In our fast-paced, technocentric world, personal security is more important than ever. Last year saw sizeable strides as biometric security further penetrated the consumer market. Fingerprint scanning proliferated its presence on smartphones and other mobile devices. Will 2014 see a further increase?
Yes, probably, but it won’t be as revolutionary as one might think. “Biometric” is a fancy sounding word for an industry that’s already breached the line between sci-fi and commonplace; we shouldn’t expect to see any world-shattering breakthroughs or surprises. What we will see, however, is biometric security slowly creeping into new corners of our lives and into new industries. Instead of just locking a phone or a gate, look forward to biometrics coming into play at civilian check-ins and check points, such as at border crossings, voter registrations, healthcare patient verification, or even ePassports. Voice biometrics are also starting to become more common, especially in banking.
The biometric tech market as a whole is projected to climb to an $8.7 billion industry this year (an increase from roughly $7 billion), according to a study from BCC Research. This is just the beginning of the incline, says the report, which charts the industry at over $27 billion by 2019.
Biometric security has been a hot media topic since September of 2013 when Apple’s iPhone 5S hit stores, but the consumer reception was a bit of a wash. Some analysts projected the 5S to be the first drop in a torrent of biometric-featuring devices. Others cited proprietary issues and the raw cost of the technology as distinctive hurdles for biometrics becoming a societal mainstay.
It appears the adoption of the technology is moving forward, albeit slowly. Iris scanners are catching on at a sluggish pace and fingerprint scanners are gaining steady steam, but much of the applications of these technologies remain unchanged.
New analysis from the firm Frost & Sullivan confirms that fingerprint recognition software will dominate sales in the biometric sector. However, iris recognition and other multimodial biometrics are slated to grow quickly in the coming years. Though more expensive and clunky, iris scanning is more accurate and less easily fooled than the oft-smudged fingerprint.
For information on how Pivot International can help you design and engineer your new biometric security device, contact us at 877-206-5001.
