Preprocessing of Iris Images for BSIF-Based Biometric Systems: Binary Detected Edges and Iris Unwrapping

Abstract

This work presents a novel approach to enhancing iris recognition systems through a two-module approach focusing on low-level image preprocessing techniques and advanced feature extraction. The primary contributions of this paper include: (i) the development of a robust preprocessing module utilizing the Canny algorithm for edge detection and the circle-based Hough transform for precise iris extraction, and (ii) the implementation of Binary Statistical Image Features (BSIF) with domain-specific filters trained on iris-specific data for improved biometric identification. By combining these advanced image preprocessing techniques, the proposed method addresses key challenges in iris recognition, such as occlusions, varying pigmentation, and textural diversity. Experimental results on the Human-inspired Domain-specific Binarized Image Features (HDBIF) Dataset, consisting of 1892 iris images, confirm the significant enhancements achieved. Moreover, this paper offers a comprehensive and reproducible research framework by providing source codes and access to the testing database through the Notre Dame University dataset website, thereby facilitating further application and study. Future research will focus on exploring adaptive algorithms and integrating machine learning techniques to improve performance across diverse and unpredictable real-world scenarios.