HandKey® - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What is biometrics?
- What is the difference between “biometric identification” and biometric verification”?
- What is a “false acceptance”? What is a “false reject”?
- What is hand geometry?
- Is hand geometry new?
- How does it work?
- What is buddy punching?
- Why HandKey®?
- How many hand templates can be stored in the unit?
- Do rings or Band-Aids have an effect?
- What happens if I injure my hand and have it bandaged or in a cast?
- My employees are concerned about hygiene issues. How do I address this concern?
- Are there any privacy issues?
- Is the HandKey® safe?
Q. What is biometrics?
A. Biometrics identifies people by a unique human characteristic. The size and shape of a hand, a fingerprint, the voice and several aspects of the eye are just some unique attributes. The word "biometric" simply means the measurement of a living trait, whether physiological or behavioural. Biometric technology compares a person's unique characteristics against a previously enrolled image for the purpose of identification.
Q. What is the difference between "biometric identification" and "biometric verification"?
A. Biometric identification compares a biometric "signature" to all the records stored in a database to determine if there is a match.
Because it requires comparing each existing record in the database against the new biometric characteristic, it can be slow if the database is large and is less commonly used for real-time applications such as access control or time and attendance.
Biometric identification is most frequently used in such applications as law enforcement — for instance, the comparison of a fingerprint from a crime scene to a database of prints collected from convicted criminals.
Biometric verification compares a newly-scanned biometric characteristic to a measurement previously collected from that same person to verify that individual's identity.
For instance, when an employee is hired, that employee's handprint will be enrolled into the company's biometric time and attendance system. When that employee attempts to clock in the next day, his/her newly-scanned handprint will be compared to the handprint scan collected when he/she was enrolled into the system. If there is a match, the employee's punch will be recorded.
Because of this one-to-one comparison, biometric verification systems are generally much faster than biometric identification systems. Most commercial applications of biometrics for time and attendance or access control use biometric verification.
Q. What is a "false acceptance"? What is a "false reject"?
A. One often hears biometric system vendors touting their system's low false acceptance or false reject rate. These refer to how accurate and reliable the system is in correctly identifying people.
For time and attendance systems, a false acceptance occurs when the system registers a punch from an employee even when someone else's hand (or an artificial hand) is offered for validation. A false reject happens when the system refuses to accept the employee's own hand as valid.
Biometric systems all strive to have rates of false acceptances and false rejects as low as possible. False acceptances may allow instances of buddy punching to occur. False rejects can lead to employee frustration when they aren't able to clock in and out successfully using their own hands.
Q. What is hand geometry?
A. HandKey® uses a field-proven technology called hand geometry, which verifies an individual’s identity based on the size and shape of the hand. It does not take fingerprints or handprints.
Q. Is hand geometry new?
A. Hand geometry has been in use longer than any other biometric technology. Two-dimensional hand geometry devices have been around since the 1970’s.
Q. How does hand geometry work?
A. The HandKey® measures the unique size and shape of the fingers and hand. Over 90 different measurements are made such as, length, width, thickness and surface area. No fingerprints or palm prints are taken.
HandKey® readers simultaneously analyse more than 31 000 point and instantaneously records more than 90 separate measurements of an individual’s hand - including length, width, thickness and surface area – to verify that the person using the device is really who he or she claims to be. The HandKey® compares this information with a template of the individual’s hand that has previously been stored in the reader. Once the person has been identified as a valid user, a door can be opened, access can be provided, or time recorded. The reading and verification process takes less than a second with impeccable reliability.
To enrol an employee for the first time, the employee would put their hand into the HandKey® three times so that a CCD camera records three-dimensional images of the hand. An algorithm converts these images into one mathematical value (the individual’s template). This template is then stored in the HandKey®. Each time an employee puts his/her hand in the HandKey® to punch in or out of work, the HandKey® takes another three-dimensional image of the hand, the algorithm converts this image to a mathematical value and then compares this new template with the template the HandKey® has stored previously. If the two templates match, identity is confirmed and the punch is recorded.
Each time an employee punches in or out, his/her template is updated with each successful verification. Basically, the HandKey® “learns your hand”. This allows for changes due to weight gain or loss, ageing, etc. This also eliminates the need to re-enrol users.
Q. What is buddy punching?
A. Buddy punching is when one employee clocks in for another employee. This usually happens when one employee is running late. That employee will then call into work to ask a co-worker/friend to clock them in at their scheduled time to report to work. This is the basis for payroll fraud that costs companies thousands of lost rands per year.
Q. Why HandKey®?
A. Badge-based terminals eliminate many of the problems associated with manual time and attendance systems. But there’s one issue that remains: “Buddy Punching,” the practice of employees clocking in other employees who are not at work. HandKey® hand readers stop buddy punching because, unlike badges and cards, the hand can’t be lost, stolen, or loaned to another person.
Q. How many hand templates can be stored in the unit?
A. HandKey® terminals hold from 50 employees up to 32 512 employees’ hand templates.
Q. Do rings or Band-Aids have an effect?
A. Not usually enough to reject a valid user. Just make sure the ring is in the upright position and hand placement is proper and there should not be any issues.
Q. What happens if I injure my hand and have it bandaged or in a cast?
A. You can be enrolled with your left hand; palm up while the right hand is disabled. It is not as comfortable but will work fine.
Q. My employees are concerned about hygiene issues. How do I address this concern?
A. Compare hand placement on the platen to using a door knob/handle, money handling, telephone use, or shaking hands. As of June 2007, every hand reader platen (where the user places his/her hand) contains an anti-microbial agent. These active agents are incorporated during the manufacturing process and because they cannot leach out or wash off the surface, remain active for the life of the biometric reader. This material does not change the look or the feel of the product but it continually protects the platen’s surface against microbes, making it cleaner and more hygienic.
Q. Are there any privacy issues?
A. Hand geometry technology cannot be reverse-engineered to identify people. It does not store the image of the hand, but instead stores a 9-byte template which is a mathematical representation of the hand image. This mathematical value is meaningless to other devices. In addition, no fingerprint or palm print information is gathered.
Q. Is the HandKey® safe?
A. The infrared lights used in the hand reader are similar to those used in remote controls for TV’s and VCR’s. The light’s power level is 100 mill watts – less than the amount produced by natural sunlight or microwave ovens.
Download PDF of Frequently Asked Questions
