A potable biometric access device using dedicated fingerprint processor

Biometric signatures, or biometrics, are used to identify individuals by measuring certain unique physical and behavioral characteristics. Individuals must be identified to allow or prohibit access to secure areas-or to enable them to use personal digital devices such as, computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), or mobile phone. Virtually all biometric methods are implemented using the following 1) sensor, to acquire raw biometric data from an individual; 2) feature extraction, to process the acquired data to develop a feature-set that represents the biometric trait; 3) pattern matching, to compare the extracted feature-set against stored templates residing in a database; and 4) decisionmaking, whereby a user's claimed identity is authenticated or rejected. A typical access control system uses two components. First component is a fingerprint reader that is connected to a database to match the pre stored fingerprints with the one obtained by the reader. The second component is an RFID card that transmits information about the person that requests an access. In this paper, a compact system that consists of a CMOS fingerprint sensor (FPC1011F1) is used with the FPC2020 power efficient fingerprint processor ; which acts as a biometric sub-system with a direct interface to the sensor as well as to an external flash memory for storing finger print templates. The small size and low power consumption enables this integrated device to fit in smaller portable and battery powered devices utilizing high performance identification speed. An RFID circuit is integrated with the sensor and fingerprint processor to create an electronic identification card (e-ID card). The e-ID card will pre-store the fingerprint of the authorized user. The RFID circuit is enabled to transmit data and allow access to the user, when the card is used and the fingerprint authentication is successful.