Biometric Access Control for Security Guarding – Pros & Cons

Biometric Access Control System – A Simplified Overview

  

Biometric access control system is based on identification of the behavioural as well as physiological characteristic features of individuals. There are some behavioural and physiological features of human beings which are unique in every individual. This is the reason why biometric access control system is regarded as the full proof security guarding system available till date. As these features are non-replicable, the safety and security provided by the biometric identification is most reliable. Biometric access control system can thus differentiate between an authorised person and a fraudulent person.

Due to the full proof security given by the Biometric access control systems, these are increasingly being used by the offices as well as residential buildings. These unique security guarding facilities are done through scanning. Various kinds of biometric scanners are available in the market and some of them are mentioned below:

• Scanning of iris of the eye with the help of iris scanners
• Scanning of face with the help of face identification machine
• Shape of hands can be scanned through Biometric access control system
• Fingerprints are scanned by the scanner and helps in identification of authorised and fraudulent person

This identification system has many advantages and some disadvantages. These aspects are discussed in this article along with their practical applications in our daily lives. 

Biometric Access Control System – Explanation to Know the Advantages

These systems are preferred by the offices as these are better alternatives to password and PIN based verifications. The reasons are given below:

a)      In case of Biometric access control system, the physical presence of the authorised person is a must because has or she has to show the identification body part to the scanner of the system. Thus, security breach can never happen in this case.

b)      In case of Biometrics, the concerned authorised person is not required to carry cards or verification passwords.

c)       Biometric access control system provides complete safety and security to the office.

The basic three steps of Biometric access control systems are:

d)      Enrolment – The samples of characteristic feature of body parts of authorised person are taken, who are called enrolee. These samples are fed in the machines and the entire biometric of the enrolee is created.

e)      Template – Data that represents the biometric of an employee is mapped by the system, leading to the generation of a comprehensive template.

f)       Matching – In this step the template or collected samples that are fed in the system are compared with that of the live biometric sample so that the concerned person is allowed to enter the premises. 

Advantages

These systems are absolutely full proof because they cannot be replicated or stolen by miscreants. Thus, the question of allowing a fraudulent person through the Biometric access control system does not arise. However, in case of the traditional Pin and password identification systems, the passwords or cards can be stolen but not in case of Biometric access control system. 

Disadvantages

Some of the glaring disadvantages are mentioned below:

1. These machines are more expensive than the traditional PIN and password ones.
2. In case of voice identification, Biometric access control system may not work properly if the voice of the authorised person gets distorted in any manner, say, due to cough and cold.
3. Biometric access control system may also not work in case of face identification if the authorised person becomes obese.