Abstract: The invention provides an image capture system, apparatus and method for capturing a biometric image in high ambient light environments. Reflections from ambient light can introduce unwanted environmental pattern noise that can interfere with extracting information from a captured biometric image. The invention performs attenuation of ambient light without requiring employment of shielding to prevent ambient light from reflecting off of a surface being imaged. As a result, the invention can be deployed into environments with varied indoor or outdoor lighting characteristics.

Abstract: The invention provides a mobile and compact enclosure that can be carried within a pocket of clothing while providing a large dear aperture for both a fingerprint scanner and a visual display contained within the apparatus. The apparatus of this invention is not limited to facilitating one or two-finger fingerprint scanning, and can incorporate a scanner capable of scanning four fingers simultaneously.