Modernizing and hardening athletic complexes has been, for some colleges and universities, a long-delayed process. In particular, replacing obsolete access control methods with new technologies is an overdue mission that needs to be prioritized. Iris recognition is a cutting-edge solution that can efficaciously control access to sports facilities and solve the need for accurate authentication in institutions of higher education.
Safeguarding athletic premises can be challenging:
- Athletes and coaches should not have to carry with them any access control credential to the sports ground.
- Legacy systems involve long lines and multiple touchpoints for fans.
- When antiquated solutions are in place, users often leave their cards or keys in their locker rooms and prop doors open, compromising the security of the entire building.
Although fingerprint and hand authentication have been considered in the past by some postsecondary establishments, they have a high false acceptance rate (FAR), compared to iris recognition. Further, when athletes have big hands or when their hands are swollen due to an injury during practice, precise identification becomes a problem.
Iris recognition
Contrastingly, iris recognition or iris scanning is an extremely accurate form of biometric technology that uses first-class precision and visible, near-infrared light to take a high contrast photograph of a person’s iris.
This is how it works:
- Iris readers detect unique patterns that are not visible to the naked eye and ignore eyelashes, eyelids, nose, and specular reflections. The end result is a defined set of pixels.
- Then, the iris pattern is analyzed.
- Finally, it is digitized and compared to stored templates in a database for verification. Matching is performed with feature data extracted previously, using the same procedure.
Improved athlete and coach experience, enhanced security, and fast and convenient fan access to the playing field are critical reasons to choose an iris-scanning solution that can be integrated with other security systems.
Iris readers are easy to install and can be positioned strategically at doors to grant access only after authentication has been confirmed with the access control software. To get admission to the sports facility, the user only has to get near the reader.
The veracity and reliability of iris recognition are outstanding since the iris is a human feature that remains unchanged throughout life. It also has powerful capabilities as the authentication can still take place in the dark even if the subject is wearing a hat, mask, or eyeglasses.
While the adoption of biometric technology has been a slow process, its present and future impact is undeniable. Iris recognition, in particular, is an access control technology that can improve the safety, security, and convenience of athletic facilities, in colleges and universities, in exceptional ways.