When "eye-scanning unlock" on mobile phones has become a daily routine, few realize that this technology—using the eye as a "key"—has traversed a 40-year journey from laboratory research to industrialization. The story of iris recognition encapsulates humanity’s relentless pursuit of "precise identity authentication."
As early as the 19th century, scientists identified individual differences in iris patterns, but it was two scholars in the 1980s who transformed this observation into a theoretical framework for recognition technology: American ophthalmologist Leonard Flom and computer expert Aran Safir. On February 3, 1987, their U.S. patent became the first to systematically propose that "the iris can serve as a basis for identity recognition." It noted that the iris’s complex textures—such as folds and crypts—stabilize for life after forming during the embryonic stage, with even identical twins having distinguishable iris differences, laying the biological foundation for iris recognition.
Turning this theory into practice relied on a pivotal breakthrough by British scientist John Daugman. On March 1, 1994, his U.S. patent established an iris feature extraction algorithm based on Gabor wavelet transform. This algorithm converts iris textures into a unique 256-byte digital code, known as an "iris template." Under 1994’s technical conditions, it first controlled the false acceptance rate (FAR) below one in a million, meeting practical application standards. While Flom and Safir’s theory provided the premise for technical implementation, Daugman’s algorithm solved the core problem of "how to accurately extract features"—a technology that remains the cornerstone of iris recognition today.
In the early 21st century, iris recognition first took root in high-security fields. In 2002, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) deployed it for military base access control. In 2005, Dubai International Airport in the UAE introduced an iris recognition system for identity verification of incoming passengers, becoming the world’s first large-scale public application case.
However, this phase had notable technical limitations: equipment was bulky (early scanners weighed several kilograms), recognition distance was only 10–20 cm, a single scan took over 3 seconds, and costs exceeded tens of thousands of dollars—making it inaccessible to everyday life.
On May 28, 2015, Fujitsu launched the Arrows NX F-04G, the first consumer smartphone with iris recognition, marking the technology’s entry into civilian popularization. A new turning point came in 2017 when Samsung’s Galaxy S8 integrated iris recognition with a full-screen design. Using a miniature near-infrared camera and optimized algorithms, it achieved fast recognition at 30–50 cm, even in low-light environments.
Today, iris recognition has made three major breakthroughs: recognition distance extended to 30 cm–1 meter, device size reduced to the size of a fingernail (e.g., front camera modules in phones), and algorithm processing speed increased to 1 million comparisons per second—suitable for real-time retrieval in large databases. In terms of security, iris recognition’s FAR can be as low as one in 10 million, far outperforming mainstream capacitive fingerprint recognition (FAR of ~0.001%, or one in 100,000), retaining a significant edge in identity authentication uniqueness.
Next-generation iris recognition is advancing toward "long-range, non-cooperative" capabilities. Industry research shows that long-range iris recognition has made laboratory progress, enabling identification of moving human eyes within a few meters—even with glasses. Market research predicts the global iris recognition market will grow from $3.4224 billion in 2022 to $12.6589 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5%. As technology matures, iris recognition is expected to integrate with AR glasses and smart car windshields, enabling seamless experiences where "identity is confirmed where the gaze reaches."
From theoretical blueprints in labs to a feature in pocket-sized phones, iris recognition’s 40 years epitomize humanity’s use of technology to decode "biological uniqueness." Chinese enterprises are accelerating efforts to reshape the global technological landscape: Wuhan Homsh Technology Co., Ltd. has independently developed an iris recognition algorithm certified by China’s Ministry of Public Security. Its embedded iris modules are used in domestic financial terminals and smart campuses, with response times controlled within 0.3 seconds. In the future, this "password" hidden in the eye will unlock even more possibilities in life, driven by continuous technological progress.
