Physimetric identification (Physi-ID)—Applying biometric concept in physical object identification

By relying on business intelligence technologies, services can be delivered to customers automatically by computer systems. To provide the right services to the right person, a methodology that precisely identifies a personal's identity must be in place. Biometrics offers a secure and reliable method for computerized personal identification and authentication. It accurately recognizes and determines the unique identity of a person based on her physiological and/or behavioral characteristics. In the case of physical objects, they may also be required to be identified automatically in order to provide additional services, such as at checkout counters of supermarkets or customs clearance checkpoints. Numerous crimes and business losses (e.g. counterfeit products) are related to mis-identification of physical objects. This paper introduces physimetric identification, an approach that applies the concept of biometrics for physical object identification. It addresses the problem through authenticating physical objects based on their unique physical and/or chemical characteristics. Apart from introducing the concept of physimetric identification, issues such as real applications, deployment considerations and limitations of the proposed technology will also be discussed.