Access Control Solution Using Sensor Data Fusion for Security Purposes

Abstract

‘The science of identifying people by their physical characteristics is called biometrics. Biometrics is becoming an important field in science for several reasons, not the least of which is the heightened demand for security in a variety of situations.’ ‘Some kinds of biometric identification systems, like those that use patterns of blood vessels in the retina (the back of the eye) are very accurate. ‘But generally, in order for a system like that to identify you, you have to voluntarily enroll yourself in its central database’. ‘Then, when you try to gain access to a facility or to classified information, the system takes a scan of your retina and matches it to that stored file to verify your identity.’ ‘That works great when you're trying to selectively identify a small group of people with special access privileges. But you can't positively identify anybody who isn't enrolled in the system; you can tell who they're not, but not who they are. Furthermore, you generally have to interact closely with these systems in order for them to check your identity (for example, walk up to a retinal scanner and push some buttons). ‘Obviously, someone with malicious intentions would avoid that so, if you want to watch out for suspicious or dangerous individuals from a distance, these systems won't. Gait recognition is one kind of biometric technology that can be used to monitor people without their cooperation’.’Some researchers are working on visually-based systems that use video cameras to analyze the movements of each body part knee, the foot, the shoulder, and so on’. ‘Marshall's team uses a radar-based system’. ‘As an individual walks toward the system, they're bombarded with invisible radio waves’. “Each individual's walking speed and style will make those waves bounce back a little differently. The result is a kind of composite signature that characterizes the overall feel of their walk.” ‘This information couldn't pick out someone on the Most Wanted List of Law Enforcement Agencies if they wandered into an airport but it could be used to spot people who are moving around in suspicious ways, which may include repetitive walking patterns’ (suggesting they're "casing out" a target) or movements that don't appear natural given their physicality. ‘It could also be used in conjunction with other biometric systems to verify people identities and perhaps even weed out imposters’.