What are biometrics?

[jjjdddlll 4]

I keep reading this word, what is it?

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

It's a dark chamber where the immigrant has to lie down butt naked, while robots take samples of skin and organs and test them on huge computers for viability on accident victims and probably even human cloning. As you probably know, every immigrant has to consent of his body being used as the Government sees fit. The modern term for that is biometrics and let me tell you, these long needles hurt like hell!

Edited July 21, 2010 by Just Bob

[LotofPatience 65]

I keep reading this word, what is it?

Biometrics comprises methods for uniquely recognizing humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits. In computer science, in particular, biometrics is used as a form of identity access management and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance.Biometric characteristics can be divided in two main classes:

• Physiological are related to the shape of the body. Examples include, but are not limited to fingerprint, face recognition, DNA, Palm print, hand geometry, iris recognition, which has largely replaced retina, and odor/scent.
• Behavioral are related to the behavior of a person. Examples include, but are not limited to typing rhythm, gait, and voice. Some researchers^[1] have coined the term behaviometrics for this class of biometrics.

Strictly speaking, voice is also a physiological trait because every person has a different vocal tract, but voice recognition is mainly based on the study of the way a person speaks, commonly classified as behavioral.

It is possible to understand if a human characteristic can be used for biometrics in terms of the following parameters:^[2]

• Universality – each person should have the characteristic.
• Uniqueness – is how well the biometric separates individuals from another.
• Permanence – measures how well a biometric resists aging and other variance over time.
• Collectability – ease of acquisition for measurement.
• Performance – accuracy, speed, and robustness of technology used.
• Acceptability – degree of approval of a technology.
• Circumvention – ease of use of a substitute.

A biometric system can operate in the following two modes:

• Verification – A one to one comparison of a captured biometric with a stored template to verify that the individual is who he claims to be. Can be done in conjunction with a smart card, username or ID number.
• Identification – A one to many comparison of the captured biometric against a biometric database in attempt to identify an unknown individual. The identification only succeeds in identifying the individual if the comparison of the biometric sample to a template in the database falls within a previously set threshold.