lab accreditation for biometrics testing

The National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program accreditation (NVLAP Lab Code 600365–0) from NIST will allow the French firm to expand its range of biometric testing and consultancy services for clients developing digital payment options in fintech, banking and mobility.

According to a release, Fime can now verify that its customers’ products meet standards for performance matching accuracy (ISO/IEC 19795) and presentation attack detection (ISO/IEC 30107) in face recognition and fingerprint biometrics, plus other biometric modalities such as voice and palm vein. It reinforces Fime’s conformance with NIST Handbook 150 and ISO/IEC 17025 confirming the competence, impartiality and consistent operation of laboratories.

“The role of biometrics in consumers’ daily lives continues to grow; however, it is crucial that the convenience of these solutions does not come at the expense of security,” says Noël Catherine, vice president of services at Fime. “This is especially important as AI technology continues to evolve and deepfakes become more common. And to achieve widespread adoption, it’s just as important to ensure that biometrics are easy to use and any environmental or demographic bias is minimized.”

Rank One Computing launches iris biometrics with fastest speed in NIST test

Rank One Computing (ROC.ai) has announced the launch of its iris recognition software, complementing its established business lines in face and fingerprint biometrics, as well as weapons and object detection.

In NIST’s IREX evaluation, ROC.ai has the fastest mean search speed of all vendors at 0.11 seconds when tested on a database of 1 million iris scans, with an algorithm submitted in October. It also has a true match accuracy in searching two eyes at 99.3 percent and a false positive identification rate of 1.0 percent.

According to a release, ROC.ai managed to create an algorithm with a competitive speed in less than six months, demonstrating the potential of American biometrics companies. Its algorithm is 100 times faster than those of NEC, Idemia, and Thales.

The company notes that iris biometrics are gaining traction in sectors like national security and access control, due to the modality’s high accuracy.

ROC.ai is also the top-ranking global face recognition provider in combined accuracy and efficiency. Earlier in the year, ROC.ai announced its first fingerprint-matching algorithms. Its tenprint fingerprint segmentation algorithm achieved the top rank by NIST for accurate segmentation of biometrics with a 95.7 percent accuracy for detecting 8 fingers.

“We’re developing from the ground up, here in the U.S., and competing head-to-head with established foreign biometric giants,” says Scott Swann, CEO of ROC.ai. Brendan Klare, chief scientist and co-founder, says the development of iris recognition capabilities builds on past efforts that delivered the industry-leading face and fingerprint recognition algorithms which ROC.ai is known for.

Worldcoin launches ‘World ID 2.0’

Worldcoin has expanded into selfie-based authentication with the launch of the next generation of its digital identity platform, World ID 2.0. The company, which was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is known for its use of iris-scanning “Orb” devices in its user registration process. The aim is to establish irrefutably unique identities on the platform that are tied to real human beings. Now, with World ID 2.0, the company is starting to integrate its platform with others, including Reddit, Discord, Shopify, Minecraft and Telegram — all of which will accept World ID logins. And Worldcoin has established three different “Levels” of authentication adjusted to different risk scenarios: The simplest one, “World ID Device”, relies on a trusted device for authentication, while the next Level, “World ID Orb”, makes sure that the device is registered to someone who has been scanned by an Orb. A third Level, “World ID Orb+”, requires face-based authentication on a registered device.

EU Reaches Provisional AI Act Agreement

The European Union has provisionally agreed on a landmark Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, marking a significant step towards regulating AI applications, with a particular focus on biometric surveillance. The agreement, reached after intense negotiations, positions Europe as a potential global standard-setter in AI regulation. The Act is expected to take effect early next year and will apply two years later, with some provisions kicking in earlier.

Deutsche Telekom works with Bielefeld University students on digital identity project

Deutsche Telekom and Bielefeld University are partnering for the self-sovereign access management (SESAM) university cooperation project in which experts from Deutsche Telekom and T-Labs, the company’s research and development team, introduced concepts about digital identity and self-sovereign identity (SSI) to over 100 IT students at the university.

The SESAM project focuses on improving access control to efficiently manage office spaces shared between multiple companies. SSIs make it possible to share only required information from the ID in order to grant access.

Students broke up into 11 teams and were tasked with developing apps to manage room access and display employee login for hypothetical customers. Students were in contact with the full-stack development team at Telekom IT and had access to some on-site. They also regularly met for check-ins and progress updates.

This hands-on project provides networking opportunities and prepares students for internships and entry-level positions. The project also reflects T-Labs decentralized systems research focus area.

Deutsche Telekom recently began collaborating with two new customers for digital identity wallets as part of its larger digital ID strategy.

RealMe Pivots to Palm Unlock

The China-based smartphone brand RealMe has opted for a novel biometric authentication method in its newest smartphone. The GT5 Pro lets users unlock it with a wave of the hand, thanks to palm recognition technology. It also lets users swap between apps and take screenshots with hand gestures. Presumably, it is aimed at an untapped market of smartphone users who don’t like to actually touch their phone. RealMe, which shares a parent company with Oppo (BBK Electronics) has launched the new device in China and is aiming for a European launch in early 2024.