APC™ - Automatic Performance Calibration
As the principle of biometric personal identity verification becomes widespread, as in public applications for example, the issue of interoperability and equivalence of performance adopts
increasing importance. This is particularly the case where applications are operated over multiple sites. In such an instance, a given individual may pass a biometric check at one
location and fail at another, even using the same reference template and similar hardware. If the biometric equipment at a particular point of presence is calibrated differently to equipment
at another, or interacts differently within its local environment, it is likely that actual performance will also vary, creating a high probability of the scenario mentioned above. The
situation is further complicated by variables of environment and user psychology, making equivalence of both performance and user experience problematic. This can lead to further
complications of process and exception handling, especially in high profile applications such as border crossing, social service provision and the like. Such a situation would quickly
become troublesome and may lead local operators to compromise the process and thereby somewhat defeating the original object.
If we start with the assumption that what we are seeking is a higher level of confidence as to the true identity of a given individual, either via an automated or attended process, then we can, according to the perceived level of risk, specify a typical performance requirement accordingly. This operational performance should ideally be realised at each point of presence, whether on the same site or across multiple sites. We could seek to achieve this manually by careful monitoring and fine adjustment of the matching threshold at each sensor. However, this would be very labour intensive and would in any case not be consistent due to possible variations over time. It would be far better if such a process could be automated, whereby a desired performance level is set and the equipment is self calibrating in order to maintain the chosen level of performance over time and across multiple points of presence. This is the purpose of the APC™ system.
Proposed System
The Automatic Performance Calibration (APC™) module continually monitors transactional performance and re-calibrates the biometric device automatically as required in order to
achieve a pre-determined performance level. It is important to note the distinction between performance calibration and absolute calibration. The former seeks to achieve a given actual
performance (in terms of acceptable error rates) while the latter is simply calibration to a known reference. For real world operational systems and processes, it is actual performance
that is the important criterion.
The APC™ module will adjust device performance dynamically according to a predetermined reference. The organisation implementing the biometric application may thus specify a target level of performance and the biometric devices deployed will be automatically and continually calibrated in order to achieve this level of performance (providing of course it is within the bounds of the device in question).
The implementing organisation may thus feel confident that an equivalent level of performance is being realised across multiple points of presence, an important consideration for many applications, especially wide scale applications within the public sector. The APC™ module will be implemented as software which may be easily integrated with operational software and hardware for the purpose of biometric identity verification checks.
APC™ represents an innovative breakthrough with regard to the realised and sustainable performance of biometric identity verification devices. As such, it will play an important part in large scale public applications which utilise biometric technology and seek to provide consistent performance and equivalence of operation across multiple points of presence, whether they be on the same site or geographically separated. When developing applications, users and systems integrators may thus specify a performance objective (using the Biometric Operability Index) with confidence that this may be achieved consistently under real operational conditions (subject to the ability of the devices deployed). This capability represents a very significant step forwards with regard to the wide-scale deployment of biometrics. The patented APC™ concept may be licensed to device manufacturers who, in turn, may provide this functionality to their clients via intuitive operating software.
