How to use biometric fingerprint reader to develop

Question

I have purchased a simple biometric fingerprint reader that is usually used for laptop security through a USB connection. It is just called biomentric finger print reader, not branded! It came with the software for creating security for laptop, and it works great.

However, I had a different idea for it: I am intending to create a database of users fingerprints so that I can identify which user swiped their fingers on it, ie, to use it for different users' authentication using fingerprints. I don't seem to be making any head or tail on how to go about that.

I would like to find out if there is other kind of software to install that will make this gadget print the fingerprint or a code to say a spreadsheet or database whenever I swipe a finger on it? I was thinking it would be a simple as when I use a bar code scanner to print codes of various items to a spreadsheet.

Could someone please advise how to go about this. I believe it should do that but I just dont know where to start.

thanks.

Answer 1

You can use the WBF (Windows biometric Framework) API that is free, but you must first verify if your biometric device is WBF compatible. The documentation and samples for WBF are for C++, but there is a wrapper sample in C# that you can download here: Cirrostrata biometrics Regarding how to convert the scanned data into an image, you can check this post: How to convert winbio data into image. Hope this helps to start.

Answer 2

As an alternative wrapper to WinBioNET as mentioned by Robinicks there is WinBiometric.Net.

Disclaimer: I do not own this project.

It has a really nice test project for playing around with the different API functions available in the Windows Wiometric Framework. This test project was monumental in helping me understand the Windows Biometric Framework.

The WinBiometric.Net wrapper has a claim of 100% API coverage, a NuGet package and has the MIT license.

I found it to generally have a very high quality of code as well.

As for storing the fingerprints in a database you could use the WinBioCaptureSample API function to capture a sample, which can then be stored in a database. The sample can be converted into an image as well, there is a nice example of this in the wrapper.

I know this is an old question but I figured I'd post anyway.

Answer 3

You can use the WinBioNET .NET wrapper for Windows Biometric Framework (WBF). It has a demo winforms app in the solution. Just open it up, select the demo app as the "startup project" and run. If you have any devices connected it will enumerate it at startup.