ID cards: Biometrics work... sort of

The results of a government identity card trial have revealed that while the public is confident with the process of having their biometrics registered, questions still remain over the viability of the technology.

More than 10,000 participants were involved in the government trial between April and December last year.

The trial used a "one-off" system developed by Atos Origin using the latest technologies available at the beginning of the trial.

The enrolments took place within a purpose-built oval biometrics booth with a wall mounted camera. On top of the desktop was an electronic signature pad and sunk into the desktop was the fingerprint device.

The report said: "The majority of participants from all sample groups successfully enrolled on all three biometrics."

The study found that on average it took seven minutes and 56 seconds for successful enrolment on all three biometrics, including 90 seconds for the one-to-many database search.

Nearly all participants managed to register their fingerprint and facial biometric, but only 90 per cent of participants managed to register their irises in the system.

On average it took 39 seconds for facial verification, 58 seconds for iris verification and one minute and 13 seconds for fingerprint verification.

The report said the goal of the trial was to test the processes and record customer experience rather than test the technology itself.

But, of the three biometrics, it found the face had the lowest verification success rate, with only 69 per cent of participants managing to verify the facial biometric.

Nearly all (96 per cent) of iris verifications were successful but only 81 per cent of fingerprints were.

"One of the factors influencing failure was that the single fingerprint device used for verification occasionally did not record sufficient detail from the fingers," the report said.

Registration and verification of the biometrics of disabled participants was much lower across all three methods.

However, the report found that across all three biometrics, the vast majority of participants found their expectations of the overall experience "to have been either met or bettered". It found that the level of intrusion across all three biometrics, in relation to participant expectations, was not an issue.

Iris was selected as the preferred biometric by participants, and concerns about having biometrics recorded dropped after they had experienced the process.

The majority of participants felt biometrics were not an infringement on their civil liberties and would help with passport security, preventing identity fraud and preventing illegal immigration.

Find out more here on the Home Office website.