Biometrics is a loose term meaning recordable physical or behavioural characteristics that might be used to check the identity of a person. Methods using physical characteristics that can be used for this purpose include fingerprint, hand geometry or palm print, retinal scanning, iris scanning, face recognition, ear lobe recognition and scent recognition.
Methods using behavioural characteristics include voice, signature and pattern of keyboard usage.
The four leading biometrics face, voice, iris and finger are described below and three others are briefly covered. This method analyses the patterns in individual faces. The accuracy of face recognition engines has improved dramatically over the last few years and the technology is now perfectly suitable for verification applications. It is non-intrusive and there is already a general acceptance of more standard face recognition photographs in passports, driving licences and ID cards. It is possible to derive facial templates from existing video or still images which means that this method is also very suitable for identification applications.