Leonard Flom and Aran Safir patented their idea for an iris identification system in 1987, basing it on the fact that no two irides are alike. Their idea involved illuminating the eye, obtaining an image of the iris, and comparing that image with stored data. Today, iris recognition is considered to be the most accurate in the field of biometric identification based on physical or behavioral characteristics.

The appeal of iris recognition lies in its speed, ease of use, high level of accuracy, and non-contact. Innovations continue constantly. Flom's work includes research into iris and radar skeletal biometrics. Most recently, he has successfully enrolled newborns and birth mothers in the delivery room to ensure proper matching of a child with his or her mother in order to recognize both upon discharge from the hospital.

In 1995, the US Defense Nuclear Agency prepared a prototype unit based on the patented technology. Flom approached Dr. John Daugman to develop an algorithm to automate identification of the human iris. In 1994, John Daugman developed and patented the first actual algorithms to perform iris recognition.

The patent expired in 2005, which opened the industry for other players to develop and market their own algorithms for iris recognition. In May 2013, Drs. Leonard Flom and Aran Safir were inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame for their contribution to Iris recognition.

According to Patent Yogi