Biometric Fingerprint Reader

The state-of-the-art technology found in Mitrefinch Lumidigm Biometric Fingerprint Reader is making employee identification more reliable and user-friendly. Companies who want to keep their offices safe from unauthorized personnel as well as maintain accurate records of employee hours should take a close look at this system.

Uses for the Biometric Fingerprint Reader

• Managing a large workforce is a monumental task but one that companies must accomplish well or else experience significant financial losses.
• Security is a big issue these days, especially in large companies where all employees or temporary workers are not well known by the entire staff. Employers need a reliable way to provide the safest environment possible. This includes finding ways to be sure that only authorized personnel are in the office building or on the job site.
• For companies that have temporary workers, creating identification cards is time-consuming and inconvenient. The time spent with this task is not contributing to the company’s productivity.
• What’s worse, with a card reader system an unethical employee can punch in for another worker simply by having the other person’s card in their possession. Without other measures in place, the company could end up paying wages for an employee who didn’t come to work.
• If a company has controlled areas, unauthorized workers could gain access to those areas by “borrowing” someone’s card or password. Compromised information gained by a rogue employee could cost the company millions of dollars. If a company houses controlled substances or harmful chemicals, the unauthorized person could leave the building with them, opening himself as well as the company to legal troubles.
• On the other hand, a reliable and efficient biometric reader will save the company from security and legal problems as well as gain tighter control over payroll costs.

Problems with the Older Technology in Biometric Fingerprint Readers

• Older and less secure technology use passwords, swipe cards or barcode readers. These can be lost, stolen or duplicated, leaving the environment less secure than it should be.
• Conventional readers are very particular about the condition of the skin when reading a user’s fingerprint. When biometric reader devices don’t work as expected, workers get frustrated and work time is lost correcting the problem.
• Older technology has trouble reading fingerprints for various reasons. If hands are dirty, greasy, too wet, too dry, too hot or too cold, traditional readers are not able to take a good fingerprint reading in order to find a match in the corporate database.
• Furthermore, the pressure applied to the reader pad is a consideration with the older technology. Downward pressure that is too hard or too soft could skew the reading. Employees who have mountains of work become frustrated and angry when the reader can’t find them in the system and production is delayed until the reader problems are solved.

Technology of Biometric Fingerprint Reader Has Significantly Improved

• Technology has made many advancements in biometric fingerprint scanner devices. In 2010, Advance Systems incorporated Lumidigm’s award-winning multispectral fingerprint sensors into all Biotech Time and Attendance and Access Control units.
• This modern technology is not affected by dirt, grease or moisture. Neither does the degree of pressure of the touch matter anymore. Furthermore, it cannot be fooled by fake fingerprints, as happened with the old technology that simply captured the surface image of a finger.
• Instead, the Lumidigm multispectral fingerprint sensors read unique characteristics from the surface as well as the subsurface of the skin. The subsurface information is unaffected by the outer condition of the skin or any environmental factors, such as dryness, cold or rain.
• Furthermore, the new sensors cannot be tricked by fake fingers or prints because they have no subsurface characteristics that the Lumidigm is looking for. It can detect living flesh from non-living materials. Since what lies below the surface of the skin determines a great deal of what is on the surface, the sensors used by Advance Systems actually verify that the “internal fingerprint” matches the external one. This cutting-edge technology produces the highest quality fingerprint data possible.
• Thankfully, all the drawbacks of the old-technology biometric fingerprint scanners are no longer an issue. Each deficiency has been solved by Mitrefinch’s Lumidigm multispectral fingerprint reader.
• When fingerprint readers work smoothly, employees are more comfortable using them and no work time is lost clocking in. User trust builds each time the process goes smoothly.

Even Privacy Concerns are Solved by This Biometric Fingerprint Reader

Some employees are not comfortable about giving certain intimate personal information, such as fingerprints. They are concerned that the data will be supplied to larger databases for tracking.

This is not possible with the Lumidigm multispectral sensors because the surface and subsurface data are combined and stored as a unique mathematical representation and is not stored as a traditional fingerprint image.

This mathematical representation cannot be reconstructed back into an image of a fingerprint because surface and subsurface data have been combined. Employees’ fears are alleviated when they learn that the digital representations of their fingerprints cannot be interpreted by law enforcement or other governmental agencies.

How Does Mitrefinch Lumidigm Multispectral Imaging Work?

The unit consists of three main components:
1. The platen on which the finger rests
2. The light source, which illuminates the finger resting on the platen
3. The imaging system, which produces a digital representation of the finger

Image source hidglobal.com

Whereas old technology depends on reading the finger when it was in proper contact with the platen, the new technology uses multiple illumination wavelengths. Polarized light waves, which are set at right angles, are used to emphasize the light penetrating the surface of the finger. This light undergoes multiple scattering events before bouncing back out of the skin and into the sensors.

The multispectral sensors interpret these light waves and translate them into a digital format. We not only have unique fingerprints, the subsurface of our finger is unique, too. The light waves reflect these differences and a unique digital calculation results.

You can understand now why dirt, grease or sweat – or even medical protective gloves – do not matter to the Mitrefinch Lumidigm system. The light and sensors are concerned with the area under the skin that is completely unaffected by surface grime.

For these reasons, this system is ideal in real-world situations, such as construction sites, manufacturing plants, and hospitals.

This System Works Well Even with People Who Have Fingerprint Anomalies

With the old technology, tiny, callused or injured fingerprints were difficult to capture. If the sensors are not able to differentiate between the ridges, the image is useless. As people get older, the condition of the skin is not as good as it once was. Some people press down hard on the platen whereas others barely touch it. With older readers, a good, sharp fingerprint is simply harder to get from the elderly population.

The Lumidign system is not affected by any of this. Since it reads what is under the skin as well as the fingerprint, it gathers a unique digital impression for each person, from people of all ages and occupations.

Today’s companies must take advantage of every opportunity to become more efficient. With payroll being a large percentage of the company’s budget, it’s fiscally responsible to closely monitor employee hours. The Mitrefinch Employee Timeclock, with Lumidigm multispectral sensors, is the ideal system for this important task. For smaller companies, the Desktop Biometric Reader is more economical, yet just as efficient.