System for characterization of biometric station metrics
Inventors
Assignees
US Department of Homeland Security
Publication Number
US-10885364-B2
Publication Date
2021-01-05
Expiration Date
2038-10-03
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Abstract
Various example implementations of the present invention are directed towards systems and methods to quantify biometric acquisition and identification. A test facility evaluates the acquisition by a biometric station of biometric information. Evaluations can relate to biometric information acquisition speed, rates of acquisition failure, rates of biometric information extraction failure, rates of biometric match failure, calculating a true identification rate, and/or calculating other metrics related to quantifying biometric acquisition and identification. The test facility can calculate an efficiency metric and an effectiveness metric of the quantification determinations, and output such results.
Core Innovation
The present invention relates to systems and methods for quantifying biometric acquisition and identification performance. A test facility evaluates the biometric station's acquisition of biometric information by measuring metrics such as acquisition speed, failure rates at various stages (acquisition, extraction, matching), and true identification rates, thereby generating efficiency and effectiveness metrics to characterize biometric systems.
The problem addressed is that biometric technologies frequently suffer from issues including slow acquisition, failure to acquire or extract biometric information, and failure to identify users promptly and reliably. While matching algorithms have improved, acquisition failures remain challenging due to lack of stored data on unsuccessful captures, impacting speed and reliability.
The invention provides a controlled test environment where users interact with biometric stations, and data such as timestamps, images, and identification results are collected and analyzed statistically. The system includes methods for evaluating image quality against thresholds to determine sufficiency for biometric characterization, deriving biometric signatures, matching against galleries, and calculating efficiency and effectiveness metrics using statistical tests like t-tests and proportion tests. This framework enables comprehensive evaluation, comparison, and benchmarking of biometric stations under operational scenarios.
Claims Coverage
The patent contains one independent system claim with multiple inventive features describing the components and functionalities of the biometric system, including evaluation metrics and sensor configurations.
System with biometric station and controller
A system comprising a biometric station equipped with sensors and a scanner having entry and exit points enabling passage of subjects, wherein the scanner acquires biometric information of each subject and sensors measure passage duration.
Determination of biometric characterization and matching
A controller configured to determine a biometric characterization for each subject based on acquired biometric information and to identify matches from a set of biometric characterizations for the plurality of subjects.
Calculation of efficiency and effectiveness metrics
The controller computes an efficiency metric using a t-test based on plurality of time durations and computes an effectiveness metric using a proportion test based on plurality of matches.
Inclusion of prompter for user cues
The biometric station can include a prompter configured to output cues to subjects to complete their passage through the station.
Calculation of acquisition speed
The controller is further configured to calculate an acquisition speed for the respective biometric information associated with each subject.
Support for multiple biometric stations and comparative metric determination
The system supports multiple biometric stations and determines efficiency and effectiveness metrics for each station, with stations arranged in series to accommodate the same subjects.
The claims cover a system integrating biometric stations with sensors and scanners to acquire biometric data and timing measurements, coupled with a controller that performs biometric characterization, matching, and calculates statistical metrics for efficiency and effectiveness, supporting multi-station testing scenarios.
Stated Advantages
Provides quantitative metrics to assess biometric acquisition speed and identification accuracy.
Enables statistical evaluation of biometric systems under controlled test conditions.
Supports comparison of multiple biometric stations with standardized efficiency and effectiveness metrics.
Captures user satisfaction ratings for comprehensive performance assessment.
Documented Applications
Testing and evaluation of biometric stations in controlled environments simulating operational use-cases such as security checkpoints.
Performance characterization of biometric systems including face, iris, and fingerprint modalities for traveler identification.
Statistical analysis of biometric acquisition and identification to support technology suitability assessments.
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