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08/15/05

NIST launches technical review of iris scanning

By Alice Lipowicz
Staff Writer

Iris recognition is receiving its first major government technical review under an evaluation launched this month by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

NIST’s Iris Challenge Evaluation is being billed as the “first large-scale, open, independent technology evaluation for iris recognition,� according to the institute’s announcement. The study is intended to “promote the development and advancement of iris recognition technology and assess its state-of-the-art capability,� NIST said.

Iris recognition is a biometric technology in which a person’s eyes are photographed and the unique patterns of the irises are catalogued for the purposes of identity verification.

The technology is currently being deployed in several pilot projects, including screening of frequent travelers at several U.S. airports, sponsored by the Homeland Security Department and, separately, in testing by British immigration authorities at Heathrow Airport in London.

The first phase of the evaluation, running from August 2005 through January 2006, will review specific queries related to iris recognition technology capabilities, including establishing a performance baseline to measure future progress.

In a planned second phase, which is being considered for the first quarter of 2006, NIST researchers will measure performance with sequesteredâ€â€