NIST

Contactless Fingerprint Metrology Project

Michael Garris

(for John Libert)

ITL/Information Access Division
Evolution of Fingerprint Technologies

• Inked Tenprint

• Livescan Tenprint

• ID-Flats

• Contactless Fingerprint

2

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Credit: ©Axstokes/Shutterstock.com
History of Technology Validation & Adoption

Ink to Livescan

Livescan to ID-Flats

Livescan/ID-Flats to 

Contactless

3

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1. Ink to Livescan

• Ink impressed from tops of ridges 

and absorbed by paper fibers

versus 

• Light frustrated from tops of ridges 

touching the glass platen (FTIR *)

• Road to Adoption

– Studies, demonstrations, pilots

– Appendix-F IQS*, 

Certified Products List

4 *Frustrated Total Internal Reflection

*Image Quality Specification
2. Livescan to ID-Flats

• FTIR versus FTIR

• Rolled versus Plain

• Road to Adoption

– Studies, demonstrations, pilots

– Personal Identify Verification (PIV) IQS,

Certified Products List

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3. Livescan/ID-Flats to Contactless

• FTIR versus Touchless

+ Z-axis freedom

+ Direct sensing 

(sides of ridges in-light / in-shadow)

+ Unwrapping?

+ Under motion?

• Unlike FTIR, sensor solutions differ between 

contactless fingerprint technology developers

• Touchless fingerprints must be matchable to 

the hundreds of millions of touch-based 

fingerprints on file

• Road to Adoption?

– Studies, demonstrations, pilots

– New Testing Methods and Metrics for 

New Certified Products List

• Not a simple extension of Appendix-F or PIV IQS

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PIV 2D Test Targets

The FBI has granted PIV Certification to two 

vendors of contactless devices with caveat:

Note: Device images a 3-dimensional object, 

but testing was only 2-dimensional - Not for 

use with CJIS systems.
Research Strategy

Guiding Principles

• Simply taking pictures of flat, stationary optical 

targets is insufficient

• Test each contactless capture device under 

conditions for which designed

– Integrated device rather than camera performance

– At distance, under motion, with finger-like artifacts and 

actual fingers

• Turn off as little functionality as possible 

(ideally, none)

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CRADA Program

(Contactless Fingerprint Capture Device Measurement Research)

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/crada_contactless.cfm

• NIST working with industry to develop common criteria, 

testing methods and metrics to ensure new contactless 

devices produce fingerprint images that are reliable and 

appropriate for intended applications

• Image Accuracy, Repeatability, and Reliability

• Toward compliance testing for future procurements

• CRADA = Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

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CRADA Partners

• MorphoTrak

– MorphoWave/Finger-on-the-Fly

• 3M Corporation

– Prototype device provided on loan

• Advanced Optical Systems (AOS)

– ANDI/OTG

• Diamond Fortress

– iOS/Android

• Hoyos Labs

– iOS/Android

• Sciometrics

– Android

• MorphoTrak

– iOS/Android

NOTE: In no case does identification of any commercial product imply endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor does it imply that 

the products and equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.

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Portal/Kiosk

Mobile
Key Measurement Questions

(Image Accuracy?)

1. Does contactless image precisely represent real finger?

2. How different is a contactless image to a livescan fingerprint?
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Fingerprint

(Multiple 

Impressions)

Vertical Ronchi

(Glossy)

Horizontal 

Ronchi

(Glossy)

Horizontal 

Ronchi

(Matte)
Gen 8 Horizontal Ronchi Target Measurements

• 3D profile measurements of Horizontal Ronchi Target using zoom Microscope 

& Latest Software

• Average Depth = 105 μm, Average Width = 458 μm
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Spectral data and absorption specs provided to supplier in order to produce custom 

bio-optical phantom material
Automated Comparison Tool

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Analysis Workflow:

1. Load two images to be compared 

(contact/contactless or otherwise)

2. Register using 3 points

3. Registered images are then 

binarized

4. Both binarized and unprocessed 

are divided into ROI grid based on 

FAP sizes (10/20/30/40)

5. Metrics are computed for each 

grid box and entire FAP ROI
Contactless to Contact Image 

Comparison Metrics

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Already Implemented:

• SIVVDIff (Difference of SIVV signals)

• IMSD (Image Mean Squared Difference)

• SSIM (Structural Similarity Index)

• Pixels Changed (number, magnitude, average of changes)

• Dynamic Range

In progress:

• Measurement of Ronchi pattern consistency (width/height of bars)

• Minutiae correlation measurements using feature extractors

Vertical Ronchi (Guardian)

Vertical Ronchi (Contactless)
General Observations

Not singling out any specific device under CRADA ...

1. Ridge Polarity

2. Acquisition and Sequence

3. Image Details

4. Sample Rate Control
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Acquisition and Sequence Errors

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• Failure to acquire any fingers

(no fingers present)

• Failure to acquire all fingers 

(fewer than four present)

• Duplicate fingers 

(one appearing more than once)

• “Ghost” noise/background artifact 

in place of finger

• Incorrect order (sequence) of fingers

• Mirroring (transposing hands)

• More than one error can occur in 

each image

Mirrored/Reversed order Correct order

Duplicate Ring/Pinky Finger Missing Index Finger
Detail in Imagery

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• Pores clearly visible in livescan

captures @ 500 PPI, not visible 

in example of touchless 

capture (GREEN)

• Some ambiguity in ridge 

flow/minutiae such as 

bifurcations and ridge endings

(RED)
Sample Rate Control with Mobile 

Applications

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• Contactless Mobile App #1 allows for single finger captures between 

~200 and 500 PPI

• Contactless Mobile App #2 allows for four-finger captures between 

~300 and 600 PPI

• These mobile applications do not use fixed focal length and allow 

fingers to be within large range of depth from sensor

• In some cases, images appear to be downsampled from native sample 

capture rate to lower rate (targeting 500 PPI)
NIST’s Goal

• Help industry bring contactless fingerprint 

devices to market quickly and responsibly

– Thank you, CRADA partners! 

• Capabilities of the device properly matched 

and validated to the requirements of the 

intended application

• There is a lot of work ahead

– E.g., Forensic impact and comparison

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NIST

Contactless Fingerprint Metrology Project

John Libert

john.libert@nist.gov

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/crada_contactless.cfm