Patent ID: 7599531

Claim:
A method for acquiring biometric data of a finger having a nail and a finger-ball, the method using a control unit and comprising: touchlessly and simultaneously imaging a surface to be imaged along at least three different directions so as to create at least three digital images, the surface to be imaged extending from a first nail edge, across the finger-ball, to a second nail edge, wherein each point of the surface to be imaged is imaged along at least two of the at least three different directions; determining a geometric basic model for at least a part of the finger using at least one of at least three digital images; geometrically pre-warping the at least three digital images using the geometric basic model so as to calculate at least three pre-warped images; reconstructing a three-dimensional model of the surface to be imaged using a stereoscopic analysis of the at least three pre-warped images; and determining at least one finger characteristic using the three-dimensional model.