This could be interesting.
A recently published Apple patent entitled “Vein matching for difficult biometric authentication cases” shows that Apple may be looking to improve its Face ID and other visual-based biometric systems by taking advantage of the unique and hard to copy patterns of veins that reside under the skin. If successful, this could resolve the infamous “twin problem,” in which similar-looking people can trick the Face ID protocol.
At present, while Face ID security is good, it is still fallible by a number of areas, such as having a very small false-positive rate, which in the case of Face ID is in the realm of one in a million.
In the past, users have been able to trick Face ID via the use of highly complex masks, the “twin problem” sometimes granting unauthorized access to people who look extremely alike, such as twins of family members.
Apple’s patent proposes studying the veins a few millimeters below the skin. While facial features can be easily copied, vein patterns differ wildly between individuals, even twins. As they are also below the skin and occupy 3D space, it is also extremely difficult to create a counterfeit face that takes into account the vein structure without either the extreme cooperation of the subject, or medically invasive maneuvers.
The system consists of creating a 3D map of a user’s veins via sub-dermal imaging techniques, such as an infrared sensor in a camera capturing flood and speckle patterns from infrared illuminators lighting up the user’s face. The current incarnation of Face ID studies infrared light patterns emitted on a user’s face, which is then read by an imaging device. The patent specifically focuses on a technique that detects the veins under the skin as opposed to the exterior.
Apple’s proposed system also works to determine whether there’s a close-enough match between scanned data and previously-taken data that’s been used to register the usr. If the match is close enough, the system authorizes the uses and grants access to the device.
The patent lists its inventors as Micah P. Kalscheur and Feng Tang, and was filed in February 2018. The patent application first surfaced in searches in March 2019.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and the United States Patent and Trademark Office