Ice Breaking

Iris recognition is an automated method of biometric identification that uses mathematical pattern-      recognition techniques on video images of the irides of an individual's eyes, whose complex random patterns are unique and can be seen from some distance.Not to be confused with another, less prevalent, ocular-based technology, retina scanning, iris recognition uses camera technology with subtle infrared illumination to acquire images of the detail-rich, intricate structures of the iris. Digital templates encoded from these patterns by mathematical and statistical algorithms allow unambiguous positive identification of an individual. Databases of enrolled templates are searched by matcher engines at speeds measured in the millions of templates per second per (single-core) CPU, and with infinitesimally small False Match rates.                                                                                                                                                                                      
Many millions of persons in several countries around the world have been enrolled in iris recognition systems, for convenience purposes such as passport-free automated border-crossings, and some national ID systems based on this technology are being deployed. A key advantage of iris recognition, besides its speed of matching and its extreme resistance to False Matches, is the stability of the iris as an internal, protected, yet externally visible organ of the eye.

           The core algorithms that underlie iris recognition were developed in the 1990's by Professor John Daugman,  Ph.D, OBE (University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory). These were licensed to many developers of commercial iris cameras and systems including LG Electronics, Oki, Panasonic, Sagem, IrisGuard, and Sarnoff Labs. As of 2008, Daugman's algorithms are the basis of all commercially deployed iris recognition systems, although many alternative approaches have been studied and compared in the academic literature in hundreds of publications. Iris recognition remains a very active research topic in computing, engineering, statistics, and applied mathematics.


reference:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_recognition>