Hand Geometry

PRESENTED BY:

DR. SAIF ALABACHI

COMPUTER ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Definition
• Hand geometry-a biometric that identifies users by the shape of their hands.
• It uses the measurements of the hand in order to determine if the hand is a match or not.
• Can use finger length, thickness, and curvature.
• Only for the purposes of verification, not identification.
How it Works
• In a broad sense, hand geometry readers measure a user's hand along many
dimensions and compare those measurements to measurements stored in a file.
• This is done by using a series of algorithms to determine the measurements of
the hand.
• Assuming that there is already images of the hand on file, these are the steps
taken in hand geometry

Step 1: Hand is placed on plate with hand in right position between 5 pins and an
image is taken
Step 2: A median filter is applied to the image
Step 3: Necessary features for comparison are extracted
Step 4: Difference between sample and template is calculated for each feature
Step 5: Person with smallest “absolute difference” in feature is identified
Step 6: Results are displayed.
Equipment
• Scanner
• Pins
• Screen
An example feature
Feature set for hand geometry
Extraction

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Find the Difference
Metrics
• Euclidean distance:
d
dE =  i i  E
( q −
i =1
r ) 2

• Absolute distance:
d
d A =  | qi − ri |  A
i =1
Example:

User 2 = (71, 63, 70, 61, 74, 56, 56, 52, 281, 362, 268, 278, 243, 136)
User 2 = (69, 63, 74, 62, 73, 57, 57, 55, 276, 366, 259, 282, 245, 141)
User 15 = (55, 56, 63, 53, 60, 47, 48, 47, 249, 303, 258, 268, 241, 152)

d E ( User2, User2 ) = 14.1421 d A ( User2, User2 ) = 42

d E (User2, User15) = 75.8222 d A ( User2, User15) = 203

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Pros / Cons
Pros
• Requires little memory
• Less invasion of privacy (people more comfortable with system)
• Can easily be coupled with other systems for identification

Cons
• Not distinctive
• Can only be used for verification
• Many hands are very similar in shape and size, system may confuse someone else’s hand for yours
• Would have to be combined with another system in order for complete identification
• System can be very expensive
• Training required
Use of Hand Geometry
• Hand geometry is widely used throughout the world
• It is used for verification, not identification
• The hand geometry system is coupled with ID scanning to verify who is
entering
• It is not widely used in airports but has been taken advantage of by
different companies for their buildings and even government agencies