Definition of biometrics

Photonics Dictionary

biometrics: Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their physiological or behavioral characteristics. These unique attributes are used to verify or identify individuals, often in the context of security, access control, or authentication systems. Biometric systems capture, process, and analyze biometric data to accurately identify or verify the identity of an individual.

Key characteristics and features of biometrics include:

Physiological characteristics: Physiological biometric characteristics are physical attributes of an individual's body. Examples include fingerprints, facial features, iris patterns, hand geometry, DNA, and vein patterns. These characteristics are relatively stable over time and are unique to each individual.

Behavioral characteristics: Behavioral biometric characteristics are traits that reflect an individual's behavior or actions. Examples include voice patterns, typing rhythm, gait, and signature dynamics. Behavioral biometrics can be influenced by factors such as stress, fatigue, or emotional state and may exhibit some variability over time.

Biometric enrollment: In biometric systems, individuals' biometric data is initially captured and stored during a process called enrollment. During enrollment, the system records and stores a template or digital representation of the individual's biometric characteristics for later comparison.

Biometric matching: Biometric matching involves comparing the biometric data captured during authentication or identification with the stored templates in the system's database. The system evaluates the similarity between the captured biometric data and the stored templates to determine the individual's identity.

Accuracy and error rates: The accuracy of biometric systems is evaluated based on their ability to correctly identify or verify individuals while minimizing false accept and false reject rates. False accept occurs when the system incorrectly identifies an impostor as a legitimate user, while false reject occurs when the system fails to recognize a legitimate user.

Security and privacy: Biometric systems raise concerns about security and privacy due to the sensitive nature of biometric data. Measures such as encryption, secure storage, and biometric data protection protocols are implemented to safeguard individuals' biometric information from unauthorized access or misuse.

Applications: Biometrics are used in various applications, including access control systems (e.g., fingerprint scanners, facial recognition systems), identity verification for government services (e.g., passport control, voter registration), forensic identification, time and attendance tracking, and mobile device authentication.