Optical Recognition
 
     There are two common types of optical biometrics; retinas and irises.  Retinal and iris biometric devices are more accurate than fingerprint and hand biometric devices because both the retina and iris have more characteristics to identify and match than those found on the hand.  These types of devices have come a long way in recent years allowing the individual to be scanned even through their glasses or contacts.  The error rate for the typical retina or iris scanner is about one in two million attempts which further demonstrates the reliability of this technology.  Two drawbacks to these devices however are that they have difficulty reading images of those people who are blind or have cataracts, and that they currently are cumbersome to use.
 
    There are several industries which are particularly interested in this type of technology, but one of those which is most interested is the banking industry.  Citibank has signed a licensing agreement with Sensar, Inc. for use of their iris scanning systems, which the company will most likely incorporate into their ATMs.  The total investment totaled three million dollars which demonstrates the amount of faith the company places on this form of biometrics for the future.  One concern of the banking industry is that, due to the current cumbersomeness of these units, it may leave their customers vulnerable when conducting transactions at ATMs.  Some prisons are using this technology today to identify inmates and guards.

    The cost of these systems make them somewhat unattractive for network users with the typical cost averaging $6,500, but as this technology becomes more standardized and accepted the cost should reduce and become less of a factor in the decision making process.
   

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