UIDAI’s Iris Authentication proof of concept study successful (UIDAI Press Release - pdf)
The UIDAI has successfully conducted the proof of concept Iris authentication study in
Mysore district of Karnataka. The study brought out the high accuracy levels (above
99.2%) achieved by iris authentication. A combination of iris and fingerprint
authentication can further the goals of universal inclusion and pave the way for
successful applications based on Aadhaar authentication.
The study was conducted in semi urban setting in Nanjangudtaluk in Mysore district of
Karnataka between May 27th and July 30th 2012. 215,342 iris authentication transactions
from 5833 residents were studied. 8 models of iris cameras through 6 different OEMs participated in this study.
This study has also brought out the specific improvement areas that biometric ecosystem needs to work upon to further improve the accuracy and coverage percentage. The detailed findings are documented in a report which is being published on UIDAI’s website. This will be followed by a workshop with the device vendors to guide them on the specific actions to be taken by them to improve algorithms and devices. UIDAI will then take up further field studies. These studies would also lead to formulation of iris device specifications for certification and deployment purposes.
It may also be noted that as a result of feedback to the biometric ecosystem, the
performance of fingerprint authentication improved substantially from the time UIDAI
conducted its first fingerprint authentication PoC to the last PoC. Same is expected in
iris authentication domain too, which points that iris authentication has a scope of
providing accuracy levels above 99.5%.
