subject: What is Biometrics? [print this page] What is Biometrics? What is Biometrics?
Identity verification in computer systems is done based on measures like keys, cards, passwords, PIN and so forth. Unfortunately, these may often be forgotten, disclosed or changed. A reliable and accurate identification/verification technique may be designed using biometric technologies, which are further based on the special characteristics of the person such as face, iris, fingerprint, signature and so forth. This technique of identification is preferred over traditional passwords and PIN-based techniques for various reasons:
The person to be identified is required to be physically present at the time of identification.
Identification based on biometric techniques obviates the need to remember a password or carry a token.
A biometric system essentially is a pattern recognition system that makes a personal identification by determining the authenticity of a specific physiological or behavioral characteristic possessed by the user. Biometric technologies are thus defined as the "automated methods of identifying or authenticating the identity of a living person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic." A biometric system can be either an identification system or a verification (authentication) system; both are defined below.
Identification: One to Many A comparison of an individual's submitted biometric sample against the entire database of biometric reference templates to determine whether it matches any of the templates.
Verification: One to One A comparison of two sets of biometrics to determine if they are from the same individual.
Biometric authentication requires comparing a registered or enrolled biometric sample (biometric template or identifier) against a newly captured biometric sample (for example, the one captured during a login). This is a three-step process ( Capture, Process, Enroll ) followed by a Verification or Identification .
During Capture , raw biometric is captured by a sensing device, such as a fingerprint scanner or video camera; then, distinguishing characteristics are extracted from the raw biometric sample and converted into a processed biometric identifier record (biometric template). Next is enrollment, in which the processed sample (a mathematical representation of the template) is stored/registered in a storage medium for comparison during authentication. In many commercial applications, only the processed biometric sample is stored. The original biometric sample cannot be reconstructed from this identifier.
