Have you ever watched a James Bond or Mission Impossible movie where a person unlocks a secret vault with their eye? Well, in reality, that might not be exactly how it works, but retinal scans are for sure a real thing that is being used for high-security access. To grasp the work in detail let’s try to understand its purpose, working, and use cases.
What is a Retina scan?
Imagine your eye like a camera. At the back of the camera, there is a special area called the retina. This area is covered in tiny blood vessels like a fingerprint. Meaning that it is unique for everyone. So a retinal scan resembles a highly systematic way of checking your eye’s unique patterns of blood vessels.
What is a retinal scanner?
A retinal scanner is a device that directs an invisible light to your eye. This light assists the scanner to visualize a pattern of blood vessels in that particular area.
Uses cases of retinal scanner:
The retina scan is mainly used for the following purposes:
- Security
As mentioned before, every person has a unique retinal pattern, which can be used to assess your identity for high-security access. It is often used at banks or airports.
- Medical Diagnosis
Ophthalmologists use retinal recognition scanners to analyze and examine the health of a patient’s eye. This allows them to diagnose various diseases such as diabetes or glaucoma.
- Advanced Access Control
Organizations that deal with highly sensitive pieces of information or materials can use retina recognition or access controls in specific areas. This adds an additional layer of security and discards the utility of passwords or cards.
- Payments
Although this use case is still in the development stage, retinol canners can most definitely be utilized for secure payment methods. Try to visualize paying for groceries with just a glance at a scanner. This would discard the need for carrying cash, credit cards, or even your mobile phones.
Drawbacks And Challenges of Retinal Scanner
Retinal scanners, while have a lot of benefits, it does has their fair share of drawbacks that must be considered;
- Privacy Concerns
Many people might feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea of having their eyes scanned for security purposes. Unlike fingerprints, a person’s eyes are always on display. This might raise concerns about the misuse of personal data.
- Accessibility Issues
There is a high probability of people who might not be comfortable with using a retinal scanner. Many people have certain eye conditions which might discourage them from opting for retinal scanning. Moreover, certain types of glasses or lenses might not give a good scan.
- Cost
It is a given fact that retina scanner systems are some of the most expensive technologies in the market, especially when compared to other forms of security scanners such as fingerprint or key cards. Hence, many organizations might not be able to fully benefit from the technology considering the high initial investments.
- Complexity
Furthermore, retina scanning requires a lot of maintenance. And there are specialized pieces of equipment that come with it. Hence, it might not be practical for widespread use in certain situations. One would have to train people to use it and then how to repair it in case of damage. This is an additional cost that many would not like to bear.
- Security Risks
There is a small chance of security in the case of a retinal scan. It is said that identical twins might share the same blood vessel pattern. Moreover, if the data from a retinal scan is stolen, it cannot be easily altered.
- Accuracy and Liveness Detections
Experts claim that retinal scanners can be fooled with the help of high-quality photographs. Moreover, contact lenses can also be remade replicating the original iris pattern. Hence, a lot of the systems have to incorporate liveness detection measures along with retinal recognition to ensure that the real person is present at that moment.
Forging the way forward;
The future of retinal scanning has a lot of potential. With eventual advancements, chances of overcoming the prevalent limitations are high. As technology improves, retinal scanners will become more common. There is a high chance that accessing your gym or logging into social media accounts via retinal scan becomes the norm uptodatetoday.
Moreover, privacy concerns will always remain a top priority. Data encryption and user control will become more advanced and this will be a crucial factor in building trust among the masses.
Conclusion
Retinal scanning technology aims to make the future secure. Although the prevalent limitations exist when it comes to privacy, cost, and accessibility, eventual advances will completely resolve them too. Moreover, accuracy will improve and the retinal scanners will be used for a wide range of applications. It would become a necessary part of our lives. But with the updates comes extra responsibility which is imperative for the protection of the people.
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