1.

ABSTRACT
Iris technology is an emerging research area, providing positive identification of an individual without contact or invasion, at extremely high confidencelevels. Iris scan has been developing an identification/verification system capable of positively identifying and verifying the identity of individuals without physical contact or human intervention.It is a new technology, using the unique patterns of the human iris, shows promise of overcoming shortcomings. .

The video-based system locates the eye and iris; evaluates the degree of occlusion by eyelid and spectral reflection; determines the quality of image focus; and determines the center and boundary of the pupil and the limbus (outer edge of the iris) for processing. The iris is zoned, and the features therein measured and encoded into a 512-byte Iris Code for enrollment or identification. The presented biometric is compared to an extensive database for identification, or to a referenced Iris Code for verification. Computations and decisions are accomplished at extremely high rates of speed, resulting in processing times of less than two seconds.

The multiple features produce a non-duplicable organ with more than 400 degrees of freedom, or measurable variables. of these to create a code which can be compared to an entire database in milliseconds, producing a positive identification with imposter odds as high as 1 in 1034.

2..INTRODUCTION
Iris recognition is the process of recognizing a person by analyzing the random pattern of the iris. The automated method of iris recognition is relatively young, existing in patent only since 1994. The iris is a muscle within the eye that regulates the size of the pupil, controlling the amount of light that enters the eye. It is the colored portion of the eye with coloring based on the amount of melatonin pigment within the muscle Although the coloration and structure of the iris is genetically linked, the details of the patterns are not. The iris develops during prenatal growth through a process of tight forming and folding of the tissue membrane. Prior to birth, degeneration occurs, resulting in the pupil opening and the random, unique patterns of the iris. Although genetically identical, an individuals irides are unique and structurally distinct, which allows for it to be used for recognition purposes. Many millions of persons in several countries around the world have been enrolled in iris recognition systems, for convenience purposes such as passport-free automated border-crossings, and some national ID systems based on this technology are being deployed. A key advantage of iris recognition, besides its speed of matching and its extreme resistance to False Matches, is the stability of the iris as an internal, protected, yet externally visible organ of the eye. Not to be confused with another, less prevalent, ocular-based technology, retina scanning, iris recognition uses camera technology with subtleinfrared illumination to acquire images of the detail-rich, intricate structures of the iris. Digital templates encoded from these patterns by mathematical and statistical algorithms allow the identification of an individual or someone pretending to be that individual. Databases of enrolled templates are searched by matcher engines at speeds measured in the millions of templates per second per (single-core) CPU, and with infinitesimally small False Match rates.

3. LITERATURE SURVEY
In 1936, ophthalmologist Frank Burch proposed the concept of using iris patterns as a method to recognize an individual. In 1985, Drs. Leonard Flom and Aran Safir, ophthalmologists, proposed the concept that no two irides are alike, and were awarded a patent for the iris identification concept in 1987. Dr. Flom approached Dr. John Daugman to develop an algorithm to automate identification of the human iris. In 1993, the Defense Nuclear Agency began work to test and deliver a prototype unit, which was successfully completed by 1995 due to the combined efforts of Drs. Flom, Safir, and Daugman. In 1994, Dr. Daugman was awarded a patent for his automated iris recognition algorithms. In 1995, the first commercial products became available. In 2005, the broad patent covering the basic concept of iris recognition expired, providing marketing opportunities for other companies that have developed their own algorithms for iris recognition. The patent on the IrisCodes implementation of iris recognition developed by Dr. Daugman (explained below) will not expire until 2011. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Intelligence Technology Innovation Center (ITIC) co-sponsored a test of iris recognition accuracy, usability, and interoperability referred to as the Independent Testing of Iris Recognition Technology (ITIRT) (http://www.biometricscatalog.org/itirt/ITIRTFinalReport.pdf), the results of which were released in May 2005. The scenario test evaluated enrollment and matching software, and acquisition devices. The ITIRT's primary objective was to evaluate iris recognition performance in terms of match rates, enrollment and acquisition rates, and level of effort required from the user.

4. MERITS AND DEMERITS

MERITS

It is an internal organ that is well protected against damage and wear by a highly transparent and sensitive membrane (the cornea). This distinguishes it from fingerprints, which can be difficult to recognize after years of certain types of manual labor.

The iris is mostly flat, and its geometric configuration is only controlled by two complementary muscles (the sphincter pupillae and dilator pupillae) that control the diameter of the pupil. This makes the iris shape far more predictable than, for instance, that of the face.

The iris has a fine texture thatlike fingerprintsis determined randomly during embryonic gestation. Like the fingerprint, it is very hard (if not impossible) to prove that the iris is unique. However, there are so many factors that go into the formation of these textures (the iris and fingerprint) that the chance of false matches for either is extremely low. Even genetically identical individuals have completely independent iris textures.

An iris scan is similar to taking a photograph and can be performed from about 10 cm to a few meters away. There is no need for the person being identified to touch any equipment that has recently been touched by a stranger, thereby eliminating an objection that has been raised in some cultures against fingerprint scanners, where a finger has to touch a surface, or retinal scanning, where the eye must be brought very close to an eyepiece (like looking into a microscope).

DEMERITS

Many commercial iris scanners can be easily fooled by a high quality image of an iris or face in place of the real thing.

The scanners are often tough to adjust and can become bothersome for multiple people of different heights to use in succession.

The accuracy of scanners can be affected by changes in lighting Iris scanners are significantly more expensive than some other forms of biometrics, password or prox card security systems

5. APPLICATIONS :

national border controls: the iris as a living passport computer login: the iris as a living password cell phone and other wireless-device-based authentication secure access to bank accounts at cash machines ticketless travel; authentication of rights to services premises access control (home, office, laboratory, etc) driving licenses; other personal certificates entitlements and benefits authorisation forensics; birth certificates; tracing missing or wanted persons credit-card authentication automobile ignition and unlocking; anti-theft devices anti-terrorism (e.g. security screening at airports) secure financial transactions (electronic commerce, banking) Internet security; control of access to privileged information "Biometric-Key Cryptography" (stable keys from unstable templates) any existing use of keys, cards, PINs, or passwords

6. CONCLUSION
The need for secure methods of authentication is becoming increasingly important in the corporate world today. Passwords, token cards and PINs are all risks to the security of an organization due to human nature. Our inability to remember complex passwords and tendency to write these down along with losing token cards or forgetting PINs all contribute to the possible breakdown in security for an organization.

7. REFERENCES :
[1] http://www.technicalsymposium.com/Iris_Recognition.html [2] http://www.biometrics.gov/Documents/irisrec.pdf [3] http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/iris-recognition [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_recognition