Iris recognition system eyes up smartphone security

Currently, smartphones typically use either a password or fingerprint scan to unlock the screen or for other authentication purposes. In addition to unlocking smartphones, iris authentication could be used to log into web services without having to input an ID or password, enabling simple access.

Fujitsu will explore applying this technology to a wide range of fields, including security systems. This prototype will be exhibited and demonstrated at Mobile World Congress 2015, running from 2^nd to 5^th March, Barcelona, at the Fujitsu booth in Hall 5, 5A40.

Smartphones and tablets carry not only personally significant photos and videos, but also are where people access electronic money and personal information, and the importance of security for both personal and business is rising. In light of this, Fujitsu has focused on developing a number of authentication technologies for smartphones, tablets, and computers, including vein authentication for personal computers and fingerprint authentication for mobile phones.

While smartphones all come with some form of security as a standard feature today, some users choose not to use these features because of the trouble of inputting a password or using one's hands. To resolve this problem, Fujitsu says its iris authentication system offers, in addition to security, ease of use.

However, users requiring high levels of security will usually choose to accept the minor inconvenience of inputting a password or swipe pattern. Users who elect to refrain from securing their devices are more likely to do so if they do not feel that any information on the phone is worth protecting - for instance, if they do not feel compromised by photos or message records being seen by others. Thus, Fujitsu's iris recognition technology, whilst futuristic and interesting, seems superfluous in all but a few exceptional use cases.

As an increasing portion of life becomes digitally managed, a genuine necessity for speedy, hands-free smartphone authentication may arise. Until then, iris authentication technology could find applications in areas such as data centre security - for example, to allow users to unlock cabinets whilst carrying items, or to add an extra layer of security to an existing setup.

Iris authentication is one type of biometric authentication, which works by authenticating the pattern of the person's iris, which is the ring around the pupil of the eye. Fujitsu has succeeded in miniaturising and optimising existing iris authentication technology for incorporation into a smartphone. The pattern of one's iris does not change much at all after the age of two, it is difficult to injure its surface, and is difficult to forge.

Movements of the smooth muscle of the iris make human eye openings larger or smaller, adjusting the amount of light that enters the retina. Iris authentication technology discerns a person's identity using the pattern of the person's irises, which are unique for each individual, much like a fingerprint. That pattern is read by shining an IR LED light on the eyes and taking an image of them with an IR camera to acquire the iris pattern, which is registered and used to verify matches.

Because Fujitsu's system uses ActiveIRIS(R) from Delta ID, a high-speed, high-reliability iris recognition engine, this system can be used at a normal smartphone viewing distance, rather than within the 10cm range that most existing iris recognition systems require. In standard photobiological safety testing (IEC 62471), the infrared LED light was verified to be safe for the eyes.

The iris authentication system used in the prototype could be used in smartphones and tablets, of course, but could also be used in a wide range of other applications, including security solutions. Fujitsu is conducting ongoing research and development on this iris authentication technology and ways to broaden its scope, with the goal of a commercial implementation during 2015.