Modalities

Commonly implemented or studied biometric modalities include fingerprint, face, iris, voice, hand writer recognition, and hand geometry. Many other modalities are in various stages of development and assessment. There is not one biometric modality that is best for all implementations, and many factors must be taken into account when implementing a biometric device, including location, security risks, task (identification or verification), expected number of users, user circumstances, existing data, etc. It is also important to note that biometric modalities are in varying stages of maturity.

Facial Recognition

Humans often use faces to recognize individuals, and advancements in computing capability over the past few decades now enable similar recognitions automatically. Early facial recognition algorithms used simple geometric models, but the recognition process has now matured into a science of sophisticated mathematical representations and matching processes. Read More

Palm Print

Palm print recognition inherently implements many of the same matching characteristics that have allowed fingerprint recognition to be one of the most well-known and best publicized biometrics. Both palm and finger biometrics are represented by the information presented in a friction ridge impression. Read More

Iris Scan

Iris recognition is the process of recognizing a person by analyzing the random pattern of the iris. The automated method of iris recognition is relatively young, existing in patent since only 1994. The iris is a muscle within the eye that regulates the size of the pupil, controlling the amount of light that enters the eye. It is the colored portion of the eye, based on the amount of melatonin pigment within the muscle. Read More

Voice Recognition

Speaker, or voice, recognition is a biometric modality that uses an individual’s voice for recognition purposes. It is a different technology than “speech recognition,” which recognizes words as they are articulated, which is not a biometric. The speaker recognition process relies on features influenced by both the physical structure of an individual’s vocal tract and the individual’s behavioral characteristics. Read More

Fingerprint

Fingerprint identification is one of the most well-known and publicized biometrics. Because of their uniqueness and consistency over time, fingerprints have been used for identification for more than a century, more recently becoming automated (i.e., a biometric) due to advancements in computing capabilities. Read More

DNA

Genes make up 5 percent of the human genome. The other 95 percent are non-coding sequences, which used to be called junk DNA. In non-coding regions there are identical repeat sequences of DNA, which can be repeated anywhere from one to 30 times in a row. These regions are called variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs). Read More

Emerging Biometrics

The FBI Biometric Center of Excellence (BCOE) will be leveraging the potential of newly emerging biometric technology to allow federal government agencies to increase their identity management capabilities. The BCOE will assist in implementing newly developed biometric modalities such as facial recognition, iris recognition, and palm print matching into large-scale federal government biometric systems. Read More