163

Pearson VUE and IBG
Palm Vein Recognition for Candidate Authentication
Rubén Arturo Garcia Michael Thieme

Product Manager Director of Special Projects
Pearson VUE International Biometric Group
www.vue.com www.biometricgroup.com
Biometric Consortium 2008

Tampa, Florida
25 September 2008
Agenda
Business case / rationale for biometric candidate
authentication
Technology selection criteria
Implementation status and future plans
Pearson VUE and IBG: Deploying Vein Recognition for Candidate Authentication – 2
www.biometricgroup.com Biometric Consortium
2 2008 Biometrics 2006
CONFIDENTIAL © 2007 International Biometric Group 2
About Pearson VUE
Part of Pearson plc, an $8 billion corporation that is the
largest commercial testing company and education
publisher in the world
Delivers over 4 million high-stakes tests annually
Licensure, certification, academic admissions, regulatory,
and government testing service markets
5,200 test centers in 162 countries
– 230 fully-owned and -operated Pearson Professional Centers
– Pearson Professional Centers utilize a patent-winning design
created specifically for high-stakes testing
About International Biometric Group
45 employees
Offices in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco
Provide independent biometric services to government
and industry
Business lines: integration, research, and consulting
Pearson VUE Experience with Biometrics
Pearson VUE an early adopter of commercial biometrics
Deployed hundreds of fingerprint devices in 2000-2001
for candidate authentication
Deployment was successful, but limitations emerged
– Difficult to upgrade / customize software
– Quality of enrollments became increasingly problematic
– Increased error rates
– No longer a competitive differentiator
Pearson VUE and IBG
Pearson VUE hired IBG in early 2007 to develop next-
generation biometric system
IBG tasked with cost/benefit analysis, vendor /
technology selection, biometric system design /
integration, testing
Biometric Applications for
Candidate Authentication
One Workflow, Mutliple Applications
Biometrics may perform multiple functions in candidate
authentication
Enrollment
Central Same-Day
Duplicate 1:1
Detection Matching
Central Return-
Watchlist Visit 1:1
Searches Matching
Local
Watchlist
Searches
Candidate Enrollment
Enrollment on first encounter with new system
Enrollment is attended
– Operators trained in usage, presentation methods, feedback
Throughput speed is important but negotiable
– Assuming that three presentations are necessary, enrollment
should be achievable within less than 20 seconds
Enrollment forms the basis of all subsequent verification
and identification events
Same--Day 1:1 Matching
Same
After enrollment, candidates are authenticated on entry
into test labs
– Objective is to prevent “candidate-swapping”, increase test
integrity, allow monitor to focus on in-lab candidates
– Candidates may be re-authenticated several times per day
– Enrollment template stored to provide 1:1 matching; uploaded to
central database at end of test day (or periodically)
Very few false non-match errors should be encountered
– Number of attempts, fallback approach to be determined
– Transaction time should be less than 3 seconds
– Security level should be “low”: don’t inconvenience candidates
Return--Visit 1:1 Matching
Return
Candidates may return days, weeks, or months after
enrollment for additional testing
– Objectives: provide candidates with a streamlined test
experience, ensure end-to-end integrity of candidate records
– Enrollment template retrieved from central database at beginning
of the test day
More false non-matches are likely due to time lapse since
enrollment
– Number of attempts, fallback approach to be determined
– Transaction time should be less than 3 seconds
– Security level should be “low”: don’t inconvenience candidates
– Potential for re-enrollment depending on scenario (e.g. age of
enrollment)
Local Watchlist Searches
Pearson VUE encounters candidates who repeatedly
attempt to steal test items
– These candidates should be detected before testing to disrupt
item theft
– Searches should return results within roughly 30 seconds – exact
workflow is to be determined
Local watchlist comprised of known or suspected
“thieves” may be searched on enrollment
– Watchlist distributed on a regional and/or test-specific basis
– In case of match, operator may issue test with items of little value
– Security level should be “high”: not necessary to find all fraud,
just a large majority of fraud
Central Watchlist Searches
Pearson VUE identifies candidates who attempt to proxy
test or establish multiple candidate identities
– Some unauthorized activities are detected through non-biometric
methods
– Searches can occur after testing is complete – days or weeks are
available to investigate suspected fraud
Central watchlist comprised of tens or hundreds of
suspected “proxy” or “re-testers” will searched using
enrollment data
– Watchlist populated and managed on a regional and/or test-
specific basis
– Security level should be “high”: not necessary to find all fraud,
just a large majority of fraud
Duplicate Detection
Pearson VUE encounters fraudulent activities that can
only be detected through open database searches
After filtering, databases on order of 150k-200k may
need to be searched
– Based on gender, geography, other demographic factors
– Searches can be conducted over hours
– Primary challenge to split and distribute database to facilitate
throughput
– Response time can be on the order of 16-20 hours
– Manage impact of false matches through fusion with face
recognition – exact implementation to be determined
– Security level should be “high” to reduce number of false
matches
Technology Selection
Factors in Technology Selection
Form factor
– Deployed in constrained, desktop environment
Privacy
– Deployed in countries in which there is considerable resistance to
fingerprint technology
Usability
– Must accommodate reasonable variations in presentation
– Must be usable with little-to-no training or expertise
Factors in Technology Selection
Accuracy
– Emphasis on low false reject rate
Cost
– Per-unit costs a major consideration with deployment of thousands of
devices
Global support
– Deployment in Asia, Africa, Europe
Differentiation
– Pearson VUE wanted to deploy a leading-edge technology for
competitive differentiation
Technology Selection
Vein recognition
– Fujitsu PalmSecure palm vein recognition offered the best
balance of functionality, performance, cost, and differentiation
Technology Alternatives
What technologies were considered?
Fingerprint
– A logical alternative, but the privacy perception as well as the
lack of competitive differentiation were impediments
Iris recognition
– Addresses accuracy, scalability, but form factor and costs made it
a non-starter at the time
Face recognition
– A strong contender due to parallel webcam upgrade; many
models had face as a fallback or fusion technique; however,
unconstrained environment limits 1:1 utility
PalmSecure Enrollment Rates (CBT6)
Fujitsu Sum: Transactions 1&2

Zero Palms Enrolled 1 0.08%
One Palm Enrolled 20 1.55%
Two Palms Enrolled 1269 98.37%
Total 1290 100.00%
PalmSecure Accuracy (CBT6)
Some Challenges
Delivering 1:N functionality with 1:1 algorithm
– What is the most efficient way to spread matching across multiple
servers and support daily throughput?
Housing
– Prototype housing presented challenges for larger- and smaller-
than-normal hands, leading to false non-matches
Performance over time
– Testing indicates that false non-match rates tend to increase as
time since enrollment elapses; tied to the form factor issue
SDK limitations
– Some creative use of enrollment and recognition data may be
necessary to meet all requirements
Current Deployments and
Future Plans
Current Status
Pearson VUE launched a pilot program on August 19th
covering India and South Korea
– The pilot has been initially launched in India covering 11
permanent testing centers and several event/mobile testing
centers
– The pilot will encompasses both privately owned Pearson VUE
Testing Centers and third-part franchises
– Since launch we have enrolled over 2500 testing candidates and
have conducted over 25,000 1:1 verifications
South Korea to begin on September 22nd
Pilot results have been positive and we plan to move
forward with global implementation
Future Plans
October 2008
– Pearson VUE plans to launch the technology globally to over 162
countries, over 450 locations to be completed by Q2 2009
Q2 2009
– Migrate Pearson VUE clients from fingerprint to Fujitsu
PalmSecure palm vein biometric technology
Post Global Implementation
– Develop watch-list and duplicate detection functionality
– Offer other verification services with palm vein biometric
technology
Lessons Learned
Pilot launch date was tightly dependent on software
release dates and availability of new device form factor
Did not anticipate immediate acceptance of technology
by internal users, clients and centers
Conclusions
Fujitsu’s PalmSecure palm vein biometric technology is
extremely accurate and easy to operate
Pearson VUE’s interactive on-line training documentation
was sufficient for operating devices
Enrolling and verifying candidates is easy to accomplish
Significant reduction in enrollment and verification error
rates
Candidates provided positive feedback in survey
information
Thank you
Ruben Garcia
ruben.garcia@pearson.com
Michael Thieme
mthieme@biometricgroup.com

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Pearson VUE and IBG

Palm Vein Recognition for Candidate Authentication

Rubén Arturo Garcia Michael Thieme

Biometric Consortium 2008

Fujitsu Sum: Transactions 1&2

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