Fingerprint verification system

A heuristic search method for controlling access to secure areas including the steps of:

• for each of a plurality of authorized human users, enrolling a first digitized fingerprint and a first digitized facial image representation of said authorized human user and storing said first digitized fingerprint and said first digitized facial image in a database memory;
• detecting when a person attempts to gain access to said secure area and acquiring a second digitized facial image and a second digitized fingerprint;
• comparing said second digitized facial image with the first digitized facial image representations of each of said plurality of authorized human users to determine a first match confidence with each of said plurality of authorized human users;
• ordering said database memory from highest first match confidence to lowest first match confidence;
• comparing said second digitized fingerprint with the first digitized fingerprint of one or more of said plurality of authorized human users in the order created by said ordering step to determine a second match confidence;
• and
• allowing or preventing access to said secure area in the event the second match confidence falls above or below a predetermined threshold without relying on a non-biometric discriminator to convert a one-to-many verification task to a one-to-one verification task.

A one-to-many biometric verification system utilizing facial image comparisons to enhance the efficiency of a fingerprint verification analysis, the verification system comprising:

• a storage device containing a database of facial image templates and fingerprint templates acquired from a plurality of enrolled individuals, said database associating each facial image template with at least one corresponding fingerprint template acquired from the same enrolled individual;
• a camera for obtaining a newly acquired digital representation of a human facial image;
• a fingerprint sensor for obtaining a newly acquired digital representation of a human fingerprint;
• a processor associated with said storage device, camera, and fingerprint sensor;
• and
• software resident on said processor for comparing the newly acquired digital representation of a human facial image with the stored facial image templates, identifying a subset of more than one, but less than all, of said stored facial image templates that most closely match the newly acquired digital representation of a human facial image, then comparing the newly acquired digital representation of a human fingerprint with the fingerprint templates associated with said subset, and producing an output signal indicative of whether an enrolled individual is recognized;
• wherein the software is adapted to produce an output signal indicative of whether an enrolled individual is recognized without relying on a non-biometric discriminator to convert a one-to-many verification task to a one-to-one verification task.