Fingerprint Readers / Fingerprint Scanners

Fingerprint Basics

What is it?

A human fingerprint is the impression left on a hard smooth surface by the skin of the fingertip. Because each fingerprint is different, it is possible to indentify somebody just by this alone. In 1892, Sir Francis Galton found that a fingerprint has about 35-50 distinct indentification points or minutiae. The odds of two being alike 1 in 64 billion. Latent fingerprints left behind are normally made from sweat, sebum, dirt and skin contaminants.

Patterns

Several features from a print are analyzed. This includes the aggregate characteristics of ridges and minutia points (unique features found within the patterns). There are three basic patterns that a fingerprint ridge may have, an arch, loop, and whorl. Arch is a pattern where the ridges start on one side of the finger, arch up in the center, and end on the other side of the finer. The loop is when a ridge enters one side, curves and generally exits on the same side. The whorl ridge forms circularly around a central point on the finger. Often family members share the same patterns which are believed to be inherited.

Minutia Features

Minutia features of a fingerprint ridge include ridge ending, bifurcation, and short ridge. A ridge end is the point where it...ends, a bifurcation is where a ridge splits into two ridges and a dot is where a short ridge occurs.

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Information from the Biometrics Knowledge Center

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