4. Enhancing biometric processing

‘Enhancing biometric processing’ explores how the field of biometrics is developing, and the main ideas promoting the improvement of the accuracy, reliability, and effectiveness of biometric systems. It is unlikely that any individual biometric modality operating alone will completely meet all the desirable criteria for a given task, especially when the variety of issues that are needed are considered in any practical situation. To improve system performance different systems can be used such as adding extra power using a multiclassifier configuration, increasing flexibility using multimodal systems, and using soft biometrics as additional identity evidence. Resistance to ‘spoofing’ attacks, biometric data integrity, and extending the application domains for biometrics-based processing are also considered.

2. Biometrics: where should I start?

‘Biometrics: where should I start?’ considers what constitutes a practical biometric system. It looks at the principles on which such a system operates, builds up a picture of the components needed to construct such a system, and takes the first steps towards understanding how to implement a biometric system. It also looks at how, when, and why errors can arise and how the performance of a biometric system can be evaluated, both qualitatively and quantitatively, to understand more clearly the nature of the interaction between the user and the system itself, and to determine helpful ways of describing both basic system factors and user characteristics, which will ultimately influence system performance.

6. Where are we going?

‘Where are we going?’ looks at some other biometric modalities that may achieve a higher profile in future, including hand-based biometrics, keystroke dynamics, ear-shape biometrics, and electrocardiogram and electroencephalogram measurements. It then discusses the problem of ageing in the design and use of biometric systems before considering human interaction with biometric systems and the impact of the usability of systems on their success. Biometrics systems are increasingly and manifestly having an impact on everyday life. Properly understood and sensitively applied, these can improve our security, increase our confidence in processes that are designed to dovetail into the way modern society works, and enhance the convenience and power of technology, for the benefit of everyone.

5. Predictive biometrics

Is there any reason why the data captured in a biometric system could not be used for other sorts of prediction too? ‘An introduction to predictive biometrics’ looks at how instead of supplementing conventional data with soft biometric data, conventional biometric data might be used to predict some soft biometric characteristics of an individual. Predictive biometrics has expanded considerably in recent years, with the two most frequently studied characteristics being age and gender using, for example, biometric iris data. Recent studies are taking predictive biometrics further still, aiming to predict so-called ‘higher level’ individual characteristics, such as those which reflect an individual’s mental or emotional state.

3. Making biometrics work

In order to assess the practicality or suitability of a particular biometric modality in any given application, or to judge how effective biometrics-based identity monitoring is likely to be in a particular situation, we need to understand the principal issues that affect a chosen modality. ‘Making biometrics work’ examines the relevant technologies of four major modalities—fingerprints, iris patterns, facial images, and the handwritten signature. All modalities offer both advantages and disadvantages, and performance will depend very much on the nature of the proposed application, the nature of the population who will be the primary users of the system, and the environment in which it is to operate.

1. Are you who you say you are?

Many aspects of modern life raise questions about individual identity: how we prove that we are who we say we are, and how we can be sure that another person is who he or she claims to be. ‘Are you who you say you are?’ considers the different ways of establishing personal identity and the fundamentals of biometrics. In principle, any human characteristic can be used as a biometric data source provided it meets the following four basic criteria: universality, uniqueness, permanence, and collectability. The source of the measurement data used for identification—biometric modality—can be either physiological or behavioural. Some applications of biometric systems are also considered.