Instructions

U.are.U SDK - Developer Guide 10
Background
Issues in Fingerprint Recognition Technology
In a perfect world, it would be a simple matter to determine whether two fingerprints were from the same finger-- the
images would be identical or they would not. However, even though our fingerprints do not change over time, the
fingerprint images can vary a lot, especially for some people. For example, certain skin conditions and wear due to
manual labor can affect fingerprint images. This makes fingerprint recognition a very challenging problem that does
not have a perfect solution. As a result, captured fingerprint images are often not a perfect match to the stored image
from the same finger.
Fingerprint images from two different fingers of two different people can look similar, especially when, because of
worn fingerprints or temporary creases, there is very little information left about the actual fingerprint. The larger the
population you are working with, the more likelihood of similar fingerprint images.
Fingerprint recognition software needs to address these issues. We’ll discuss that more in later sections of this guide.