Editing Iris recognition (section)

{{Short description|Method of biometric identification}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:ColourIris.png|thumb|upright=1|Iris recognition biometric systems apply mathematical pattern-recognition techniques to images of the [[iris (anatomy)|irises]] of an individual's eyes.]]

'''Iris recognition''' is an automated method of [[biometrics|biometric]] identification that uses mathematical pattern-recognition techniques on video images of one or both of the [[iris (anatomy)|irises]] of an individual's [[Human eye|eyes]], whose complex patterns are unique, stable, and can be seen from some distance. The discriminating powers of all [[biometrics|biometric]] technologies depend on the amount of [[Entropy (information theory)|entropy]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~jgd1000/iris-entropy-capacity.pdf|title=Advances in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, vol. 4, issue 2, pp 2152-2163 |website=cam.ac.uk}}</ref> they are able to encode and use in matching. Iris recognition is exceptional in this regard, enabling the avoidance of "collisions" ([[False positives and false negatives|False Matches]]) even in cross-comparisons across massive populations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~jgd1000/iris-entropy-capacity.pdf|title=Understanding Biometric Entropy and Iris Capacity: Avoiding Identity Collisions on National Scales|website=cam.ac.uk|access-date=12 August 2023}}</ref> Its major limitation is that image acquisition from distances greater than a meter or two, or without cooperation, can be very difficult. However, the technology is in development and iris recognition can be accomplished from even up to 10 meters away or in a live camera feed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Choi |first={{!}} Tyler |date=2022-06-13 |title=Iris recognition reaches the mainstream for identification, authentication {{!}} Biometric Update |url=https://www.biometricupdate.com/202206/iris-recognition-reaches-the-mainstream-for-identification-authentication |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=www.biometricupdate.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Retinal scan]]ning is a different, ocular-based biometric technology that uses the unique patterns on a person's retina blood vessels and is often confused with iris recognition. Iris recognition uses video camera technology with subtle [[near infrared]] illumination to acquire images of the detail-rich, intricate structures of the iris which are visible externally. Digital templates encoded from these patterns by mathematical and statistical algorithms allow the identification of an individual or someone pretending to be that individual.<ref>{{cite news|last=Zetter|first=Kim|title=Reverse-Engineered Irises Look So Real, They Fool Eye-Scanners|url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/reverse-engineering-iris-scans/all/|access-date=25 July 2012|newspaper=Wired Magazine|date=2012-07-25}}</ref> 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 remarkably low false match rates.

At least 1.5 billion people around the world (including 1.29 billion citizens of India, in the UIDAI / [[Aadhaar]] programme as of December 2022)<ref>https://uidai.gov.in/images/StateWiseAge_AadhaarSat_Rep_30112022_Projected-2022-Final.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=May 2025}}</ref> have been enrolled in iris recognition systems for national ID, e-government services, benefits distribution, security, and convenience purposes such as passport-free automated border-crossings.<ref name="portal.uidai.gov.in">{{Cite web |url=https://portal.uidai.gov.in/ |title=Apache Tomcat |access-date=27 August 2013 |archive-date=28 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628070701/http://www.portal.uidai.gov.in/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="UNHCR">{{Cite web|url=https://www.unhcr.org/uk/news/stories/unhcrs-new-biometrics-system-helps-verify-110000-myanmar-refugees-thailand|title=UNHCR's new biometrics system helps verify 110,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand|website=UNHCR UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foodtank.com/news/2019/01/the-world-food-program-fighting-hunger-with-blockchain/|title = Blockchain could change the future of humanitarian aid|date = 3 January 2019}}</ref><ref name="Iris Recognition for Syrian Refugees">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-introduces-innovative-iris-scan-technology-provide-food-assistance-syrian-refu/|title=WFP Introduces Iris Scan Technology to Provide Food Assistance to Syrian Refugees in Zaatari &#124; World Food Programme|date=6 October 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/world-food-programme-insight/these-changes-show-that-wfp-loves-us-247f0c1ebcf/|title = 'These changes show that WFP loves us.'|date = 20 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="India review of the UIDAI system">{{Cite web|url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/a-decade-of-aadhaar-lessons-in-implementing-a-foundational-id-system-50464/|title=A Decade of Aadhaar: Lessons in implementing a foundational ID system &#124; ORF}}</ref><ref name="Biometrics on a Mass Scale">{{Cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2014-02-biometrics-mass-scale.html|title = Biometrics on a mass scale}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Daugman | first=John | title=600 million citizens of India are now enrolled with biometric ID | journal=SPIE Newsroom | publisher=SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng | date=7 May 2014| doi=10.1117/2.1201405.005449}}</ref> A key advantage of iris recognition, besides its speed of matching and its extreme resistance to false matches, is the stability<ref>P. Grother, J. Matey, E. Tabassi, G. Quinn, and M. Chumakov, IREX VI: temporal stability of iris recognition accuracy, NIST Interagency Report 7948, pp. 1–3, 2013</ref> of the iris as an internal and protected, yet externally visible organ of the eye.

In 2023, Pakistan's National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) has launched IRIS for citizen registration/ Civic Management during registration at its offices for the National ID Card. After its initial stage, the eye-recognition verification access will be available for LEAs, banking sectors, etc.