On a Local Ordinal Binary Extension to Gabor Wavelet-Based Encoding for Improved Iris Recognition

Abstract

Daugman's iris recognition algorithm introduced in early 90s and later undergoing continuous refinements remains potentially the most efficient and scalable in iris field. The encoding part of the algorithm relies on application of Gabor wavelets that in terms of their imaging capabilities mimic capabilities of human eye receptor field. In this work, we design and test an algorithm that can be used both individually and as a natural extension scheme to Gabor wavelet-based algorithm. It is based on the local ordinal information extracted from original unfiltered images. This scheme holds a number of promises: (1) it is robust with respect to a number of nonidealities in iris images and (2) because of the binary nature of the local ordinal information this scheme can be flawlessly integrated into the traditional filter-based recognition systems. The proposed scheme was extensively tested individually and when combined with Gabor wavelet-based approach.