Patent ID: 8009873

Claim:
An identity checking method for verifying the identity of an individual including the steps of: (a.) capturing the individual's initial biometric data at an initial time and storing it on a database; (b.) associating the initial biometric data captured in step (a) with a unique description, storing said data and description in said database and storing said biometric data and said unique description in an electronic document issued to the individual; (c.) capturing contemporary biometric data and said unique description of the individual by remote sensing means at a point of departure of the individual; (d.) interrogating said database for said initial biometric data corresponding to said captured unique description; (e.) comparing said contemporary biometric data with corresponding initial biometric data retrieved from interrogating step (d); (f.) making a decision on the basis of the degree of correlation in comparing step (e); (g.) forwarding data including said captured contemporary biometric data and unique description to a local database at a point of arrival of the individual; (h.) capturing arrival biometric data and said unique description of the individual by remote sensing of the individual at said point of arrival; (i.) comparing the captured arrival biometric data and unique description of step (h) with the forwarded captured contemporary biometric data and unique description of step (g); (j.) making a decision on the basis of identity between the forwarded and captured unique descriptions of steps (g) and (h) and the degree of correlation between the forwarded and captured biometric data of steps (g) and (h); (k.) interrogating said database for the initial biometric data corresponding to the unique description captured in step (h); (l.) comparing said arrival biometric data captured in step (h) with said corresponding initial biometric data; and (m.) making a decision on the basis of the degree of correlation of biometric data in step (l), whereby passage through said point of arrival is conditioned upon favorable decisions made in all of the comparing steps.