{"id":232,"date":"2010-11-01T17:21:21","date_gmt":"2010-11-01T21:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/?p=232"},"modified":"2021-08-12T06:56:23","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T10:56:23","slug":"deciding-which-biometric-hardware-device-to-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.m2sys.com\/blog\/biometric-hardware\/deciding-which-biometric-hardware-device-to-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Deciding Which Biometric Hardware Device To Use"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"OK, so you’ve decided to implement biometric identification technology in your business.\u00a0 Whew, the tough part is done\u2026.now, how do you decide which biometric reader is the most appropriate for you to use and will give you the best results?\u00a0 Perhaps one of the most critical decisions you can make when deploying a biometric solution is what the most appropriate piece of biometric hardware<\/strong><\/a> is to use.\u00a0 Here is a simple guide to help you to navigate the hardware choices:<\/p>\n

Fingerprint is a good solution for many environments<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fingerprint technology<\/strong><\/a> is one of the most familiar forms of biometric technology. Although M2SYS<\/strong><\/a> provides advanced, revolutionary\u00a0fingerprint software, using fingerprint biometrics is not always ideal depending on where the technology is used.<\/p>\n

The M2-S<\/strong><\/a> and M2-EasyScan<\/strong><\/a> fingerprint readers\u00a0provide virtually fool-proof fingerprint recognition. They tend to be most effective when deployed in environments like school lunch line point-of-service<\/a><\/strong>, youth membership management, afterschool programs and member authentication<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 However, they are not always a \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d solution, so here are some things to ask yourself about your end users when choosing the biometric hardware that is most effective for your needs<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

What industry do you work in?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Industries that are geared towards a blue-collar demographic where workers are primarily using their hands with tools or chemicals may be considered less than ideal for fingerprint technology.\u00a0 Cuts, dry skin, scars and other factors can sometimes prevent fingerprint readers from reliably enrolling or identifying a person.\u00a0 These types of environments tend to compromise the integrity of a fingerprint and make it difficult for prints to be captured through a reader.<\/p>\n

It is recommended that if you are seeking biometric technology for this type of an environment, consider vascular biometric readers (finger vein<\/strong><\/a> and palm vein<\/strong><\/a>) instead of where near-infrared light is used to capture the vein patterns underneath your finger or palm and the integrity of your fingerprint is not an issue.\u00a0 Non-invasive, contactless vascular biometric readers scan below the skin\u2019s surface to help ensure a perfect read every time and bypass the need to have a quality fingerprint.<\/p>\n

What is the age range of your end users?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes to additional characterizations of your end users to determine the most effective biometric hardware to use, consider their age.\u00a0 It is a biological fact that as we age, our skin tends to become less elastic<\/strong>.<\/a> Reduced skin elasticity tends to create less than ideal conditions for fingerprint scanning and is not conducive to capturing the quality images needed to successfully use biometric technology.<\/p>\n

Similar to our previous suggestion for a blue collar workforce deployment, you may want to consider vascular biometric readers if a majority or all of your end users are geared towards an older demographic.\u00a0 Finger vein and palm vein readers work very well with older users and once again do not need to rely on the integrity of the fingerprint to effectively capture a biometric image for enrollment and subsequent identification.<\/p>\n

How is the climate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is the climate like where you intend to deploy biometric technology?\u00a0 Is it cold?\u00a0 Warm?\u00a0 Humid?\u00a0 Dry?\u00a0 The integrity of one\u2019s skin is directly affected by the physical environment that surrounds them so if you are deploying biometrics in an environment that is cold which may cause dryer skin and thus compromise the integrity of a fingerprint, you may want to consider using vascular biometric hardware instead of a fingerprint reader.\u00a0 Also please keep in mind that the climate outdoors is just as important as the climate indoors when assessing which biometric hardware reader is best suited to your environment.<\/p>\n

Myth \u2013 An environment where clean hands are required is ok for fingerprint technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider a healthcare environment<\/strong><\/a> for a moment where staff is required to always have clean hands.\u00a0 Seems like this would be ideal for fingerprints because everyone\u2019s hands are always clean, and therefore would produce a higher quality scan for enrollment and subsequent matching, right?\u00a0 Wrong.\u00a0 Washing your hands repeatedly tends to dry out your skin, creating less than ideal fingerprint integrity which may make using fingerprint technology difficult.<\/p>\n

Once again, consider vascular technology instead where fingerprint integrity is not a factor for ideal results.<\/p>\n