Iris Recognition is Advancing. Could It Help Eye Tracking?

We’ve written several Eye Tracking Update posts about iris recognition lately because it is a technology that has recently experienced some pretty impressive advancements. If you think about it, it is pretty closely related to eye tracking technology – so much so that breakthroughs in one field may lead to progress in another. For example, Sarnoff Corporation recently won the “Best New Product Award” at the Security Industry Association New Product Showcase for its Iris on the Move (IOM) system.

This advanced iris detection system not only has the ability to scan the irises of people in motion, it can do it from a distance of up to 10 feet! Since one of the greatest problems with remote eye tracking is keeping the device calibrated while subjects move around, the IOM could potentially reveal some solutions for eye tracking system developers.

The IOM portal is unique because, unlike other iris detection systems, it is completely touch-less and non-invasive, and it doesn’t require people to stop and stare into a camera. In fact, it has a high throughput of 30 people per minute. It can get an accurate iris scan through prescription glasses, most sunglasses, and contact lenses. The scanner is used in conjunction with an iris enrollment system software that can store up to a million irises.

Sensitive locations that present an opportunity for security threats have a need for ID management and high efficiency access control. The IOM portal can be used at airports, border checkpoints, doctors’ offices, and ATMs, to name a few. They even have a drive-through system for vehicular checkpoints that only requires drivers to glance at the camera as they drive by.

There is no denying the power of the eye, not just for vision but for identification as well. Iris recognition is the most accurate and stable of the biometrics, and I think we will continue to see advancements in this technology as it relates to security. If iris scanning and identification is possible from a distance, maybe eye-tracking technology will be able to harness the same capabilities, which would improve ease of use, eliminate the need for calibration procedures, and allow for multiple people to be tracked at one time.

New iris scanning system scans 30 passengers per minute at a distance

Related articles:

1. Iris Recognition at a Greater Distance
2. Eye Tracking: Iris Biometrics Being Used to Catalog Inmates
3. Iris Recognition That Detects Hostiles Being Developed for Darpa
4. The All-In-One AOptix Face and Iris Recognition System
5. Iris Recognition: The Fingerprint of the Eye
6. Eye Controlled Video Games? Better Late Than Never
7. Eye Tracking Technology as Memory Aid
8. Eye Tracking: Iris Scanning to be the Ultimate Reference Point?
9. Eye Tracking: Biometrics and Your Money
10. Eye-Com Eye Tracking Drive Simulator Studies Driver Inattention