Biometrics
Introduction
Biometrics refers to the technical term for body measurements and calculations. It pertains to metrics related to human characteristics and traits. Biometrics identification (or biometric authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance.
History
The concept of biometrics has been around for many years. The ancient Egyptians used physical characteristics to identify laborers and ensure they were not imposters. In the 1800s, French criminologist Alphonse Bertillon developed a method of identifying individuals based on physical measurements such as head size, length of the arms, and other distinguishing characteristics. This system, known as Bertillonage, was the first scientific method of identification. However, it was later replaced by fingerprinting, which was more reliable and less invasive.
Types of Biometrics
There are several types of biometrics currently in use, including physiological and behavioral characteristics.
Physiological Characteristics
Physiological characteristics are related to the shape of the body, and include fingerprint, face recognition, DNA, Palm print, hand geometry, iris recognition, and retina.
Behavioral Characteristics
Behavioral characteristics are related to the behavior of a person, including but not limited to typing rhythm, gait, and voice.
Biometric Systems
A biometric system is essentially a pattern recognition system that operates by acquiring biometric data from an individual, extracting a feature set from the acquired data, and comparing this feature set against the template set in the database.
Components of a Biometric System
A biometric system is an automated method of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. The main components of a biometric system are: a sensor, which detects the characteristic being used for identification; a computer, which reads and stores the information; and software, which analyzes the characteristic and compares it to a database of known individuals.
Biometric Applications
Biometric technologies are becoming the foundation of an extensive array of highly secure identification and personal verification solutions. As the level of security breaches and transaction fraud increases, the need for highly secure identification and personal verification technologies is becoming apparent.
Government Applications
Biometrics is used in government applications to enhance security and protect personal information. This includes border control, national ID cards, e-passports, and voter registration.
Commercial Applications
In the commercial sector, biometrics is used for access control, time and attendance tracking, and fraud prevention. This includes banking, retail, healthcare, and telecommunications.
Forensic Applications
In forensics, biometrics is used for criminal identification and prison security. This includes latent fingerprint matching, face recognition, and DNA identification.
Future of Biometrics
The future of biometrics holds great promise for law enforcement applications, as well for private industry uses. Researchers continue to develop new types of biometric recognition systems and to refine the existing ones.