| So you're in the market for biometric locks, | | | | many purposes, this is more than sufficient. For |
| perhaps to put on the front door of your home | | | | instance, if you install a fingerprint lock on your |
| or to better secure your office. You have | | | | front door and use it twice a day, it will last for |
| familiarized yourself with the aspects of biometric | | | | 500,000 days or almost fourteen hundred years |
| locks. You understand the concept of the sensor, | | | | which is quite impressive. Your biometric lock will |
| which reads input such as a fingerprint or voice | | | | protect you for your entire life and could continue |
| and compares it to information stored in the | | | | to protect your family in the future. It's a worthy |
| database to determine if there is a match. You | | | | investment. |
| understand that when the lock permits access, a | | | | However, you might demand more from your |
| match has been made. | | | | biometric lock. Perhaps you are head of a security |
| You have researched the terminology; you know | | | | department for a company which needs |
| what FAR means (false acceptance rate) and | | | | something to grant access to a large number of |
| understand DPI (the measure of sensor resolution | | | | employees, several times a day. You can expect |
| in biometric sensors). Perhaps you have a few | | | | your sensor to reach its life capacity much sooner |
| specific models of biometric lock in mind. You're all | | | | in that case. |
| ready to purchase your lock, excited about | | | | When shopping for any sort of biometric device, |
| installing yourself and know you will diligently check | | | | be sure to pay attention to the sensor life as well |
| the batteries so nothing can ever go wrong. | | | | as rates of false acceptance and rejection, |
| Or can it? | | | | resolution and database capacity. |
| Maybe in your excitement came across the | | | | Sensor life can range from one hundred thousand |
| concept of "sensor life," not realizing that no | | | | to tell million swipes. You certainly don't want to |
| sensor lasts forever. Perhaps it was not clearly | | | | invest in an access control solution only to realize |
| listed in the product description but it's true: the | | | | the sensor or entire lock will need to be replaced |
| sensor in your biometric device will ultimately die. | | | | within the year (unless, of course, you are that |
| The good news is: most sensors will last for one | | | | fickle about security). |
| million uses, known as "swipes" or "rubs." For | | | | |