Biometrics

Biometrics is a statistical study of biological observations and phenomena, which can be implemented to provide automated methods that can be utilized to identify an individual based on physiological and behavioral characteristics. Examples of features that can be measured include facial variations, fingerprints, hand geometry, handwriting, iris and retinal differences, and voice.

The ability to identify and distinguish among individuals based on specific physical features is grounded in the existence of genetic diversity throughout humankind. The identification of a specific trait that is expressed (known as the phenotype) is possible because each individual possesses a unique genetic makeup (known as the genotypes) that expresses certain physical characteristics that are also unique (e.g., fingerprints and retinal differences).

Those presently benefiting from biometric technologies are enterprise-wide network security infrastructures, government IDs, secure electronic banking, investing and other financial transitions, retail sales, law enforcement, and health and social services.

The history of biometrics dates back to the late 1800s, when Sir Francis Galton (the founder of biometrics and cousin of Charles Darwin) opened the Anthropometric Laboratory at the International Health Exhibition in1884. Galton's passion for applying statistical methods to biological phenomena eventually lead him to invent the first system of fingerprints in 1892. This system was adopted by police departments worldwide and is still used today.

For biometric identification systems to be reliable, physical and behavioral features used for recognition must be unique, permanent, measurable, and userfriendly. Uniqueness, biometrically, means that the trait being measured is specific to only one individual and must not appear in two people. If a trait is found in many people, then it is known as “universal” and is not unique. Permanence means that this trait must also not change over time or be able to be physically altered. Measurability means that these specific traits must be able to be consistently measured with technical instruments. The information measured must be able to be effectively stored and compared in a biometric reference database so that the identification of an individual can be determined and authenticated.

The use of fingerprinting in individual identification was successful because each person has a unique and immutable fingerprint (including identical twins). Physically, a fingerprint is composed of many series of ridges, splits, dots, valleys, furrows, and “minutiae points.” Minutiae points are specific ridge characteristics that are found on either a ridge bifurcation or a [Page 372]ridge ending. Today, all of the characteristics found on an individual fingerprint can be converted to a “digital fingerprint template” and stored on a central database for subsequent matching or authentication processes. Fingerprinting was the most reliable form of identification in forensics until the development of DNA technology.

Handwriting recognition (or signature recognition) is also used in biometrics. This is more modernly referred to as “dynamic signature verification” (DSV) and analyzes the manner in which a user signs (e.g., velocity and pressure exerted by the individual's hand, as well as the static shape of the finished signature). Technology used to measure these characteristics ranges from simple scanners, video cameras, and pens that contain sensors to ultrasonic sensing.

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