METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTINGUISHING FORGED FINGERPRINT USING LASER BEAM

摘要

The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for distinguishing forged fingerprint (hereinafter, referred to as a replica fingerprint) from living human's real fingerprint (hereinafter, referred to as a bodily fingerprint), by using a laser beam. A method of the present invention comprises steps of: irradiating a laser beam to the object, detecting a surface scattering pattern image (speckle image) created where the laser is irradiated on the object, analyzing a distribution of grey levels of the speckle image, and determining whether or not the object being in contact with the fingerprint input window is a bodily fingerprint. The degree of surface scattering for a human skin is different from that for non-human materials, because the laser scattering characteristic is different between them. Thus, if the grey level differece between the maximum and the minimum over a whole area or a certain area can be compared with a predetermined reference value, it can determine whether the object now being in contact with the fingerprint input window is a bodily fingerprint or a replica fingerprint.