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Biometrics, Overview

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Encyclopedia of Biometrics

Synonyms

Biometric recognition; Biometric system

Definition

Biometrics is the science of establishing the identity of a person based on the physical (e.g., fingerprints, face, hand geometry, and iris) or behavioral (e.g., gait, signature, and keyboard dynamics) attributes associated with an individual. A typical biometric system uses appropriately designed sensors to capture the biometric trait of a person and compares this against the information stored in a database to establish identity. A biometric system can operate in two distinct modes: in the verification mode, the system confirms or negates a claimed identity, while in the identification mode, it determines the identity of an individual.

Introduction

A wide variety of systems require reliable authentication schemes to confirm the identity of an individual requesting their services. The purpose of such schemes is to ensure that the rendered services are accessed only by a legitimate user and not anyone else. Examples of such...

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References

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Correspondence to Arun Ross .

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Ross, A., Jain, A.K. (2015). Biometrics, Overview. In: Li, S.Z., Jain, A.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Biometrics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7488-4_182

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